Forest Management Strategy

A decorative image showing a line drawing of downtown Kingston overlaid on a background of trees.

The City of Kingston is developing a Forest Management Strategy for its rural and urban forest and woodland areas. The new Forest Management Strategy will have a 20-year planning horizon that will include a strategic framework detailing policy, procedural, operational and regulatory program adjustments towards the achievement of a community-defined vision. The Forest Management Strategy will help achieve this by:

  • Establishing a community-supported vision for Kingston’s rural and urban forest,
  • Assessing the current state of the City’s rural and urban forest,
  • Summarizing community needs and aspirations, and
  • Developing a framework of goals, strategies, actions, indicators, and targets.

Public engagement will take place throughout April 2025 and will help shape the development of the Forest Management Strategy and learn more about the state of Kingston’s rural and urban forest.

A background review, including baseline forest assessments, is ongoing and will be completed in March 2025. Key findings from the background review will are available in the presentation below and the maps posted in the news feed. The findings will appear again in the Forest Management Strategy itself.


Project Stages

Visual representation of project stages from background review and baseline assessment to the final forest management strategy.

Background information

Kingston’s forests include all trees, forests, green space, soils and ecosystems located within the municipality’s boundary, including those in urban and rural areas, and on public and private land. Trees are important community assets because they provide many environmental, social and economic benefits. Some of these benefits include cooling air temperatures, cleaning air, offering high-quality recreational opportunities and providing habitat for biodiversity.

An infographic showing an urban forest along a scale from urban land uses to rural land uses. On the left side of the image is the St. Lawrence Rive, moving right ornamental trees appear, as it shifts into the urban core and campus, street trees and private trees , appear in the low density residential areas, riparian trees and trees in green infrastructure appear along with park tress in parks, continuing right through industrial land uses and into the natural heritage system trees on conservation authority property are shown along with woodlands and natural ecosystems, moving into the rural and agricultural areas on the right edge of the graphic trees, owned by the province, shelter beds and forest are shown.

Community workshops presentation

Between April 2 and 4 we hosted three facilitated workshops with interested and impacted parties including Indigenous community members, representatives from local community and neighbourhood groups, as well as industry, agency, developers and forestry services. The goal was to introduce the project and hear challenges and opportunities as part of the ongoing public engagement.

The presentation portion of the workshops featured a deep dive into what the Forest Management Strategy is and what the local Kingston context looks like. That presentation is available to view below. A report on what we learned during the workshop is available to read, as are detailed maps from the presentation.



Stay informed

Sign up for updates: Use the follow project feature to be added to our newsletter list. You'll receive news and updates as the project progresses and when new content is added to this site.


The City of Kingston is developing a Forest Management Strategy for its rural and urban forest and woodland areas. The new Forest Management Strategy will have a 20-year planning horizon that will include a strategic framework detailing policy, procedural, operational and regulatory program adjustments towards the achievement of a community-defined vision. The Forest Management Strategy will help achieve this by:

  • Establishing a community-supported vision for Kingston’s rural and urban forest,
  • Assessing the current state of the City’s rural and urban forest,
  • Summarizing community needs and aspirations, and
  • Developing a framework of goals, strategies, actions, indicators, and targets.

Public engagement will take place throughout April 2025 and will help shape the development of the Forest Management Strategy and learn more about the state of Kingston’s rural and urban forest.

A background review, including baseline forest assessments, is ongoing and will be completed in March 2025. Key findings from the background review will are available in the presentation below and the maps posted in the news feed. The findings will appear again in the Forest Management Strategy itself.


Project Stages

Visual representation of project stages from background review and baseline assessment to the final forest management strategy.

Background information

Kingston’s forests include all trees, forests, green space, soils and ecosystems located within the municipality’s boundary, including those in urban and rural areas, and on public and private land. Trees are important community assets because they provide many environmental, social and economic benefits. Some of these benefits include cooling air temperatures, cleaning air, offering high-quality recreational opportunities and providing habitat for biodiversity.

