As we write this, all eyes are on the City of Calgary’s genuine water crisis, a result of a major feeder water main break near 16 Avenue and Home Road NW. Calgarians have been challenged to reduce our water consumption from 650 million litres per day to less than 500 million litres, the production capacity of the Glenmore water treatment plant. In fact, Calgarians have been able to reduce consumption to around 450 million litres per day, nearly 30% reduction in daily consumption. This has meant some inconvenience for us, including watching our gardens and trees go without water and cutting down our use of the water in the home. By the time you read this, we’ll know how the City’s efforts turned out.
Speaking of the City’s efforts, we have all noticed the unmowed state of the parks in our neighbourhood; some residents have gone ahead and cleaned up their own parks, but some parks have remained fairly ‘natural’. We have spoken to the City Parks department and thanks to the efforts of Holly Shaw in Councillor Penner’s office, we have learned that in fact, mowing was delayed by the wet weather in late May and early June. That wet weather makes the park grounds soft and prone to compaction by the large mowing equipment. Now that better weather has arrived, mowing in our neighbourhood is getting done in time for Neighbour Day on June 15.
Finally, the City Urban Forestry department has kept us up to date on its efforts this year to trim, maintain and replant trees in our area. Pruning of trees continues – including some trees which are tall enough to require specialist bucket trucks to reach the top boughs. You will notice red spots in some parks and on the boulevards where new trees will be planted this year. The City keeps an inventory of every single tree under its responsibility. 19 new trees are planned for the neighbourhood; those trees will be watered for five to seven years by the City.
Your first reaction may be “that’s all?” and we would agree. Our trees are in fact at the heart of our community and make our community so enjoyable for all of us. However, we do understand that the City of Calgary has to maintain a huge number of communities (206 at last count!) those resources get stretched out. So, as a community we are going to have to step up and contribute to those efforts if we want to see more trees planted. A tree can cost from $200 for small saplings up to over $1,000 for larger calliper trees (the diameter of the trunk). Planting costs can exceed the cost of the tree. We’re going to need contributions and donations from community members, not only to buy and plant a tree, but to support water efforts each summer for a number of years. What would it mean to you to have more trees planted? Send us a note and let us know what you would like to see!
Gord Paynter
WRCA Director of Urban Forestry
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