The City of Kamloops planted fewer trees last year than expected, but its long-term plan is still ahead of schedule.

Parks manager Jeff Putnam says 160 trees were planted on public property last year, which is down from the goal of 200. He cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason why, and said staff spent more time doing upkeep in parks that saw record usage.

But he also says since 2014, the city’s tree canopy has grown by 16 per cent, which is better than what has been expected.

And he says the city gave out 560 tree coupons last year, which have values of $20 or $50 dollars and subsidize private property owners to plant trees.

“So if you add that up over six or seven years, that’s a significant increase on private property,” Putnam says.

He adds that the city is able to follow up and make sure people who receive the tree coupons are actually planting trees.

“Because we’ve got that additional arborist resource now, and we receive landscaping plans from developers, we’re not only going to be more involved in approving the plan and seeing where they can add, but when the development is finished, we have the resources to go back and say ‘hey, you did not plant these three trees you said you would,’ and hold them accountable.”

The city is trying to increase the tree canopy to 20 per cent.