Call to action! šŸŒ³ Support Winnipeg’s bigger, better tree budget

Winnipeg City Council votes on the final municipal budget on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The good news is that after years of grassroots lobbying, we have a new 20-yearĀ Comprehensive Urban Forest StrategyĀ and a significant increase in financial resources in the 2024-2027 budget to begin addressing our tree crisis.

We think it is important to say thank you to the Mayor and Councillors for honouring the commitments they made in theĀ Trees Please PledgeĀ to protect and enhance our urban canopy. Trees Please will have members appearing in delegation at various civic committees in the coming weeks to express our appreciation with the goal ofĀ achieving even more in the months ahead.

Call to action!

We areĀ encouraging you to take a few minutes to add your voice of thanks, as it demonstrates to the Mayor and Councillors how important this issue is to so many citizens. Please submit your letter no later than March 18, 2024.

Below is a template letter that you can sign or adapt to your own words, as well as a contact email list for the Mayor and Councillors.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sample Letter to Mayor & City Councillors re: 2024 Budget

March 2024

To: Mayor Scott Gillingham and City Councillors

I would like to personally thank you for supporting the new Urban Forestry Strategy and honouring your commitment to protect and enhance our invaluable tree canopy.

In neighbourhoods throughout the city we have witnessed the heartbreaking loss of so many grand elms to disease, and all our trees currently face increased pressures from development and climate change. Expanding our canopy at a two-to-one ratio and implementing a seven-year ā€œbest practiceā€ pruning cycle, as this budget allows, is a remarkable step forward.

Just as importantly as the new dollars allocated, is the shift in mind-set we all must make. Our urban trees are essential natural infrastructure, just as important as sewers and bridges.

Our trees work hard for us – cooling our neighbourhoods on our increasingly hot summer days, absorbing rainwater and pollutants, storing carbon, and making our Prairie city a welcoming and livable place to be.

Once again thank you for this critically important investment. As First Nations Elders remind us, the decisions we make today must result in a sustainable world for our children, grandchildren and seven generations into the future.

Sincerely,Ā 
Ā ____________ (name, ward, email)

Winnipeg City Council Contact Info

Mayor Scott Gillingham
Phone: 204-986-5665
Email: mayorgillingham@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5951
Email: cgilroy@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5878
Email: srollins@winnipeg.ca

Councillor John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5236
Email: jorlikow@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Shawn Dobson (St. James Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5848
Email: sdobson@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5232
Email: eduncan@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Janice Lukes (Waverley West Ward)
Phone: 204-986-6824
Email: jlukes@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Ross Eadie (Mynarski Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5188
Email: readie@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5264
Email: devi@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Vivian Santos Point Douglas Ward
Phone: 204-986-8401
Email: vsantos@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5195
Email: jschreyer@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5196
Email: jbrowaty@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Russ Wyatt (Transcona Ward)
Phone: 204-986-8087
Email: rwyatt@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Matt Allard (St. Boniface Ward)
Phone: 204-986-3725
Email: mallard@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River Ward)
Phone: 204-986-3725
Email: markuschambers@winnipeg.ca

Councillor Brian Mayes (St. Vital Ward)
Phone: 204-986-5088
Email: bmayes@winnipeg.ca

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