St. Catharines opens registration for free fall trees, with pickup Oct. 24

St. Catharines residents can register for a free tree through the City’s fall giveaway, with pickup scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, at Lancaster Park. The program is limited to one tree per household, and reservations are accepted only while trees remain available.

According to a City of St. Catharines announcement, online registration opened at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Trees are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and registration will close once the full supply has been claimed.

Residents can register at stcatharines.ca/treegiveaway. The City is offering four varieties this fall: Blue Beech, White Oak, Nannyberry and Ironwood. Information about each species is also available on the giveaway webpage.

What to bring to pickup

Tree pickup will run from 8 to 11 a.m. on Oct. 24. After registering, residents will receive a confirmation email containing a QR code that must be presented at Lancaster Park.

The QR code can be shown digitally or brought as a printed copy. Residents must also provide proof that they live in St. Catharines, such as a driver’s licence or a recent utility bill.

The giveaway is restricted to St. Catharines residents. Anyone collecting a tree on behalf of someone who has already registered online must bring that person’s QR code, either digitally or on paper.

For residents planning to take part, the reservation and pickup are separate steps: registration takes place online, while trees will be collected during the three-hour pickup window at the park.

Building the city’s tree canopy

The fall event is part of the City’s work to expand its tree canopy. Through its twice-yearly giveaways, the City says it has planted about 7,000 trees on private property.

The City identifies reduced stormwater runoff, cleaner air and the capture of greenhouse gases among the benefits of a healthy tree canopy.

Protecting, preserving and expanding that canopy is also part of the City’s strategic approach to environmental stewardship. The announcement connects that work to its goal of strengthening resilience in the face of increasingly severe climate change events.

This fall’s giveaway gives eligible households an opportunity to add one of the four offered tree varieties to private property while contributing to that broader canopy effort.