[CANUFNET] Tree planting in the downtown core

Mon Aug 28 14:33:07 EDT 2017

Good afternoon Beth,

Downtown cores have always been a challenge and installing trees after the fact always brings a difficult element to Forestry.  Do you know whether there are future plans to revitalize some or all of this area?  It may be worth it to talk to the planners and the engineers and see what their thoughts are.  Maybe they can provide some insight or be able to suggest steps that could be taken to help accomplish the goal you would like to work towards.

Here in North Battleford we have under taken a multi-million dollar revitalization project in our downtown core.  The great thing here is that the City Engineer, the Planning Department and myself have worked very well together to ensure that all parties find success to help ensure that the final outcome is one that we can all be proud of. This is our Legacy to the City so it needs to be done right and done well.

Silva cells have been talked about, however budget always dictates how the project is done.  In our case we went with a well thought out tree pit and installed root barriers/root director provided by citygreen.com<http://citygreen.com>.

We decided that to give the trees the best head start we went in and worked on soil amendment which is always hard to do.  A circular root director was installed before hand and was large enough to support good root growth for the first few years before the roots are redirected.

I decided to go with 15 gallon containers stock instead of ball and burlap, for the simple reason of giving the tree the best head start in a downtown planting situation with the least amount of stress to the tree.  The tree wells also allow my staff to install 2" of mulch before putting the grates back on and then a gator bag installed on top of the grate.

I used this as a training session on proper tree planting techniques, showed the staff and explained the trunk flare and why we do not bury it in soil, how the tree should be positioned and the care afterwards.  There is always more than just this but getting them involved, having our city engineer and planner involved so they understand as well - the end result will hopefully be a better understanding by all and a healthy happy tree that will serve the community well for years to come.

This is a picture that I took this morning of the first 6 trees (Brandon Elm and Trojan Ash) that were installed.  Beth the difference a few trees make in a downtown core is unbelievable - with all that concrete the trees bring back a sense of life to the area.

I wish you all the best as you move forward and hope that solutions can be found - just know that sometimes the smallest battles require the greatest amount of work.  However those small battles also bring with them the majority of the time the greatest amount of satisfaction.

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Have a super day Beth.

Timothy Yeaman
Infrastructure Foreman Forestry
City of North Battleford
Tyeaman at cityofnb.ca<mailto:Tyeaman at cityofnb.ca>
306-445-1748
306-481-5016

On Aug 28, 2017, at 10:42 AM, Naomi Zurcher via CANUFNET <canufnet at list.web.net<mailto:canufnet at list.web.net>> wrote:

Hi Beth:

What are the possibilities of removing concrete paving between trees - linear along the curb. You could improve the compaction situation by doing radial trenching. You could also use permiable pavers to create a pedestrian path midway but this would greatly increase rooting space and allow development of a root community. I would also cover the now open soil with wood chips to reduce further compaction and provide an organic layer.

The streets are a challenge for everyone.

all the best
naomi
On Aug 28, 2017, at 12:02 PM, "Hoar, Beth via CANUFNET" <canufnet at list.web.net<mailto:canufnet at list.web.net>> wrote:

Hi
We are trying to remediate some tree planting sites in our downtown area in Charlottetown.
All infrastructure is in place and it’s a concrete/pavement jungle.
We don’t have the budget to change the infrastructure much or put in a system such as silva cells.

I have been looking at other municipalities spatial requirements for growing healthy trees.
We can open up some spaces by removing pavers and remediating the soil but…. getting an acceptable soil volume for the trees will be a challenge.

Looking for some advice on how other municipalities handle this situation.
Thanks
Beth

Beth Hoar
Parkland Conservationist
ISA Certified Arborist AT-0703A

City of Charlottetown
PO Box 98, 199 Queen Street
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Canada, C1A 7K2
Office: 902-629-4122
Fax: 902-629-6919

bhoar at charlottetown.ca<mailto:bhoar at charlottetown.ca>
www.charlottetown.ca<http://www.charlottetown.ca>

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