Now booking site visits ahead of 2027 planting season
RIDEAU AND MISSISSIPPI WATERSHEDS, June 23, 2026 – If you’re tired of paying high gas and equipment costs to maintain idle fields, tree planting may be the answer.
For the same price as maintaining an acre of fallow land, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) can reforest that field so you can gain back all the time, money and effort you would have otherwise spent on it.
“At $0.40 a tree or less, it’s an incredibly economical way to protect your property,” said Ian Cochrane, RVCA’s forestry manager. “It’s about the same cost as mowing for the year, and it keeps your land working without having to do the work yourself.”
Thanks to generous funding partners and grants, the RVCA’s program offers native tree seedlings for $0.15 each within the City of Ottawa and between $0.30 and $0.40 each across the rest of the Rideau and Mississippi watersheds. Flat rates are available for larger projects.
These prices include customized tree planting plans that suit the landowner’s vision and needs, on-site technical advice, ordering and handling of trees, site preparation, tree planting, tending, and refills for five years.
Elizabethtown-Kitley farmer Tom Ronan said he was spending several weeks each year mowing his fallow fields with a brush hog – costing him time, fuel and equipment maintenance. He planted more than 4,000 trees to give himself a break while also leaving a legacy.
“It’s to put some of the scrub land back into use, to cut down on the work a little bit, but also to help the environment,” Ronan said.
As a bonus, planting trees on unused fields can indirectly reduce costs by creating windbreaks, reducing soil erosion, improving drainage, providing natural cooling and filtering contaminants from local water sources. Trees can also reduce the impacts of extreme weather while absorbing carbon to slow the rate of climate change.
RVCA’s forestry staff are now booking site visits for this summer and fall to prepare for tree planting in spring 2027. Eligible Ottawa landowners must have at least 0.25 hectares of suitable land. Landowners outside of Ottawa must have at least 0.5 hectares of suitable land for planting.
To book your site visit, contact Ian Cochrane at
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