Rooted in Lincoln: Enhancing and Protecting Lincoln's Urban Forest

Enhancing Our Tree Canopy

The Town of Lincoln undertook an Urban Forest Management Review from 2023 through 2026 as part of a comprehensive effort to enhance the health and expand the coverage of our urban forest. This review has resulted in the development of an Urban Forest Management Strategy that outlines the series of programs, initiatives, and strategic investment needed to bolster the urban forest moving forward. The strategy outlines a series of action items the Town will endeavor to complete to ensure the entire community benefits from the many economic, environmental, and health-related advantages of a vibrant tree canopy.

Urban Forest Management Strategy

The Urban Forest Management Strategy (UFMS) for the Town of Lincoln sets a forward-looking framework to protect, enhance, and sustain the Town's urban forest – an essential green infrastructure asset that supports the health, identity, and resilience of our community and provides innumerable benefits to its citizens.

Located in the heart of Niagara’s Greenbelt, Lincoln is a town where urban living, agriculture, and natural heritage intersect. As the Town continues to grow, pressures from development, climate change, and invasive species highlight the need for coordinated, long-term stewardship of our trees and green infrastructure.

Note: The strategy is yet to be finalized and presented to council for information. Thus, it is not yet publicly available. The information below is a preview of the strategy. The fulsome strategy is expected to be released sometime in Q3 of 2026.

According to Niagara Region's Tree and Forest Canopy Summary Report, the Town’s tree canopy covers 21.9% (i.e. 35.5 km²) of the town! This percentage includes all shade/ornamental trees, large non-crop shrubs in forested areas, isolated/small groups of trees located in urban parks, and trees on private and public properties. It does not include fruit trees in orchards and grape vines, as while they are important, these typically provide fewer ecosystem benefits and services (compared to other tree types).
Lincoln’s urban forest is unevenly distributed because of agricultural activities within the Town, the dispersion and disjointedness of urban areas, and the existence of large tracks of natural forest. Some urban areas like Jordan have 26.9% canopy coverage, whilst Beamsville has less coverage at a rate of ~16%. As a result of the small size of the six urban areas in Lincoln, the canopy within these areas only contribute to ~5% of the total canopy. Much of Lincoln's canopy is found in rural areas, specifically along the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area, where ~45% of the Town's total canopy is found.
The Strategic Action and Implementation Plan (SAIP) is a series of operational changes, investments, programs, and analyses that need to occur to effectively support the expansion and retention of Lincoln's urban forest. The SAIP is divided into 5 categories of action items, based on the 5 Strategic Priorities from the Urban Forest Management Strategy:
1. Protect and Maintain Existing Trees – Strengthen tree protection through planning and development policies, implement maintenance standards and lifecycle management protocols to improve tree health, support replanting, and enhance the green infrastructure benefits they provide.
2. Inspire and Engage the Community in Stewardship – Strengthen community engagement in the urban forest through development of an inspiring urban forest communications strategy, community education and volunteer planting events, and through partnerships with local groups, funders and tree/urban forest-related organizations.
3. Grow the Canopy – Increase tree canopy coverage on public and private land through an equity-centric approach by prioritizing planting of climate change resilient species in underserved areas.
4. Enhance Urban Forest Resilience – Prepare for pests, diseases, and a changing climate by diversifying species and enhancing ecological connectivity.
5. Lead with Data, Policy, and Collaboration – Bring all Town departments and partners together to improve tree data collection and tracking, as well as to integrate the UFMS into all Town processes, including better linkage to the Town’s overall Asset Management Plan.

Community Tree Planting Challenge

To ensure consistent and continuous progress on expanding and supporting the urban forest, the Town sets an annual tree planting goal via the Community Tree Planting Challenge.

The goal for 2026 is to see 1,250 trees planted!

The bar is raised every year, in recognition of the necessity to rapidly increase the rate at which the Town expands it's tree canopy coverage. This rapid rate of planting is needed in order to keep pace with canopy contraction that is due to a mix of both human activities like development/land use changes, and environmental disturbances like the impacts from invasive species and extreme weather.

