Edmonton International Airport (YEG) partnered with Edmonton-based Wild + Pine in 2021 as part of its Airport City Sustainability Campus. In 2023, the airport invested in the StoneWoods Forest Carbon Project to plant 50,000 tree seedlings, restoring 61 acres of land, about the size of one of YEG’s runways and the terminal building.
Wild + Pine planted the seedlings as part of this pioneering afforestation carbon removal project in Central Alberta. The seedlings used in the project contained a mix of tree and shrub species grown in Wild + Pine’s Bioprism Advanced Vertical Greenhouse located at the airport.
“It’s extremely important to our airport that we protect our environment and foster social well-being in the communities we operate in. Natural landscape restoration is crucial to securing a livable future. We know that removing carbon from the atmosphere takes many years, and we are dedicated to taking critical steps now using nature-based climate solutions with organizations like Wild + Pine. We are devoted to doing our part to improve natural landscapes for all generations to enjoy," said Myron Keehn, YEG President & CEO.
Wild + Pine is a Certified B Corporation and an architect of multi-generational Canadian forest projects. By utilizing advanced technologies, rigorous scientific methodology and forestry expertise, Wild + Pine creates carbon removal assets through afforestation. They help sustainability leaders like YEG achieve their corporate climate goals by restoring landscapes and improving regional biodiversity.
As part of its innovative approach, Wild + Pine grows a wide variety of seedlings inside its high-tech vertical greenhouse, an artificial growing environment to produce local trees and shrubs. The greenhouse reduces water usage and increases the efficiency of crop iterations, scaling the company’s impact by planting a community of native species representative of the natural ecosite.
Once Wild + Pine completes restoration activities in the StoneWoods Forest Carbon Project, the forest will be moved into conservation and stewarded for generations by one of their partners, the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The habitat will be a safeguard for local species and remain a protected wildlife corridor between the boreal forest and the prairies.
