Calgary’s tree canopy got a little bigger Saturday morning, thanks to a group of helping hands from around the globe.

As part of the annual Lions Club International Youth Exchange program, 37 youth, ages 15 to 22, from 19 countries joined members of the Calgary Lions Club to plant 310 trees next to Memorial Drive and the Barlow/Max Bell CTrain station. From Slovenia to Brazil, these youth will be staying with host families from across Southern Alberta until roughly mid-August, participating in various community efforts rooted in the Lions Club’s pillar of strengthening communities.

Jody Lewis, a Calgary Lions Club member and the youth exchange chair for Lions District C-2— which represents 89 Lions Clubs and over 1,800 members across Southern Alberta— said the event feels especially relevant this year, as Lions International President Mark Lyon made his presidential theme for 2026-2027 ‘rooted in service.’

She added that, on top of the service, the program is a great opportunity for youth to connect with people they may never have met otherwise and create lasting memories.

“I have kids from three years ago asking how their forests are. It’s pretty special,” she said.

The planting was put on in coordination with the City of Calgary which helped with the land use and provided the trees. The city’s ‘Branching Out’ program distributes trees to anyone at no cost as the city works towards expanding its tree canopy. In 2024 the canopy coverage was 9.6 per cent and the city is aiming to grow it to 16 per cent.

Saturday’s event also gets the Calgary Lions Club one step closer to its goal of planting 50,000 trees, a commitment the club made during the 2019 centennial celebrations. Around 9,300 trees have been planted so far, though Calgary club member Otto Silzer is hoping they can ramp up planting to meet the goal quicker.

He pointed to areas such as Stoney Trail, which has limited foliage and could benefit from added trees. Silzer recognized a project of that scale would require more forethought and planning, but he believes it’s possible.

“We’re interested in expanding it and quickly getting to our (goal),” he said. “We’ve got this big ring road that doesn’t have trees… and I think we need to look at getting the province involved in this initiative.”