Results of the 2025 Challenge:

A plant growing to represent Lincoln hitting it's tree planting challenge

Community Tree Planting Survey & Map

The following map showcases and tracks where community members are planting trees!

You can fill out the Community Tree Planting Survey to input where you've planted trees, and after staff review your input, you'll be able to see your tree (s) shown on this map.

Pay-What-You-Can Native Tree Sale

To support Lincoln residents in their efforts to plant native trees on their private property, the Town hosts an annual subsidized native tree sale each Fall. The event is based on a "pay-what-you-can" model. This model works to ensure that anyone in town that wants to plant a tree, is able to, regardless of their financial capacity. Residents can take a tree for free, pay a toonie, pay full market value for the tree, or even pay more than market-rate to help subsidize the cost of a neighbours tree. All the costs recovered from the tree sale go towards future native tree planting around Lincoln!

Community Planting Events

The community in Lincoln has a strong environmental ethic. To bolster this ethic and continue to foster it, the Town has continuously developed and coordinated various community planting events. These events bring neighbours together to help plant trees, shrubs, perennials, and grasses at various locations identified for naturalization, restoration, or areas where there is a specific ecosystem service that needs support.

Ashby Drive Park & Bartlett Creek Community Planting Event
On Saturday, October 17th, 2026 the Town will be hosting a community planting event at Ashby Drive Park from 9am - Noon. The event is in partnership with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, and is funded by the Niagara Community Foundation and the Ontario Community Environment Fund. Through the day a rain garden and a variety of trees will be installed within the centre of the bike loops at Ashby Drive Park. Further, extensive tree planting will occur along Bartlett Creek. Both of these projects will be happening concurrently, and the Town needs your help volunteering!
For more information on the event and to sign up to participate in the planting, please visit the event page.
St. Volodymyr Park Ecosystem Restoration
On Wednesday, October 7th, 2026 the Town will be hosting a community ecosystem restoration event at St. Volodymyr Park from 9:30am - Noon. The event is in partnership with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, and is funded by Green Communities Canada, Canadian Trees for Life, and the Ontario Community Environment Fund.
This event already has ample support through a planned collaboration with local high school science classes, so no additional community support is needed. If you really wish to help still, please email akelly@lincoln.ca to coordinate your involvement.
Bartlett Creek Tree Planting
Volunteers from across Niagara and beyond came together at Ashby Park in Beamsville this past weekend to plant 600 native trees and shrubs along Bartlett Creek! The plantings expand the riparian buffer — a vegetated zone along the creek that protects the waterway. Riparian buffers are essential for healthy streams: they filter pollutants, reduce erosion, keep streams cool, provide habitat for wildlife, and help manage flooding.
This work was done in partnership with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, and was part of the Lake Erie Rangers program which was funded by the Province of Ontario’s Great Lakes Local Action Fund.
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Mini Forest(s) Planting
As part of the Town of Lincoln's Urban Forest Management Review Working Group's efforts, the Town in partnership with Ontariogreen Conservation Association, undertook a Miyawaki Mini Forests Pilot Project at Rotary Park.
The Town received a $17,000 grant from the Niagara Community Foundation (NCF), and a $10,000 grant from the Greenbelt Foundation through the Living Cities Canada Fund, a program of Green Communities Canada, and $3,700 from Trees for Life to fund this initiative. This generous funding enabled the Town to implement a Miyawaki Mini Forest in our community, helping to naturalize urban spaces, mitigate and address climate change, and enrich biodiversity.
The Miyawaki Mini Forests Pilot Project aligns with the Town’s mission of delivering services with an environmental, social, and economically resilient focus. Following directions from Town Council, the Working Group, inclusive of environmentally focused citizens' groups and staff with specialized expertise, reviewed tree-related practices and policies aligning with Council Priorities. These priorities emphasize enhancing air quality and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through the growth and maintenance of the urban tree canopy.
Project Update
Our Mini Forest Community Planting was held in November 2024, and involved the planting of 790 native trees and shrubs with support from community volunteers.
This initiative was part of our ongoing commitment to create a healthier urban environment by planting trees and fostering sustainability within our community. Our mini forest will provide many benefits, such as reducing the urban heat island effect, enhancing local biodiversity, improving stormwater management, mitigating flood risks, improving air quality, and elevating the physical and mental well-being of the Town of Lincoln’s residents and visitors.
The planting site has been strategically selected to prioritize the Town’s environmental priorities:
- Provides enhanced urban canopy cover in the Beamsville area, which has a lower percentage of tree cover (15.7%) compared to the Town’s overall tree coverage (21.9%)
- Native plantings within the Rotary Park natural corridor will provide benefits along the creek system such as enhanced biodiversity and wildlife habitat
- Location at Rotary Park adjacent to the Val Fleming Butterfly Garden is well-suited to incorporate educational signage, raise community awareness of the value of the tree canopy, and facilitate public involvement in the Mini Forest project
- Ideally situated with access to sunlight, watering and maintenance to ensure long-term survivability of the Mini Forest
This project is a collaboration between the Town of Lincoln and Ontariogreen, and was made possible by support from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), funding from the Niagara Community Foundation (NCF), Trees for Life, and the Greenbelt Foundation through the Living Cities Canada Find, a program of Green Communities Canada.
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EcoFest - Earth Day Event

