Jesse Winter, Centretown News
Debra Huron demonstrates at the National Tree Day celebration at Lansdowne Park.The City of Ottawa is laying down the necessary roots to develop an urban forest management plan in the future.
The city hosted a tree expo Sept. 23 to celebrate National Tree Day and introduce the public to the urban forest management plan. Residents were invited to learn about urban trees and discuss the importance of having a long-term plan for green space in the city.
Coun. David Chernushenko, chair of the city’s environment committee, explains that although the city has many policies, initiatives and regulations in place relating to trees there is currently no long term plan for Ottawa’s urban forest.
Those involved say the urban forest management plan will highlight the city’s existing forest management programs, identify gaps and list clear objectives for the future that will increase public engagement.
Many other major Canadian cities have some sort of urban forest management plan in place. Chernushenko says it is clear Ottawa needs one too.
“Collectively people are feeling that there is a loss and that our tree canopy should be better,” he says.
Velta Tomsons, the Tree Ottawa campaign organizer at Ecology Ottawa, says the organization supports the development of this plan and thinks it is a necessary move for the city.
The city has partnered with Tree Ottawa and set a goal of planting a million trees by 2017. Tomsons says the campaign is designed as the “ultimate collaboration” to get everyone involved in the issue.
“We are not just planting a million trees, we are also protecting those trees and promoting green space,” she says.
The Tree Ottawa campaign, similar to the development of the urban forest management plan, is just another way the city is working to ensure a healthy tree canopy for the future.
Philip van Wassenaer, a leading expert in the field, was the keynote speaker at the city’s tree expo. He is also the head of the consulting team that has been hired by the city to work on the urban forest management plan.
During his keynote speech at the expo he stressed the importance of planting a variety of species.
He says that ash trees make up 25 per cent of the tree population in Ottawa, and because of an infestation of a beetle called the emerald ash borer these trees are now dying or dead.
“Increasing the diversity of species and the age is going to be a benefit in the long term planning and something we hope to look at,” van Wassenaer says.
The plan is still in the very early stages of development and van Wassenaer says there is still a lot of work to be done.
His consultation team plans to work with the city, internal stakeholders and others who have a definite influence in the future of the urban forest, as well as consulting with the public.
“We really need to learn what is driving people’s interest in the urban forest. What are the challenges, what are the threats?” he says. “We want to get that influence from all these different groups at the front end to help us determine where Ottawa wants to go.”
While working to develop this plan the team will also examine the urban forest management practices from other cities. However, van Wassenaer says the ultimate goal is to not simply adopt the best practices from other cities but develop a practical and achievable plan that is focused on Ottawa specifically.
It is expected that public consultations will begin in November. City staff expects the plan will take a year and a half to complete.