Branching Out, The City of Calgary’s tree partnership program, will wrap up another successful year next weekend, with 10,000 trees finding new homes across the city. Through the program, The City provides trees to homeowners, who in turn provide the land and commit to planting and caring for the tree throughout its lifetime.
Tree registration took place in April, with each quadrant of the city assigned a designated registration week. A total of 2,000 trees were allocated to both the northwest and southwest quadrants, while 3,000 trees were allocated to both the northeast and southeast. Because the northeast and southeast include areas with some of Calgary’s lowest tree canopy coverage, they receive additional trees as part of ongoing efforts to support a more equitable distribution of trees across the city.
Since launching in 2019 with just 500 trees, the program has grown substantially in both size and popularity. By 2025, 5,000 trees were available and were claimed in record time when registration opened in each quadrant. In response to the growing demand, The City doubled the number of available trees to 10,000 in 2026. “Even with the increase, registrations filled quickly, demonstrating the continued enthusiasm Calgarians have for growing Calgary’s urban forest,” said Alan Joiner, Urban Forestry Superintendent for Calgary Parks and Open Spaces. “We really want to see everyone who wants a tree, get a tree so we will continue exploring ways to improve the registration process for next year.”
City of Calgary Parks & Open Spaces staff have been onsite at pickup weekends, rain or shine, helping hundreds of Calgarians collect their new trees each day. Staff provide information on planting and watering, and assist residents with loading mulch, which is provided at pickup locations. The final pickup weekend will take place June 20 and 21, when southwest residents will collect their trees.
The Branching Out program supports The City’s goal of increasing Calgary’s tree canopy from 9.62 per cent, as measured in 2024, to 16 per cent by 2060. Tree canopy is all the leaves and branches from trees across the city (including on streets, in parks and in people’s yards) that together provide shade and cooling, clean the air, support wildlife and improve our well-being.
To help reach this canopy goal, The City is also developing a new Urban Forest Strategic Plan that will guide how trees are planted, protected and cared for across Calgary. As part of this work, Calgarians are invited to share their ideas on how The City can support more tree planting on private property. Feedback can be submitted until June 26 at calgary.ca/UrbanForestPlan.
The City would like to thank Calgarians for their continued support of Branching Out and for helping grow Calgary’s urban forest. We look forward to another successful year of the program in 2027. For information on the program, visit calgary.ca/BranchingOut.
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