Hamilton will plant thousands more trees this year -- if COVID allows

Thespec.com
May 3, 2021

The city plans to plant thousands more trees than normal this year to try to play catch-up with a killer invasive beetle.

The tree-killing emerald ash borer has forced the city to take an emergency axe to 25,000 sick, falling-hazard ash on public land over nearly a decade. Replanting efforts have not kept up with the city’s vow to replace dead ash one-for-one.

But this year, Hamilton aims to replant 5,445 trees to help catch up -- more than double the annual ash replacement average -- on top of typical street, new development and volunteer partner plantings.

Altogether, the city aims to add nearly 14,500 new trees or saplings on municipal land this year, plus hundreds more on residential property -- if the pandemic allows. “We’re ramping up,” said forestry manager Sam Scarlett. “But obviously there’s a big asterisk beside that number because of COVID.”

This year’s planting plan comes as residents contemplate a proposed “urban forest strategy” aimed at promoting a leafier canopy over shade-starved city neighbourhoods. There’s plenty of incentive to get growing.

The estimated leafy coverage for the urban city right now is 21 per cent, only two-thirds of the way to a longtime goal of 30 per cent. Another challenge: the latest tree health survey suggests more than nine per cent of city trees planted a year earlier ended up dying.

That’s the highest mortality rate in the last three years -- although still within the five to 10 per cent range common to comparable municipalities. Scarlett said the city is looking at tree delivery, planting and watering conditions to find ways to prevent some of those new-tree deaths.

As always, the city is promoting its free street tree program, which allows you to order up a new tree to the city-owned portion of your front yard along the road allowance. (Planting began earlier this week.)

Mass plantings of tiny saplings in park or woodland areas will also go ahead under the 50 Million Trees program, which was briefly axed by the province in 2019 but resurrected with federal cash.

Community agencies like Green Venture and Environment Hamilton hope to team up with the city to promote or do volunteer plantings on public land this year, too.

Environment Hamilton is hoping to plant more trees near Windermere Basin -- but COVID restrictions on gatherings will probably delay the effort until fall, said Lynda Lukasik. “We have had as many as one hundred volunteers come out to one event, so obviously in this (pandemic) environment that will have to wait,” she said.

A crew from Northern Landscaping plants a China snow lilac tree on Margaret Avenue in Stoney Creek. The City of Hamilton has launched an aggresive tree planting strategy in the wake of thousands of ash trees being cut down due to the ash borer. Katarina Post makes sure the tree is straight.

In the meantime, the organization is promoting its Trees Please native planting program and also handing out seeds for native trees like red oak, white pine and Kentucky coffee tree.

Councillors in several old city wards have also advertised “free tree” giveaways this year for residents interested in planting on private property, including an ongoing effort in wards 5 and 8.

Coun. John-Paul Danko said he is hoping residents take part in Ward 8 -- which the city’s urban forest map pegs as having the most sparse canopy coverage in urban Hamilton (7.6 per cent.)

“I think the point is even if we fill every available city boulevard space with trees, we will need to do more on private property to meet our (urban forest) goals,” he said.