150th birthday present to ourselves: Trees in the Glebe

by Angela Keller-Herzog

Let’s treat ourselves for our 150th birthday in 2017! Let’s make our neighbourhood even more beautiful. Let’s adorn our neighbourhood with stately greenery by planting 150 or more new trees for our birthday! That is the idea behind the new “Trees in the Glebe” initiative.

This initiative is a partnership of the Environment Committee of the Glebe Community Association (GCA) and Tree Ottawa – Ecology Ottawa.

Incoming co-chair of the GCA Environment Committee Judith Slater commented, “What do we love about the look and feel of the Glebe? For many, if not most of us, the trees in the Glebe are a big reason to love the neighbourhood. They are calming. They are beautiful. They are impressive. They are stately. There is just something about them that is hard to put into words.”

Trees in the Glebe is a call-out to the neighbourhood to look for spots where a new generation of Glebe trees can be planted. The initiative is timely, as the Glebe has lost about 15 per cent of its canopy to the emerald ash borer. As well, many of the neighbourhood’s tall trees are aging and succession planting is sorely needed on some streets.

The GCA Environment Committee will be tracking the tree locations to see if residents plant 150 new trees over the coming year (starting this fall). They will also track the species of trees planned or planted. The committee hopes to be able to come back to the Glebe Report readership by the end of 2017 with a map showing new tree locations and species.

City foresters responsible for the Glebe area are supportive, including those working through the Trees in Trust program. The Glebe Environment Committee has prepared a Tree Selection Guide that is available on request, to help residents identify a suitable tree to plant.

The initiative will not pay for the cost of new trees, which ranges from about $50 to $150, but if requested, we will help with advice, transport of new trees from nurseries, and planting.

Contact environment@glebeca.ca to get your planned new tree on the Glebe 2017 tree map or to send your suggestion as to where one should be planted.

Angela Keller-Herzog is co-chair of the Environment Committee of the Glebe Community Association.