Darlene Pearson
Ottawa’s urban forest is shrinking. It is natural to lose trees to age and disease, but new development projects inflict additional pressures and threaten the very existence of urban trees.
To address this problem, the Centretown Community Association (CCA) is launching a new initiative, the Neighbourwoods project. Volunteers will collect information on Centretown’s trees and develop a stewardship plan to protect and enhance the tree canopy. The CCA wages a non-stop battle for trees by defending existing trees and advocating for space for mature trees in almost every proposed development project.
Neighbourwoods is a program created in 1995 by University of Toronto Professors Andy Kenney and Danijela Puric-Mladenovic. It encourages people to inventory and evaluate trees on their street or in the neighbourhood. The inventory includes trees on both private and public lands. See: neighbourwoods.org
In 2019, the City of Ottawa declared a climate emergency. A 2020 study has projected that Ottawa’s temperatures will rise significantly in the future. Given those pressures, it is critical to preserve our tree canopy for the many benefits it offers.
Trees cycle our water, clean our air, store carbon and house biodiversity. They help reduce summer peak temperatures, save on energy costs in buildings and reduce air pollution. They are fundamental to a city’s efforts to adapt to climate change.
Trees promote mental health, reduce stress and improve social ties among neighbours. The increased use of our public greenspaces during this COVID pandemic highlights the role trees play in our mental and physical well-being.
In Centretown, the current canopy covers less than 25 percent. The CCA would like the city’s proposed 40 percent target applied to Centretown.
The Neighbourwoods model is a first step toward this target. Its standardized approach to collecting and assessing tree data such as age range, health and species will give a picture of the current state of the Centretown tree canopy. It will also identify areas for new tree plantings and focus future stewardship efforts to maintain and enhance the tree canopy in perpetuity.
Other Ottawa communities, such as Kanata-Beaverbrook, have used Neighbourwoods successfully. A new group is up and running in Old Ottawa South. The CCA hopes to collaborate with these and other groups to build a network to promote a bigger, healthier urban tree canopy.
The CCA is looking for volunteers who want to learn about trees and work for a healthy and thriving tree canopy in Centretown. An initial Zoom meeting to form the Tree Canopy Team will be held Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m.
If you are interested, please contact Darlene at dpearson.ottawa@gmail.com