The athlete village is growing—in more ways than one!

Thanks to a collaborative planting project between the 2025 Canada Games, Tree Canada, and Memorial University, close to 400 trees and shrubs are being planted on Memorial's St. John’s campus.

This initiative is one of many efforts being made this summer to prepare and beautify the campus for over 4,000 athletes. This project goes far beyond beautification, though, as new vegetation will help capture carbon emissions from both the Games and long-term campus usage. 

As part of the ongoing development, informational signs will be installed in each planting area, offering insights into forestry and sustainable land stewardship. This addition will promote and encourage environmental stewardship, and transform the space into a long-term educational resource for both athletes of the games and students/faculty for years to come. 

The project involves the planting of 23 different species of trees and shrubs, including pear and cherry trees, juniper, cypress, larch, rhododendron, lilac, magnolia, potentilla, euonymus, cedar, and pine, contributing to both biodiversity and beautification of the campus.

As a component of the 2025 Canada Games’ Sustainability Program presented by MMSB, this project exemplifies the importance of natural regeneration and the protection of natural assets. Sports, and the sporting system in general, can’t be separated from the natural assets they’re rooted in. From the frozen lakes we skate on, to the trails we mountain bike through, protecting the land, water, and natural assets that Canadians grew up playing on is a priority to the Games. 

With this project underway, the total number of trees planted as part of our sustainability program closes in on 5,500, with more to come!

To read more about this project, see Memorial University’s story in the Gazette below. 

https://gazette.mun.ca/campus-and-community/green-games/