We’re developing the Urban Forest Strategic Plan to provide clear, long term direction for growing and protecting Calgary’s tree canopy.

The plan will help address ongoing challenges, including:

• Tree loss due to redevelopment
• Climate related events and changing weather patterns
• Uneven tree coverage across the city

This work builds on Connect: Calgary’s Parks Plan and a funding agreement between The City of Calgary and the Government of Canada through the 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program, which will result in more than 900,000 new trees planted across the city over five planting seasons.

We know public trees are important to Calgarians. As part of this work, the City is using existing public feedback to help guide decisions about public property trees, including input from the Connect: Calgary's Parks Plan engagement and comments submitted through 311. This approach builds on what we have already heard from the public and helps focus this engagement process on private property tree planting.

What is tree canopy?

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.

Why now?

Calgary’s current Urban Forest Strategic Plan was created in 2007 and was intended as a 10-year guide. Since then, the city has grown and conditions have changed, making an update necessary. To learn more, please view the Parks Urban Forest Strategic Plan (June 2007)

We’re asking Calgarians, to share their ideas on how The City can support more tree planting on private property. About 70% of Calgary’s land is privately owned, meaning property owners play a key role in growing the city’s tree canopy.

We want to know:

• What would encourage you to plant, protect, and maintain trees on your property?
• What types of support or incentives would help the most and how should The City share this information?
• How could wood waste from tree removals be reused?

We will use the feedback gathered to help shape and prioritize strategies in the new plan.

How feedback fits in:

Public feedback is an important piece of the puzzle. The project team will consider best practices, available resources, technical and operational feasibility and internal policies to develop the plan.

Share your thoughts online or at a pop-up event between May 25 and June 26, 2026.

We’ll post a What We Heard report and a What We Did report in summer 2026 showing how your feedback helped shape the plan.