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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">I’m in agreement with Alex on this. While cities also benefit from “natural capital” such as intact watersheds that provide clean water, there’s a lot of “green infrastructure” being installed and
maintained to provide benefits such as storm water management. This includes trees, bioswales and other vegetation. It’s installed and maintained just like other infrastructure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Ian Wilson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">City of Kelowna<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> CANUFNET <canufnet-bounces@list.web.net>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Alex Satel via CANUFNET<br>
<b>Sent:</b> February 19, 2021 9:41 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Canadian Urban Forest Network <canufnet@list.web.net><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Alex Satel <asatel@ufis.ca><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [CANUFNET] Urban Trees Are Infrastructure - Natural Capital Assets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:13.0pt;background:#A00000"><b><span style="color:white">CAUTION:</span></b><span style="color:white"> External email - Check before you click!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Naomi,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">With respect – it is my humble opinion, and one that I know is shared by many, that trees and urban forests in fact
<i>are</i> infrastructure. I suspect your comment might ruffle more than a few feathers in the Canadian urban forestry community, many members of which have been working long and hard for our urban forests to be recognized precisely as such. I would argue that
the distinction of whether something is a human physical construct or not is an arbitrary and outmoded way to define infrastructure – what counts is why and how those assets are managed for the services they provide to communities and the environment.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">While neither your citation nor mine are from Manitoba—the home of Trees Please Winnipeg—it may be of interest to you to note that Ontario Regulation
<i>O. Reg. 588/17: Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure</i> under the
<i>Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act</i>, 2015, S.O. 2015, c. 15 defines a green infrastructure asset as:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“an infrastructure asset consisting of natural or human-made elements that provide ecological and hydrological functions and processes and includes natural heritage features and systems, parklands, stormwater management systems,
<b>street trees, urban forests</b>, natural channels, permeable surfaces and green roofs.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps Manitoba has similar legislation—that I don’t know. Regardless, the whole objective is to recognize trees and urban forests as the vital community infrastructure assets they are so that they will be managed using some of the same
principles and approaches as more “traditional” human-constructed municipal infrastructure . In fact, the above-cited regulation compels Ontario municipalities to do just that by 2023, and with very good reason.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For a great example of the application of infrastructure asset management principles to urban forest
<i>infrastructure assets</i>, refer to York Region’s Green Asset Management Plan, and to the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition’s Urban Forest Asset Management Primer
<a href="https://greeninfrastructureontario.org/app/uploads/2016/06/UF-Toolkit-Part-2-Asset-Management-Primer-Final.pdf">
here</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With kind regards,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alex<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Alexander Satel, MFC<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Urban forestry and arboricultural consultant
<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">ISA Certified Arborist ON-1353A<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
Urban Forest Innovations, Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">1331 Northaven Drive<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Mississauga, ON L5G 4E8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">T: (905) 274-1022
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0070C0"><a href="mailto:asatel@ufis.ca">asatel@ufis.ca</a></span></u><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0070C0"><br>
</span><u><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0070C0">urbanforestinnovations.com<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> CANUFNET <<a href="mailto:canufnet-bounces@list.web.net">canufnet-bounces@list.web.net</a>>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Naomi Zurcher via CANUFNET<br>
<b>Sent:</b> February 19, 2021 12:18 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Canadian Urban Forest Network <<a href="mailto:canufnet@list.web.net">canufnet@list.web.net</a>><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Naomi Zurcher <<a href="mailto:treerap@sprintmail.com">treerap@sprintmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [CANUFNET] Urban Trees Are Infrastructure - Natural Capital Assets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi Erna:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">You’ll forgive me but trees are NOT infrastructure.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Infrastructure is what humans construct. Trees are a living organism - NOT a human construct.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Trees are an essential part of the Urban Forest which can be defined as follows:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">" <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:DE">
The Urban Forest is an ecosystem characterized by the presence of trees and related flora and fauna, the soils and landscapes they populate and the air and water resource they coexist with, all in a dynamic association with people and their human settlements."
(Zürcher, N. In review<i>.</i> <i>Connecting Trees with People: Synergistic Strategies for Growing the Urban Forest</i>. Springer Publishing)</span> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Green infrastructure is a term that was coined by the US EPA and was defined as follows:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">"<span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif;color:#212121">Section 502 of the Clean Water Act defines green infrastructure as "...the range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement or other
permeable surfaces or substrates, stormwater harvest and reuse, or landscaping to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters."</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif;color:#212121">Green infrastructure is a cost-effective, resilient approach to managing wet weather impacts that provides many community benefits. While single-purpose
gray stormwater infrastructure—conventional piped drainage and water treatment systems—is designed to move urban stormwater away from the built environment, green infrastructure reduces and treats stormwater at its source while delivering environmental, social,
and economic benefits…”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure">https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you for your attention to this important information<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Kind regards<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Naomi Zürcher<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Feb 19, 2021, at 11:52 AM, ebuffie--- via CANUFNET <<a href="mailto:canufnet@list.web.net">canufnet@list.web.net</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi Everyone,<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Trees Please Winnipeg has made a budget submission to the federal government asking for natural infrastructure funds for urban forests. If you have time you can help to support our efforts by reading our submission here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VpBsp1Ai_wJPX7020UqP4miVDZlVeoVA/view?fbclid=IwAR32HXwFpjVrYvEXUPwKCjTCB7P5tcLOa4HwKr8A0M3BkGeJOqN1ViKXugU">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VpBsp1Ai_wJPX7020UqP4miVDZlVeoVA/view?fbclid=IwAR32HXwFpjVrYvEXUPwKCjTCB7P5tcLOa4HwKr8A0M3BkGeJOqN1ViKXugU</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Then take a few minutes to:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"inherit",serif;color:#050505">1. Fill out the budget 2021 questionnaire and make sure you include “Invest in Communities through public transit, affordable housing, and green infrastructure”
as one of your choices for Question One. <a href="https://letstalkbudget2021.ca/pre_budget_consultations">
https://letstalkbudget2021.ca/pre_budget_consultations</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"inherit",serif;color:#050505"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"inherit",serif;color:#050505;background:white">2. EMAIL Finance Minister Freeland and cc your MP to let them know why you urban trees matter and support our request for infrastructure funding.
</span><a href="mailto:Chrystia.Freeland@parl.gc.ca"><span style="font-family:"inherit",serif">Chrystia.Freeland@parl.gc.ca</span></a> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">You can also read an oped on the subject here:<a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/urban-forest-deserves-multi-layered-support-573826582.html?fbclid=IwAR0BcLtz36j_RckKmlpYrbWGsvcDM-SPPCLC42H17kRJ7Yfvu351k-o6NaE">https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/urban-forest-deserves-multi-layered-support-573826582.html?fbclid=IwAR0BcLtz36j_RckKmlpYrbWGsvcDM-SPPCLC42H17kRJ7Yfvu351k-o6NaE</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks for your time!<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Erna<o:p></o:p></p>
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