The design of our beautiful neighbourhood includes hundreds of trees, most of which were planted before 2015 in anticipation of the Pan Am Games. We enjoy them today!
However in the intervening years a number of trees have run into trouble. Some have died, some are ailing. In order to expedite City action on this issue, we asked residents to volunteer to do a complete survey of all the trees in Canary District.
Why It’s Important
A tree is a very big investment, that gives beauty, shade, and oxygen for many years, and requires very little maintenance. But, especially in the case of trees set by a concrete sidewalk, not NO maintenance. We need to ensure our trees are given the care and attention they need.
The Story
In 2023 a resident began emailing the City to draw attention to some of the trees in the area that did not survive. Embarrassingly, several of these were trees planted in honour of countries that participated in the Pan Am Games in 2015.
After some persistence and the intervention of the Councillor's office, City workers appeared and replaced several trees. The Canary District Neighbourhood Association reached out to residents to recruit volunteers to identify and map all the sick and dead trees in the area. The Tree Survey was published June 2024 and shared with the City. Representatives from Urban Forestry came to meet with us and view the neighbourhood in July 2024. They advised us to report the trees individually via the City's 311 system to get them into the service queue.
In October 2024 a team of volunteers walked the neighbourhood and reported 70 trees (or stumps) in need of urgent attention. Unfortunately Urban Forestry operations are very backed up at the moment so action on non-emergency requests regarding street trees will take 12-18 months.
What You Can Do
- Click here to read our Tree Survey results.
- If you'd like to be part of the team protecting the trees on an ongoing basis, sign up here and mention "Trees" as the topic you're interested in.
- Watch our newsletter and social media for updates.