Landscaping and Urban Forest

The City of St. John's wants to cultivate an urban forest that is diverse, attractive and sustainable. Our goal is to enhance and build upon the City's existing network of parks, green spaces, trails, and tree-lined streets.

St. John's has forests and natural areas, many of which extend deep into the city. These forested areas are beautiful. They provide places for recreation and rest from the pressures of urban living. They also contribute to how we manage stormwater runoff.

Development enables cities to meet the needs of a growing municipality. But, with our slow growing environment and short growing season, we must focus on preserving existing resources, too.

City staff and Council work with the development community to balance development and protection. Our Landscape Development Policy identifies requirements for developments of all sizes to preserve and enhance our natural environment.

Where possible, we preserve the existing landscape character. This includes preserving existing trees and incorporating new trees into the landscape.