More than 100,000 trees grown at SaskPower’s Shand Greenhouse are now taking root across Saskatchewan. The newly planted trees will help improve wildlife habitat, reduce erosion, and increase biodiversity in multiple areas around the province.

This exciting milestone is part of a 3-year planting initiative that we completed this summer. Altogether, our teams planted more than 100,700 seedlings around the province, ranging from northern forest areas to reclaimed coal land in southern Saskatchewan.

“The benefits of this project will be felt for years to come,” said Nathan Mansuy, Director, Environment. “The over 100,000 trees planted through this initiative will support a healthy and diverse ecosystem, improving wildlife habitat and contributing to the ongoing restoration of landscapes across Saskatchewan. It’s rewarding to see the work done at Shand Greenhouse making a difference across the province.”

The federal government’s 2 Billion Trees program supported our initiative with $327,842 in funds. The national program had participants from across Canada working to add trees from coast to coast.

Supporting Biodiversity

Over the past 3 years, we grew and planted a total of 22 different tree species for this project. We used varieties of pine, spruce and aspen predominantly because they’re native to Saskatchewan and they provide benefits like not shedding their leaves in the winter. But the project also gave us the opportunity to introduce more biodiversity by growing and planting species less common to some areas like sea buckthorn and other kinds of berries.

Most of the trees – more than 72,000 – were planted on reclaimed coal land in the Estevan area where they’ll enhance the quality of habitat for migratory birds, deer and other wildlife.

The trees will also make a positive impact around some SaskPower facilities. We planted about 9,870 around Boundary Dam Power Station near Estevan and another 8,965 near Swift Current’s Chinook Power Station to form shelterbelts that will help reduce erosion, dust and other wind impacts. Up at Lake Athabasca where the Charlot River Power Station is based, evergreen trees like pine and spruce were planted to help control erosion there as well.

We added some of the seedlings to the Shand Greenhouse tree nursery where they’ll be nurtured as seed sources for future seedlings and allow us to test the resilience of new species in Saskatchewan.

Like any tree-planting initiative, long-term survival will depend on weather and growing conditions. Natural losses are expected, but the project will certainly provide lasting benefits for habitat, biodiversity and land restoration.

Shand Greenhouse Upgrades

All of this was made possible through the Shand Greenhouse, which SaskPower has operated southwest of Estevan for more than 30 years. Since it was opened in 1991, Shand Greenhouse has distributed more than 16 million tree seedlings across Saskatchewan. It’s the only non-profit greenhouse of its kind to distribute tree and shrub seedlings at no cost to landowners, municipalities, and Indigenous communities throughout Saskatchewan. Shand Greenhouse reflects our ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship and community partnerships.

Construction work is currently underway this summer and fall to upgrade the facility and expand the legacy of Shand Greenhouse for many years to come. We’re renewing the entire facility and all building systems and expanding it to be able to grow even more seedlings in the future, from approximately 550,000 per year to as much as 700,000!

See some of our progress below.

Learn More:

• Shand Greenhouse
• Shand Greenhouse Upgrade Project