Trees

Urban Forest Management Strategy:

A 20 year strategy focused on sustainable growth and management of Altona’s urban forest. 

Trees make Altona a better place to live. The plan outlines concrete objectives & measurable actions to increase Altona’s tree canopy by at least 15% by 2045. 

Read the full Urban Forest Management Strategy here. 

2026 Targets: 

In 2025, the Town of Altona planted 100 new trees. In 2026, we are aiming to plant 250 new trees in Altona to increase the tree canopy. This ambitious target will be accomplished by doing a mass planting workshop in Ash Park, adding 72 new trees, by increasing our plantings on boulevards, and by giving away up to 50 trees to be planted on private property in Altona.

The workshop will be held on June 13, 2026 from 10 am - noon at Ash Park (meet at the picnic shelter), and residents can register online to participate! During the workshop, they will learn about choosing the ideal location for a tree planting, how to plant a healthy tree, and participate in a mass planting exercise. They will walk away with a gift certificate for a free tree to plant on their Altona property using what they've learned! 

Public Tree Inventory:

In 2021, the Town of Altona had a public tree inventory completed. The interactive tree inventory contains information about the composition and condition of the 4500+ public trees in Altona.  

In 2024, there was an additional inventory done of the trees specifically in Centennial Park (listed above as "tree stands"). You can view the Centennial Park Tree Inventory here to see more information about the composition and condition of 1300+ trees in Altona Centennial Park. 

Dutch Elm Disease:

Dutch Elm Disease (DED) kills elm trees. About 10% of Altona's trees today are elm. Since 2015, we've lost over 200 trees to Dutch Elm Disease. A fungus that blocks the tree’s vascular tissue causes DED — preventing it from taking up water and nutrients. Elm bark beetles are unwitting carriers of DED, as they carry the sticky fungal spores from tree to tree. DED can also spread underground if the roots of an infected tree have grafted with another tree. Altona is a participant in the provincial Dutch Elm Disease and Urban Forest Management Program, which means that we regularly prune dead branches from elm trees, do basal spraying of insecticide to elms to reduce elm bark beetle populations, and remove trees identified and marked by provincial inspectors each year. 

Boulevard Tree Request Form