In celebration of Canada 150 and Canadian Confederation, the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin has been chosen by Tree Canada as one of 150 communities in the country as a grant recipient. $5,000 was given to the RM in conjunction with their planting 50 trees in 25 historic and significant locations across the area, said Tourism Coordinator Wayne Arseny.

Tree Canada is a non-profit organization that promotes the planting and care of trees. The organization spearheaded the campaign with the help of CN and the Government of Canada to mark 2017 as 150 years since Confederation.

Arseny noted that careful planning went into deciding where all the trees would be planted, factoring in exposure, bylaws, and the needs of farmers. Some of the 25 spots include Little Rapids First Nation and historic locations such as where the Canada-United States border was surveyed in 1872, the local CPR railway line, and the first Customs House when Manitoba became a province.

Within their grant application, Arseny said the Municipality tried to incorporate the locations chosen for tree planting "in a way that would be significant for celebrating Canada's 150th." Adding on this, he noted, "We've created a tourism site with the trees being living monuments as markers of these 25 sites."

All 25 locations will be marked by GPS and published online for those walking the Trans Canada Trail.