By Diana Giesbrecht
Winnipeggers are justifiably protective of their trees. This is a tradition that goes back to the famous Wolseley Elm and the women in 1957 who bravely protected it from destruction for the sake of a road. Sadly, the city eventually won that battle, and a tree that had stood since 1860 was unceremoniously cut down.
I’ve always been proud of the fact that whenever family from other cities have visited — some as far away as New Zealand — have been stunned by how green our city is. It’s particularly striking just how many trees we have when you’re able to look down on the city from a tall building. For a “prairie town”, we appear to be located in the center of a gorgeous green forest.
Trees, and nature in general, are important to our well being, as well as the environment. They lower utility costs by helping to shade our homes in summer and shield them from cold winds in winter. Not convinced? Then think of trees as investments in terms of curb appeal and the value they add to your home. As soon as you plant trees on your property, they begin to rise in value and continue to appreciate as they mature. Trees can enhance property values anywhere from five to 20 per cent. In a recent Gallup research project, home buyers said they felt landscaping added over 14 per cent to their home’s selling price.
I grew up in a brand new subdivision, and all the trees were babies for most of my time living there. So it’s understandable that older, character neighbourhoods with their mature trees called to me. When I bought my first house, it was in West Kildonan with its streets lined by majestic elms. Now that I’ve recently relocated to Southdale, the trees aren’t elms, but they’re no less prolific. Take a drive down Cottonwood Road to see some truly spectacular cottonwoods towering over the houses and shading the streets.
Now try to picture our city, including streets like Wellington and Broadway, neighourhoods like St. Boniface or River Heights, and parks like Assiniboine and Kildonan, without those trees. Not a pretty sight. And we have reason to be concerned. Winnipeg’s urban canopy isn’t just under threat by Dutch elm disease (DED) and emerald ash borer (EAB), as well as the effects of climate change — it’s in crisis. Winnipeg is at risk of losing approximately two-thirds of its urban canopy and is currently losing thousands of trees annually.
Drive down any established street in the spring and fall and you’ll notice what I call the “red dots of death.” Those spray-painted red circles mean that a tree is marked for removable, whether due to age or disease or storm damage. An elm tree, for example, can live up to 300 years, so as long as we protect our existing trees from disease and abuse, they can be with us for a very long time. Continuously planting a diversity of trees, which also experiences less devastating results from insects or disease than a single species of tree planted over a large area, is imperative.
Ideally, every homeowner would plant one large tree in their front yard right now, so that by the time the really old trees start to fail, these youngsters will be nearing full maturity and replacing the gorgeous green canopy we’re continuously losing. Remember the cottonwoods I mentioned earlier? They only have a lifespan of 70 years and are already nearing 60 years of age. Some have already been removed. I haven’t noticed that any are being replaced. That was also a trend I observed when I lived in West Kildonan.
With that in mind, we have the power and resources to do our part to maintain Winnipeg’s lush green reputation. Purchase and plant a tree today. It’s not hard to do. In fact, the Winnipeg ReLeaf Strategy is there to help. Depending on the tree you want to plant, they can be expensive, but ReLeaf offers tree packages for only $70. Every tree package includes the tree or trees you selected, mulch, trunk guards, and proper tree planting information to help you give your new tree its best start in life. There are currently nine tree packages to choose from and many are still available and waiting for a new home.
The ReLeaf program takes place every spring and fall and is an initiative of Trees Winnipeg, a non-profit charity dedicated to promoting the benefits of and concerns about trees in Winnipeg’s urban areas, focusing on tree diversity and care.
Trees Winnipeg began as a coalition of citizens in neighbourhood groups that had already dedicated themselves to preserving trees. They were founded in 1992 in response to the still-ongoing threat of Dutch elm disease that has resulted in the removal of over 33,000 of Winnipeg’s iconic elm trees since 2016 — enough trees to fill 330 city blocks! Visit treeswinnipeg.org for more information on what this organization is doing to help protect our green future. To order your tree package, visit releaf.tw/collections/all for more information. Pick-up day is June 4, so hurry!
Have you heard of the Million Tree Challenge (MTC)? MTC calls on all Winnipeggers to help plant a million new trees in Winnipeg by the time our city’s population reaches one million. Trees Winnipeg and the City of Winnipeg have been working together to inspire Winnipeggers to join their efforts in expanding our urban tree canopy. Fortunately, the City of Winnipeg does have a 20-year plan to help preserve our urban tree canopy. Known as the Urban Forestry Strategy, this initiative seeks to guide the protection, preservation and management of our trees.
The Urban Forestry Strategy is asking for feedback from the public to help guide them in finalizing the plan and ensuring that Winnipeg’s urban forest can remain viable well into the future. If you’re anything like me, you have a lot to say about that issue. The public can participate in two online open houses scheduled for Tuesday, June 14, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., and on Wednesday, June 15, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. To register for an open house, ask questions about the events, or arrange alternate formats or interpretation in order to participate, call 1-604-733-4886 or email urbanforest@winnipeg.ca. You can also visit winnipeg.ca/urban-
forest for more information, as well as to fill out a survey on the topic.
We all enjoy our short summers. We are particularly privileged to be able to take a healing stroll under tall trees down almost any street in our city. Set aside the time to plant a tree and ensure that the lush beauty we see today is still there to enjoy tomorrow.
Diana Giesbrecht is a Senior Graphic Designer at the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate News and an unapologetic tree-hugger.