More Than 27 Million Trees Planted in Great Lakes St. Lawrence Region in 2024

Great Lakes governors initiative announces first year results of tree planting campaign

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS / ACCESS Newswire / May 19, 2025 / The States and Provinces of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region, in coordination with their partners, planted more than 27 million trees in the region in 2024, through the Great Lakes Trees Initiative. Launched by the region's Governors and Premiers in 2023 and led by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers (GSGP), the Trees Initiative set a goal to plant 250 million trees throughout the region in 10 years.

The first year of the initiative made tremendous progress toward meeting this ambitious target.

"In this region, we take trees seriously," said GSGP Executive Director David Naftzger. "Planting trees is critically important for the environment, for human health, and for quality of life. The Great Lakes Trees Initiative has gotten off to a strong start by exceeding our year one goal, and we look forward to planting many more trees in the years to come."

GSGP is working with the region's States and Provinces, federal governments, Indigenous communities, corporations, foundations, and other institutions to plant the 250 million trees.

Tree planting creates a multitude of benefits for the region's environment, economy, and people, such as:

• Cleaning the air by storing carbon and removing pollutants

• Helping save lives by improving cardiovascular health, supporting mental health, and even reducing surgery recovery time for people of all ages (see Research here)

• Reducing urban heat effects

• Absorbing stormwater to improve the health of streams, lakes, and drinking water

• Providing habitat for wildlife and plants

• Creating recreational landscapes, economic benefits, and jobs.

An old proverb says, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now." The trees planted through this initiative will create benefits for the region for years to come. As public, private, and non-governmental entities work to restore and protect the environment and grow the economy, the Trees Initiative builds on the region's strengths to attract new projects and investment.

For more information, visit the Great Lakes Trees Initiative website. To get involved, contact GSGP Program Director Mike Piskur at mpiskur@gsgp.org.

SOURCE: Great Lakes Governors and Premiers