An infographic showing an urban forest along a scale from urban land uses to rural land uses. On the left side of the image is the St. Lawrence Rive, moving right ornamental trees appear, as it shifts into the urban core and campus, street trees and private trees , appear in the low density residential areas, riparian trees and trees in green infrastructure appear along with park tress in parks, continuing right through industrial land uses and into the natural heritage system trees on conservation authority property are shown along with woodlands and natural ecosystems, moving into the rural and agricultural areas on the right edge of the graphic trees, owned by the province, shelter beds and forest are shown.

Community workshops presentation

Between April 2 and 4 we hosted three facilitated workshops with interested and impacted parties including Indigenous community members, representatives from local community and neighbourhood groups, as well as industry, agency, developers and forestry services. The goal was to introduce the project and hear challenges and opportunities as part of the ongoing public engagement.

The presentation portion of the workshops featured a deep dive into what the Forest Management Strategy is and what the local Kingston context looks like. That presentation is available to view below. A report on what we learned during the workshop is available to read, as are detailed maps from the presentation.



Stay informed

Sign up for updates: Use the follow project feature to be added to our newsletter list. You'll receive news and updates as the project progresses and when new content is added to this site.


Kingston's forest in 2045

What does your vision for Kingston's forest look like in 20 years? What does a successful Forest Management Strategy include, and what is the impact is has had on Kingston by 2045?  Email getinvolvedkingston@cityofkingston.ca or call 613-546-0000 if you require assistance, an alternate format or accommodation to submit feedback.

Your story can take many formats and be in any style. Submitted stories will be visible on this site, please avoid using identifying personal information. 

Submissions close May 11, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

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CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

  • Trees and Urban Zoning Are Related

    by RobHarrap, 22 days ago
    How many people can walk to a small grocery store or coffee shop in 5 minutes or less? Ten?

    How many people can go a day without a car or transit?

    The streets we've built and the way we've zoned Kingston is in service to drivers and cars. There is an old joke/story I heard as an undergraduate that if aliens were to observe North American cities from afar they'd decide we were a society of vehicles with slaves that maintain their paths and gather their fuel.

    The spaces we want to green shouldn't be thought of as a few... Continue reading

  • Imagining a Different City

    by RobHarrap, 23 days ago
    I just returned from a trip to the Netherlands and I can't see Kingston the same way now. It is one thing to read about possible changes but to visit somewhere that has embodied those changes is much more visceral.

    Far more space devoted to bike lanes and separate walking paths. Far more space devoted to highly efficient transit that means you don't need to take a car for most trips, and that transit is cheaper, too. Green spaces with ponds and marshes. Green spaces that connect with streets with trees so you can walk long distances in shade.

    This... Continue reading

  • What if, in 2045, Kingston's forest was unique in the world?

    by Joyce Hostyn, 24 days ago

    “A forest knows things. They wire themselves up underground. There are brains down there, ones our own brains aren’t shaped to see. Root plasticity. The environment is alive, a fluid changing web of purposeful lives dependent on each other, flowers shape bees as much as bees shape flowers. Trees shape us as much as we shape trees. We’ve just forgotten how to see... Trees have long been trying to reach us. But they speak in frequencies too low for people to hear."
    Richard Powers, The Overstory


    I took this picture of my back yard last summer. Front left is a... Continue reading

  • Multiple evergreens recently planted on the property that used to be the entrance to the Kingston Utilities water treatment plant. Wartman/Patterson Park at the end of Sunny Acres.

    by Wendya, 24 days ago

    There is a misconception about piling mulch around the base of newly planted trees protects them. While mulch is good for keeping the roots moist and nourished, if it is more than an inch it smothers the trunk base and they will die. Evidence are the trees that are dying in this same area, planted with way too much mulch at the base. Too much is not a good thing, in this case. The new trees planted are lovely but have a height of mulch that will eventually kill these trees. And that would be a waste of taxpayer’s money... Continue reading

