The Tree Town Hall: Great News and A Warning About the Future of the Urban Forest

On June 10th , The Tree Town Hall in Wolseley brought together members of Winnipeg’s Urban Forestry Department (UFD) and Trees Winnipeg to deliver some good news, as well as a warning, to a large audience of Wolseley residents: the fight to preserve our urban forest isn’t over yet.

While UFD has caught up on the backlog of boulevard tree re-plantings in our neighbourhood, and promises to stump and replace those taken down this summer within two years, Winnipeg is now facing serious threats to its ash trees. Two pests, cottony ash psylid and the emerald ash borer, may well result in the loss of almost half-a-million ash
trees citywide.

Wolseley is fortunate. Only a small portion of our urban forest, 17%, is made up of ash trees, while 50% is composed of Elms. As a result the primary focus here will continue to be on the fight against Dutch Elm Disease. For more information on Wolseley’s forest, Winnipeg’s urban forest as a whole and the current threats to ash trees see the power point presentations below.

So what does it all mean?
In response to the continuing problem of Dutch Elm Disease and the looming crisis with our ash trees, UFD’s aim is to diversify Winnipeg’s urban forest as quickly as possible, to ensure, that in future, no one pest can wipe out a huge swath of our forest.

That plan is already underway, with a wide variety of trees now being planted on boulevards, parks and public land across the city. As a result, our neighbourhood and others across Winnipeg will feature a very different tree canopy in the future – one that is as bio-diverse as our human community. For more information on the tree varieties UFD is now planting on city land click here.

What You Can Do:

• Consider Protection for Your Ash Tree:
  • If you have an ash on your property that’s not yet infected, you may be able to extend its life for up to ten years by inoculating your tree. For more information about ash tree inoculations consult your local arborist. For more information on the emerald ash borer click here. 
• Plant Trees on Your Property:
  • One way we can ensure that our neighbourhood stays green is by planting more trees on our own properties. So the Wolseley Greenspace Committee and Trees Winnipeg are planning to host a ReLeaf Tree Planting workshop in 2020, right here in Wolseley. Not only will you learn the best way to plant a tree, you’ll receive one or two trees for your property, all for the low price of $55.00. For more information on the Releaf Program.  And stay tuned for an announcement about the Wolseley ReLeaf workshop in January 2020.
• Join Forest Watch:
  • A “citizen scientist” project launched by Trees Winnipeg, Forest Watch offers you and your family a role to play in monitoring the health of our urban forest. You’ll receive training on how to spot a tree that’s under attack and report it to the city. 
• Adopt a Boulevard Tree:
  • If a new boulevard tree has been planted on your block consider adopting that tree with your neighbours. New trees need lots of water and by banding together with two or three neighbours, you can offset the water costs and keep your new tree healthy and thriving!