Urban Tree Nursery

Brightening East Hastings Street, One Tree at a Time

The Urban Tree Nursery is a joint initiative of the newly founded Hastings Crossing BIA and the SBIA, with additional involvement from UBC Department of Forestry, the City, and Mission Possible Enterprises. We will be installing a minimum of 12 tree planters along East Hastings, starting at Gore and working our way west and east to at least Carrall and Princess Streets.

The planters will be designed with input from local artists, UBC Forestry, the City’s Engineering Department, and the Park Board. Saplings will grow for three to five years in the planters, and then they will be auctioned off and transported to their permanent homes. Funds from the auctions will go toward community initiatives and maintenance of this program. Residents will also have opportunities to sponsor individual trees; we will recognize sponsors with plaques on the planters.

The trees will be maintained by residents of the Downtown Eastside who are overcoming barriers to employment and gaining valuable work experience. In this way, we aim to create green jobs in the neighbourhood for those who wouldn’t otherwise have work and beautify the streetscape by adding more greenery.

To learn more, and to follow our progress, check out our Urban Tree Nursery Blog.

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