  • Working together towards a healthy city for all

    by Joshc, about 2 months ago

    With recognition of all the advantages to humans and other beings provided by forests, wetlands, meadows and other natural places, the City of Kingston helped to bring together people to co-design and create a "forested city". The facilitated co-designing conversations, specifically meant to create consensus on both the need for development of housing/businesses and the need to do so in an ecologically minded fashion, result in changes to building incentives and codes which facilitate less stressful and cheaper development, the planting and sometimes conserving of many more terrestrial and water habitats, the decentralized capture of rain and stormwater by the... Continue reading

  • Input on the Forest Management Strategy: Thoughts, Questions, and Recommendations

    by bmckee, about 2 months ago

    1. Use a city heat map overlaid with socio-economic data to identify high-priority planting areas, where vulnerable populations often coincide with hotter microclimates.

    2. Create a public, interactive tree planting map where residents can suggest locations for future plantings.

    3. Use streetscapes to calm traffic and provide shade along active transportation routes and near school zones.

    4. Align the forest strategy with the City’s active transportation plan to maximize shared benefits.

    5. Prioritize tree planting in parks by creating naturalized zones with layered plantings that reduce maintenance and enhance biodiversity — look to Brooklyn Bridge Park (NYC) and Leslie Street Lookout Park (Toronto) as precedents... Continue reading

  • Downtown and school Forests ASAP

    by Hannah Kaufman, about 2 months ago
    I echo the visions and wise words I've read here, especially the importance of equity and cooling. Two sectors that are under-treed are the downtown core and school yards. Downtown core: If you've ever walked down princess St., had lunch at a downtown patio, or hung out in Market square on a hot summer day, you've probably yearned for a bit of shade. I've welcomed the new planter, including the planters on the backs of benches (they add some cooling and a bit of visual relief from the pavement), and the occasional tree, but more trees are needed. I've spoken... Continue reading

  • 30 YEARS IN

    by joanne gervais, 2 months ago

    35 years ago we had two 1 acre lawns, one in the front and the other the back of the house. After a few years of family feuding over who will cut the lawn, fix the lawnmower, add gas to the lawnmower, etc. and after calculating that 8 hours a month was spent doing the totally mindless, idiotic activity of grass cutting, I decided it was time for a change. I had grown up with clover lawns alive with bumble bees, butterflies, little ants and countless other creatures, and did not know what lawn cutting was until my father stupidly... Continue reading

  • A Green Canopy Throughout the City of Kingston: Protect Preserve Manage

    by John Armstrong, 2 months ago

    The city has a duty to take the long view towards a healthy urban forest.Large cities such as Mississauga have developed forest management plans based on the MNR MFTIP tax incentive program for private woodlot owners.

    The Ontario Woodlot Association is one of many agencies active throughout Ontario helping Private woodlot owners and municipalities in managing their woodlots.The City of Kingston if not already linked to this association would benefit from their staffs expertise.

    We know the benefits of a healthy forest in urban areas.We know the challenges of municipal growth and the challenges that presents to urban forests.The evidence... Continue reading

  • Ideas for consideration

    by Bruce , 2 months ago

    Here are some ideas for what Kingston can do on public land, for consideration .

    Urban Forest Management in Kingston - Strategic Actions for Public Lands

    1. Leverage and Update the Urban Forest Management Plan

    • Kingston’s Urban Forest Management Plan (2011–2030) provides a framework — but ongoing updates are key to address:

    • Climate change adaptation

    • Invasive species (e.g., emerald ash borer)

    • Equity in canopy cover across districts like Rideau Heights vs Sydenham


    2. Prioritize Tree Planting in Underserved Neighbourhoods

    • Use tree equity tools and GIS mapping to target low-canopy, heat-vulnerable areas.

    • Consider partnerships with... Continue reading

Page last updated: 13 May 2025, 09:49 AM