[CANUFNET] Mourning the trees in Arlington Woods, Ottawa ON

[Smith, Tracy via CANUFNET]

I live in Ottawa and specifically, I live in Arlington Woods, one of the areas that was devastated by a tornado on September 21st. We are so thankful that our home was not affected, it has given my family time to help friends and neighbors clear debris from their home.

For those of you who are not familiar with Arlington Woods, it is a suburb of Ottawa and was built by Developer Robert Campeau between 1968 and 1980. It is like living in a forest, yet we can drive to Parliament Hill in 20 minutes – well at least it use to be anyway.

When Campeau designed the neighborhood, he did not cut down all the trees because they were in the way, instead the homes were built with these trees in mind. These trees were mainly white pine that were remnants of a large forest planted after a fire went through the area in 1870. Up until September 21st, these pines, along with large beech, oak and maples were in abundance, lining the streets of our beautiful sought after neighborhood.

Even amongst the vast amount of devastation and destruction to the many homes in the neighborhood, the residents, including those who were impacted are mourning the loss of the trees, especially the white pines that once towered over the homes. My neighbor, Gina Radic wrote this poem and she was thrilled when I asked if I could share it with the broader Forestry community. Hope you enjoy it, I thought it worthwhile to share with you.



To Those Who Mourn a Tree
By Gina Radic

Is it strange to mourn a tree,
To shed my tears and softly weep?
Would a stranger understand
Why my feelings run so deep
For a life, neither human
Nor animal in form,
But for which I cannot help
But feel my heart, in two, is torn?

Graceful giant that once stood
Welcoming me home
Now trunk and branches shattered,
Like a giant broken bone

A lawn that once was dappled
By the sun’s game in its leaves
The soothing swishing sound as
Back and forth the branches weaved

Feeding and protecting
The squirrels I love to watch
Gently cradling baby birds
In their nest after they hatch

Majestic sentinel that seemed
To almost touch the sky
Fond memories of my child
>From a limb, swinging high

I’d lay my hand upon its trunk
Before its sad demise
I’d think of history witnessed
And marvel at its size

A century old spirit
We settled on its land
Lived and loved beneath its beauty
This tree that was so grand

All this is why I mourn a tree,
Shed my tears and softly weep
For its strength and grace now gone
Leaving memories to keep.


Tracy Smith, RPF
Forester, Forest Management Unit
City of Ottawa
2625 Queensview Drive
Ottawa, ON K2B 8K2
' (613) 580-2424 ext | poste 43319 7 (613)580-2611 •tracy.smith at ottawa.ca

[ForestryBWbilcrop.jpg]





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