In celebration of Earth Week, the Town helps host an annual event in partnership with Ontariogreen and a variety of other local environmental groups. The event brings together environmentally minded folks to discuss, share, and build community.

A keystone of the event is the Tree Sale, where the Town and environmental groups offer free and subsidized trees for community members to plant! The annual event showcases the community’s enthusiasm for protecting the natural world and expanding our urban forest.

If you'd like to be more involved with EcoFest in upcoming years, please email the Town's Environmental Coordinator: akelly@lincoln.ca

Benefits of an Enhanced Urban Tree Canopy

The Town’s tree canopy is made up of both public and private trees and is a valuable infrastructure asset. Healthy urban forests and enhanced tree canopies provide numerous environmental, economic and social benefits to our community. Trees are as necessary as water, roads, and energy to sustaining a healthy community. Trees play an integral role in helping communities mitigate and adapt to climate change. A few of the numerous benefits of trees are outlined below:

Climate Change Mitigation

Reduce temperatures and mitigating the heat-island effect through evapotranspiration
Sequester the emission of greenhouse gasses by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Remove air pollutants by trapping particulate matter in their leaves, needles and bark

Climate Change Adaptation

Trees help communities adapt to climate change impacts such as increased precipitation and extreme weather events:
Reduce the amount of runoff and pollution that enters stormwater and sewer systems
Reduce soil erosion
Increase soil absorption capacity

Environmental Benefits

Improves local air quality through the active removal of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the air
Mitigates air, dust, noise, heat, and chemical pollution
Helps reduce local flooding through water filtration and reducing stormwater runoff
Reduces urban heat island effect
Provides important habitat for wildlife and helps preserve biodiversity

Economic Benefits

Attractive environment for businesses and visitors
Increased real estate values
Enhanced tourism values
Lower utility costs and increased energy savings as a result of climate amelioration, such as providing shade in the summer and blocking wind in the winter

Social and Health Benefits

Contributes to desirable environments to live, work and spend leisure time
Improves mental health and overall well-being by conveying sense of calm, relieving stress, and facilitating relaxation and outdoor activity
Creates a buffer between moving vehicles and pedestrians
Trees are valuable public infrastructure, and not simply ornamentation. Whether publicly or privately owned, trees provide environmental, economic, social and health benefits shared by all of Lincoln. It is important to increase and maintain a healthy tree canopy with age and species diversity that keeps pace with the Town’s growth.

Links to Relevant Policy, Standards, and By-Laws

The Town’s Tree Protection page summarizes how trees in Lincoln are regulated and protected through policies and by-laws.
The Town’s Municipal Design and Quality standards document has been updated to include tree planting and watering guidelines and tree protection requirements.
The Town’s Draft Official Plan now includes information and policies to protect and enhance our Urban Forest (Section 8.5).