Calgary’s Branching Out Program aims to make city greener
Posted Jun 14, 2026 9:36 am.
Last Updated Jun 14, 2026 9:38 am.
The Branching Out Program continued Saturday in the city’s southeast, aiming to grow Calgary’s tree canopy by pairing trees with homeowners in each quadrant.
The program is part of the city’s efforts to increase the tree canopy from around 10 per cent currently to 16 per cent by 2060. Tree canopy is all the leaves and branches from trees across the city — including on streets, in parks and in people’s yards.
With tree registration taking place in April, each quadrant was assigned a designated registration week. The weekend of June 13 is the residents in the southeast’s turn to pick trees.
“Really excited, it’s awesome. Trees are expensive, so to get two trees for free is … that’s a win,” said Calgary resident Tayler Scalise.
Because the northeast and southeast include areas with some of Calgary’s lowest tree canopy coverage, they receive additional trees as part of ongoing efforts to support a more equitable distribution of trees across the city.
Alan Joiner, the superintendent of the Calgary Urban Forestry, says there are many benefits to increasing the tree canopy.
“Stormwater retention is a good thing that trees help with by slowing down stormwater runoff. But also shading, so it helps cool down homes and the people underneath the trees that sit in the shade,” he said.
“As well as adding a lot of biodiversity, so habitat for wildlife, and people just like being around trees, so it’s a greater sense of well-being as well.”
The program began in 2019 with only 500 trees, growing considerably since. Joiner says that 5,000 trees were made available last year and were claimed quickly, so this year, the number was doubled to 10,000.
“We just bought a house, and we’re looking to put some nice greenery in our backyard. Our fence is going up this summer. And so, this is just a great opportunity to come out and get some really lovely trees,” Sarah Waseem explained.
These sisters took advantage of the city’s program last year — and they are back for more.
“My tree from last year, it made me so happy. I sent pictures to my family, saying, ‘Check out these blossoms on my crab apple.’ I got a crab apple last year. So, I came this year going like, ‘I want more trees in my backyard,'” Sana Waseem said.
Out of the 10,000 trees, 6,000 are made available for the eastern quadrants, because the city says the northeast and southeast include areas with some of Calgary’s lowest tree canopy coverage.
The program wraps up for the year on the weekend of June 20-21. More information can be found online here.
