Somerville Nurseries owner feels ‘jerked around’ after tree planting program gets axed
Fred Somerville
Forests Ontario CEO Rob Keen says province is ‘dismantling’ agency’s capacity to plant trees
by Brad Pritchard Alliston Herald
Somerville Nurseries in Everett is going to feel the brunt of the province’s decision to end the 50 Million Trees Program.
The nursery is one of the main suppliers of stock for the program at about one million seedlings per year.
“It was a big order we had, so this is a major disappointment, so we will have to re-tool what we are growing,” said owner Fred Somerville.
Following last year’s closure of the seed plant in Angus, Somerville made major investments in his business to the tune of more than $100,000 to build a new storage freezer, along with germination and seed sorting rooms.
Unless he can find new customers, all of that may have been for nothing.
“We feel we are totally being jerked around,” he said.
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