I was looking at VicMap for updated tree cover data downtown, and observed a couple of things worth sharing.
Have a close look at the figure above, and zoom in to see the detail in the green blotches. The dark green is tree canopy in 2013, and the light green is 2023.
First observation is that trees can grow significantly over a 10-year period. The light green (2023) halo around the dark green (2013) trees represents tree growth.
Second, note that some trees don’t have any dark green – they are only pale green. These are new trees, planted after 2013. This particular area is the Hudson District, home to some of Victoria’s tallest buildings at 12, 15, 16, 23, and 25 storeys.
In addition to policies for new developments to plant trees, the City itself plants trees when it undertakes projects, e.g. new trees on the Fort, Government, and Pandora protected bike-and-roll mobility lanes (e.g. below, circled).
This – tree growth and new trees – is why Victoria’s tree canopy grew by the equivalent of over 100 soccer fields between 2013 and 2023. Growth continued in every neighbourhood in the city. Neighbourhoods with the most growth were James Bay, Fairfield and Hillside Quadra.
And this growth in urban canopy occurred while the city added more than 8,000 net new homes.
Our development policies requiring tree planting and our Urban Forest Strategy are delivering results. To learn more about what the City of Victoria is doing to protect trees and grow our urban forest – tree protection bylaw, setting targets, Tree Cities of the World Awards and more – see the webpage on Trees & Urban Forest.
Taking a longer look, we have a lots more trees than we had in the good old days, despite adding a lot more homes.
1928 and now (Richardson St and Richmond Ave)
– City of Victoria Map Gallery, 1928 Air Photos.
(A quick, related note on the OCP: Downtown and nearby areas need more trees, parks and greenspace – as I’ve mentioned before. This Council identified a downtown park as a priority in our Parks Sequencing Plan, and purchased land for a park in the Downtown / North Park area.
Land is expensive, which limits the opportunities to expand our parks, greenspace and tree canopy. However, the City already owns a lot of land — in our public right of ways. Our new draft OCP holds some promise for more trees and greenspace, through street parks, plazas, linear parkways and the blue-green networks. Update: Council also enshrined in the OCP (by a 6-2 vote) tree planting and growth targets to reach an ambitious 40% tree canopy coverage. Check it out if you have some time.)