Community group receives funding to plant new trees

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This article was published 13/07/2022 (1218 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RIVERVIEW

LORD ROBERTS

After a map outlining Riverview’s diseased trees was released two years ago, neighbours Wendy Botkin and May Wady knew they had to take action.

Last summer, Botkin, Wady and the newly founded Trees Riverview committee co-ordinated the planting of 55 disease-resistant trees on the boulevards of Arnold Avenue and Baltimore Road to revitalize the neighbourhood’s beloved urban canopy.

“Part of what we do is try to find an area where there are a bunch of trees missing so you can actually see the difference,” said Trees Riverview co-chair Botkin, adding last year’s funding supported the cost of trees and two years’ worth of maintenance and watering services.

Winnipeg has the largest urban elm tree forest in North America, but after Dutch elm disease’s arrival in 1975, the city began losing more trees with each passing year. By 2021, the average annual public tree removal rate increased from 4,300 trees per year in 2019 to more than 5,500, according to the State of the Urban Forest report.

On average, 2,000 public trees are planted each year, but many of these are focused on streets and parks in newer developments of the city rather than to replace mature trees lost in older neighbourhoods.

“It changes the whole nature of the street, so you go from one with a lush, shady canopy to almost a new development starting again,” said Botkin, who has lived in Riverview since 2001. “You notice the difference right away.”

Before last year’s planting kicked off, Botkin and Wady consulted similar community groups in Glenelm, River Heights and Kingston Crescent. In collaboration with the urban forestry branch, the group selected trees not susceptible to disease and pests. Boulevard trees were primarily shade trees, and smaller ornamental, species were chosen for areas where they didn’t want anything that would grow too tall.

After last summer’s success, Botkin and Wady submitted another application to the City Centre community committee requesting funding for Trees Riverview’s 2022 planting and public awareness project. The project, which will total an estimated $28,500 and result in 25 to 30 new trees, has already received financial support from Red River Co-op ($2,000), a private citizen donor ($9,000) and Assiniboine Credit Union ($5,000).

The remaining $12,298 will once again come from the City of Winnipeg’s land dedication reserve fund.

“As long as we can contribute in meaningful ways to the tree canopy in our neighbourhood and potentially share our experience with groups in other neighbourhoods, we want to he doing that,” Botkin said.

Trees Riverview is currently in the process of developing a website so they can communicate information in the neighbourhood more efficiently. They will also be managing funds for a Riverview Community Centre tree planting initiative spearhead by private donors who want to give back to the community.

This year’s plant is scheduled to take place in the fall.

If you’d like to get involved with the organization or donate to have additional trees planted, email treesriverview@gmail.com