Trees are an integral part of our community’s biodiversity. They enhance neighbourhoods and create vibrant, livable and sustainable communities. Trees provide many benefits to cities and the people who live, work and play in them. Victoria's urban forest consists of the trees, shrubs, ground cover and living ecosystems of the soil on all land across the city. There are approximately 150,000 trees across Victoria growing on residential land, on boulevards and in parks. Roughly 75 per cent of the urban forest grows on private land and 25 per cent is on land managed by the City. Together, these trees make up the urban forest and provide a city-wide canopy cover of nearly 29 per cent. Trees Planting and Removal A healthy urban forest is of high importance to the City. Removing unhealthy trees reduces safety risks and opens up space to plant new, young trees which will grow into our future urban forest. Tree Protection Bylaw Victoria’s new Tree Protection Bylaw protects the trees we have now and helps grow our urban forest for the future. The bylaw came into effect on July 1, 2021.