London Veteran Tree Pilot Program
Do you have a veteran tree on your property? The City of London is offering a one-year pilot program for Veteran Trees beginning March 1, 2021. You are now able to apply for a grant for up to 25% of the cost of your tree care services this year.
SO - how does it work?
If you have a distinctive tree (over 50cm in diameter) on your property, let us know when you book your quote. We will ensure all relevant details needed to apply for the grant are included in the estimate we send you.
You will then submit that quote along with your application to the City for approval and when it gets approved we will schedule the work to be completed!
Frequently asked questions (Answers directly from the City of London Website):
Who is eligible for the Veteran Tree Incentive Program (VTIP)?
If you are a residential household with a Distinctive Tree, you may be eligible for VTIP if you intend to carry out some type of activity for which you must pay costs for services or materials.
What is a Distinctive Tree?
A Distinctive Tree is a tree inside the Urban Growth Boundary, 50 cm or greater measured at 1.4m above natural ground level, and not in a Tree Protection Area.
What type of work is eligible?
For this pilot, the City will consider any work that helps meet the goal “to defer the removal of the largest trees to the latest possible date while allowing for successional planting to catch up”. If in doubt whether your proposed activity might be supported by VTIP, please ask City staff.
Typical examples eligible work may include:
Pruning that does not meet Good Arboricultural Practices where a permit for “Injury” is successfully obtained from the City. This may include creating a wildlife habitat in a Distinctive Tree that is in advanced decline, or even dead.
Pruning to Good Arboricultural Standards, where no permit is required. The pruning should aim to preserve the tree for longer “as is, where is”. Pruning only for aesthetic appearance may not be eligible.
Moving an existing structure (being something of value or a place where people are more likely to be) out of the vicinity of a Distinctive Tree so it can age and decline peacefully with no or minimal intervention. This might include moving an existing garden shed or a play area to some other place.
Successional planting where there are no trees already fulfilling this role. VTIP may assist in planting new trees somewhere close to a Distinctive Tree, to grow and develop while the Distinctive Tree is still retained for the foreseeable future.
A one-time intervention that aims to achieve a long-term benefit for the Distinctive Tree. This could include cabling, bracing or propping of old limbs still attached to the tree; root drenching or other mycorrhizal inoculation or fertilising regimes tailored to its specific needs; or pest control.
Having an arborist / arboricultural professional assist in EGM egg mass scraping on a severely infested Distinctive Tree that has egg masses out of reach of the resident.
Routine care – something that occurs on a regular basis, such as fertilising or watering the lawn around a tree - may not be eligible.
There is a Distinctive Tree on my property. How do I apply?
Please call 519-661-2489 x 4457 or write to Urban Forestry, 663 Bathurst Street, London, Ontario, or email treeprotection@london.ca to request a VTIP application form. No in-person visits to our offices are possible at the current time.
Applications for VTIP will be considered strictly on a first-come, first-served basis until the available funds have been spent.
You will be required to submit a quote, contract or other documentary evidence to support your request that will be used to determine how much assistance you may receive through VTIP. A visit to your property may be undertaken by City staff to verify your application. City staff may request photographs of the Distinctive Tree to avoid a site visit or in-person meeting. If you are approved for a VTIP award, you will receive an offer letter from the City’s Urban Forestry team. You are responsible to pay for the work or materials, and to submit your paid invoice, or receipt, or other evidence, to Urban Forestry by a date specified in the City’s letter. No VTIP will be offered, or paid, without paperwork to substantiate all claims. A VTIP award that is not claimed by you by the date given in the City’s offer letter may be cancelled and re-awarded to another applicant.
For answers to more questions please click HERE to visit the City of London website.
What do I need to apply?
1. A quote/ estimate provided to you by a Tree Care Company
2. A completed application from the City of London website. You can find it HERE.
3. Information about and a photo of the proposed tree
4. A brief description of the work you would like to complete on the tree
5. Total cost of the work to be completed (including tax)
You can apply HERE.
For more information on the Veteran Tree Incentive Program and to be in touch with the City of London please click HERE.
To book your quote click HERE or call 226-559-7804.
