Ottawa, December 20, 2006 — Tree Canada has established the B.C. Coast ReLeaf Fund today and is accepting donations that will be used to restore trees destroyed by heavy snows and winds, including Vancouver's most celebrated greenspace, Stanley Park. Ravaged by wind gusts of up to 115 km/h, which followed record southern B.C. snowfalls, thousands of trees were lost in parklands, along city streets and on residential properties.

"The loss of trees, many of which are older and lend a unique character, is a terrible loss to communities," says Michael Rosen, Vice President of Tree Canada. "We are urging Canadians to help - to show the same generosity they showed during the B.C. Fires in 2003 and Hurricane Juan in the Maritimes. Our Foundation is pledging to help communities and the forests recover from this incredible devastation."

Rosen says the money will be used to replant trees throughout the affected communities. Tree Canada will work with community leaders and Tree Canada's Community Advisers to ensure that the right trees are planted in the right places.

Individual and corporate donations can be made through the Tree Canada website at www.tcf-fca.ca.

Tree Canada has helped communities across Canada with ReLeaf Funds in times of devastation, in the B.C. interior after the wildfires of 2003, in the Maritimes after the 2003 Hurricane Juan, in Saskatchewan during the 2000 Dutch Elm Disease outbreak, and across eastern Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick after the ice storms of 1998.

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