Community group not waiting for nature to replace trees: The Fixer
Guildwood residents qualify for discounts on new trees, after the 2013 ice storm and ash borers decimated the tree cover.

thestar.com
Feb. 28, 2016
By Jack Lakey

It’s been a rough time for trees along the Scarborough Bluffs, but a community group isn’t waiting for them to grow back on their own.

Starting this spring, residents qualify for large discounts on the purchase of young trees, with the cost subsidized with money raised by the Guildwood Village Community Association.

There aren’t many places in Toronto with more trees than Guildwood, at least until the one-two punch of the devastating ice storm in December 2013, and the emerald ash borer infestation.

The ice storm felled or damaged a huge number of trees on public property and also in homeowners’ yards. Hundreds of damaged trees had to be cut down for safety reasons.

The ice storm damage converged with the discovery that emerald ash borers had wormed their way into a large number of ash trees, more plentiful in Guildwood than anywhere else in the city.

Over the past two years, the whine of chainsaws has been heard constantly, as damaged and infested trees have been cut down, significantly reducing the local tree canopy.

It’s upsetting for many residents who love their neighbourhood because of all the trees, prompting the community association to create an initiative to bring back at least some of them.

Dave Arnold, president of the community association, said they got together with Sheridan Nurseries to provide a 20 per cent discount on the purchase of young native trees that normally cost $150 to $300 each.

The community association will also offer a $50 subsidy on the purchase of each homeowner’s first tree, up to a limit of 500, said Arnold.

“We wanted to put the money back into the community,” he said, noting that Sheridan staff will come to individual homes for a consultation on which trees would be best, and will also plant and mulch them as part of the deal.

“The amount of trees we have lost is huge, so we thought a project to restore them would really make a difference,” he said, adding that he’d like to see community groups do the same thing in other areas.

An information meeting on the project will be held on March 9 at the Church of the Holy Trinity at 85 Livingston Rd., where residents can sign up for trees.