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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>With regard to Travis’
comments, it seems to me that this wording leaves it completely open to
whatever subjective interpretation your inspectors may have on any
particular day, with no recourse whatsoever for the contractors or nurseries
that have their trees rejected. You are basically saying that a tree must
conform to your standards, whatever they may be, right or wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>In point of fact, trees are not normally
high headed, and must be pruned that way in the nursery. Such pruning is
clearly detrimental to the health of the tree, and in most cases, stunts the
growth, reduces taper and trunk strength, and invites disease and poor
compartmentalization, which can lead to trunk cracks, sunscald and several
other defects that I can think of. This is all well researched and documented
in Alex Shigo’s book ‘A New Tree Biology” 1989 and in “Modern
Arboriculture.” 1990. Other researchers such as Gilman have since written
excellent books on the topic of pruning and pruning trees for urban areas in
the nursery, which have been universally accepted by most of the rest of North America
and the world. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And what of trees that do not
normally have a central leader in the Edmonton area? Trees like Green Ash, Mayday,
Schubert, Amur Cherry and Ornamental Crabapples very rarely possess a “single
dominant, well developed leader.” I can only imagine that very few
otherwise healthy trees of these varieties survive your inspection process!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Even if any particular Urban
Forestry department actually knew what a “healthy tree” was and
could specify this in a way that was “not open to interpretation”,
there is no guarantee that picking a tree simply on the basis of “good”
form will guarantee future good health, especially in a place where trees are
notoriously difficult to grow, such as the Western Prairies. Planting methods
are the single biggest factor influencing the success of a tree. And while you
are perfectly right not to accept a tree with obvious signs of abuse such
as scrapes and broken branches, we continue to plant the healthiest of trees in
the worst of places and blame the tree when it dies. Trees need room to grow
both above and below the ground to sustain themselves, and usually have neither
in most Urban Areas in the world today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Fixating on a tree’s form,
especially when the form is entirely unnatural to the species or variety, certainly
should never be considered the only attribute of potential good health!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>We obviously need to rethink the
whole notion of “tree health” when Urban Areas are still in the
design process. I believe it is possible to shape cities to conform to
nature, but nature cannot be retrofitted to fit our cities, if our cities are
to be sustainable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Food for thought.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'><img width=288 height=166 id="Picture_x0020_1"
src="cid:image002.jpg@01CA9FA2.74F56CC0" alt=ForTreeslogocolour><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>Gerard Fournier<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>Board Certified Master Arborist #PR-0130BT<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>Tree Canada Community Advisor-Southern Alberta<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>President<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>For Trees Company Ltd.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>1-877-390-TREE (Alberta toll-free)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'><a href="http://www.fortrees.ca/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fortrees.ca</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> canufnet-bounces@list.web.net
[mailto:canufnet-bounces@list.web.net] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Travis Kennedy<br>
<b>Sent:</b> January-27-10 4:17 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> 'Canadian Urban Forest Network'<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [CANUFNET] Healthy tree definition<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:blue'>Our Design and Construction standards touch briefly on
"healthy" but add a number of other quality measurements to reinforce
our intent:</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:blue'>Refer to section 02930 2.2 and 2.3 in <a
href="http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/PermitsLicences/D_and_C_landscapsng.pdf">Volume
5</a>: City of Edmonton Design and Construction Standards.</span><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:blue'>A design review comment that we like to make on submitted drawings
from developers usually contains some or all of the wording below (this
particular case is in reference to deciduous blvd. material):</span><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:blue'>"All trees to be high headed and exhibit a full and uniform
crown, with a single dominant, well developed leader. Trees with broken or damaged
or missing leaders will not be accepted. All plant material must conform to the
City of Edmonton Design and Construction Standards." </span><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:blue'>This comment in combination with the standard helps prevent
confusion about what is and isn't acceptable during our CCC / FAC
inspection process.</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>Regards, </span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>Travis Kennedy, BSc, AIT</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <br>
</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>River Valley, Forestry and
Environmental Services</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'> <br>
</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>12304 - 107 Street</span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <br>
</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>Edmonton, Alberta</span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <br>
</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>T5J 2R7</span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <br>
</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>p 780 496 4954</span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> </span><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span lang=EN-US
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>-----Original
Message-----<br>
<b>From:</b> canufnet-bounces@list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces@list.web.net]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Kowalyk, Bohdan (MNR)<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, January 25, 2010 7:05 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Canadian Urban Forest Network<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [CANUFNET] Healthy tree definition</span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:navy'>There are various tree classification systems depending on intent. For
some purposes, it may be appropriate to require confirmation by a qualified
person, subject to an authority’s approval, that a healthy tree is not
likely to degrade in health and functional attributes for at least the next 15
years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:navy'>Bohdan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span lang=EN-US>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> canufnet-bounces@list.web.net
[mailto:canufnet-bounces@list.web.net] <b>On Behalf Of </b>SVescio@thunderbay.ca<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, January 25, 2010 1:02 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> canufnet@list.web.net<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [CANUFNET] (no subject)</span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><br>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Hello out
there,</span> <br>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Is there an
accepted or standard definition for the term "healthy tree"? We
would like to revise the wording for acceptable condition of trees at final
inspection and do not want the health of a tree open to general interpretation.
Thanks.</span> <br>
<br>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Shelley Vescio
RPF</span> <br>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>City of Thunder
Bay</span> <br>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(807) 625-2473</span>
<br>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(807) 625-3258
(fax)</span> <br>
<br>
The information transmitted by electronic communication is intended only for
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and/or privileged material. The sender does not waive any related rights or
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</blockquote>
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