Happy April everyone! Spring seems to finally be settling in and not a moment too soon. While we are all waiting for the first shoots from our flower beds and buds on our trees, NDHA is working behind the scenes with our landscape team at ULS preparing for a busy growing season. The first priority (weather permitting of course!) will be spring cleanup of our greenspaces, medians, and boulevards.
City of Calgary “Branching Out Tree Program”
The City is working to grow and expand the tree canopy coverage within the city from 8.25% to 16%. You could get a free tree through this program – trees are provided by the City of Calgary to residents, to plant on your private property, at no cost to you. The Branching Out 2025 program is currently scheduled to open in late March or early April. You can get more information on the program webpage (https://www.calgary.ca/parks-rec-programs/nature/branching-out.html) as well as on Calgary Parks’ Facebook or Instagram pages.
Black Knot Tree Fungus – Please Prune It Out!
If you look at your trees right now and you see a dark, lumpy mass clinging to any of the branches, you probably have a tree infested with Black Knot Fungus. Black Knot is endemic to Calgary and spreads via spores from within the lumpy mass. This fungus can infect Mayday, Chokecherry (including Schubert Chokecherry trees prevalent in Discovery Ridge), and other stone fruit trees. For the survival of your infected tree, it is recommended to prune it out while the tree is dormant (no leaves), and the mass is easy to see. Specific procedures must be followed when pruning to reduce further contamination.
The City of Calgary prunes Black Knot Fungus from trees on public property within our community. Please help to control this scourge and potentially save your own tree(s) by doing the same. Also consider your safety – hiring a professional certified arborist may be the best plan. More information on Black Knot can be found on the City’s or Province’s websites under “Black Knot Fungus”.
Street Sweeping
The City of Calgary typically launches street sweeping in mid-April. At the time of writing, the community schedule is not yet available. This schedule is weather-dependent. You can access the City of Calgary website for schedule updates or to sign up for their “Street Sweeping Alert” to get notified via email or text. Please note the following:
• During the program, daytime crews will sweep in neighbourhoods Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
• Major roads are swept overnight to reduce traffic impact.
• Watch for signs in the community indicating when your street is scheduled for cleanup.
• Parking bans are in place when signs are present. Vehicles are subject to be ticketed and towed. Please move all vehicles and cart bins from the road on the posted dates and times.
The NDHA will work with ULS to ensure they have completed all median and boulevard cleanup prior to the City of Calgary carrying out street sweeping operations in our neighbourhood.
Yard Cleanup and Garbage Bins
Once the snow is gone and we truly break into spring, many of our residents begin the hard work of cleaning up their own yards in preparation for the growing season. It is always surprising how much garbage and other debris can be collected after a long winter! The NDHA would like to ask that residents use their own green/blue/black bins to dispose of waste from your household and property. We have had instances in the past where community park garbage bins were inappropriately used for the disposal of large cardboard, Styrofoam, plastics, etc. This is considered “illegal dumping”, and offenders can be fined. The City empties community bins only a few times a month; please use them as intended so that all of us can benefit from the convenience. If you find a full or overflowing bin, you can call 3-1-1 to have it emptied.
We are always happy to hear from our NDHA members. You can contact us in various ways via our website at www.ndha.ca, send us an email at [email protected], or even call us at 403-237-9595. As always, if you are interested in helping the NDHA maintain one of the most beautifully landscaped communities in Calgary, reach out through the website or email us at [email protected].
Click here to the Discovery Ridge Community News home page for the latest Discovery Ridge community updates.
