With countless trees ripped from their roots after Dorian ravaged Atlantic Canada over the weekend, an Ottawa-based charity is hoping to help re-green the region.
Natural disasters have become a priority for Tree Canada under its 鈥淥peration ReLeaf鈥� program, which planted trees in communities following the Fort McMurray wildfire, the 1998 ice storm in Eastern Canada and the catastrophic floods in Saguenay, Que. in 1996.
Now, Nova Scotia is on the organization鈥檚 radar. Dorian landed late Saturday night, blasting the Maritimes with 150 km/h winds, toppling power lines and even felling a construction crane in downtown Halifax.
Across Atlantic Canada, century-old trees were uprooted by hurricane-force gusts and tossed onto lawns and roadways.
Replacing the natural canopy isn鈥檛 just about the environment, said Mike Petryk, an arborist and program manager with Tree Canada. It鈥檚 also about restoring a sense of home.
鈥淭hey perhaps weren鈥檛 even thinking of the tree at first, and then they start to realize 鈥� There鈥檚 the possibility of bringing back my whole home,鈥� he said.
The Prosner family understands the difference a tree can make. They lost an evergreen on their property after a tornado ripped through their Ottawa-area neighbourhood last September.
鈥淗onestly, you don鈥檛 miss a tree until it鈥檚 gone,鈥� Glenn Prosner told 麻豆传媒.
As a replacement, Tree Canada supplied a lilac tree.
鈥淚t鈥檚 never going to replace the tree we lost, but 50 years from now, my kids will get to see it, my grandchildren, hopefully,鈥� Prosner said.
Tree Canada has planted more than 80 million trees since it started operations in 1992.
