Perth County Ready to Launch New Stewardship Program

by Bob Montgomery

Perth County is getting ready to launch a new stewardship program.

Resiliency and Stewardship Coordinator Hannah Cann says they've been considering investing in a stewardship program for a year now and are looking at programs that are up and running in neighbouring counties. She says their goal is to encourage landowners to start stewardship programs on private lands as well as encouraging community groups to get involved in stewardship projects. Cann says they'll actually start planting trees in 2024 and the program involves three grant streams. She says the first grant stream is for private landowners that want to put in things like a windscreen to help reduce soil erosion or retire land that is no longer profitable for a forestry project. The second grant stream is for community planting and that could be a community group, a non-profit or a municipality or a conservation authority that might be doing some kind of restoration project. The third grant stream is for woodlot health assessment, which is a way of encouraging landowners to help rejuvenate existing woodlots, particularly those that have lost a lot of ash trees over the last few years.

Cann says these projects are essential to Perth County’s resiliency and restoration of natural areas and preservation of quality agricultural lands. She adds the financial aspect of tree planting projects can be a barrier for landowners. The resources and grants offered through the Perth County Stewardship Program will encourage landowners to make their projects a reality in 2024.

The grant opportunity for 2024 will open for applications December 1st 2023 and close on January 19th 2024, with successful applicants being notified by early February 2024.

For more information about the program, and to access application forms, visit www.perthcounty.ca/Stewardship