The Glenelm Tree Committee was formed in late 2018 in response to the alarming rate of tree loss that we were seeing in Glenelm, primarily of mature American Elms on our boulevards. Our goal was to investigate whether there was anything we could do to slow the rate of elm loss, and to try to reforest the many vacant spots in our boulevards where there were previously trees.
Over the past 5+ years we have been:
- planting street and park trees
- monitoring the inventory of boulevard trees and Dutch Elm Disease losses
- inoculating mature elms to protect against Dutch Elm Disease
- coordinating a neighbourhood-wide cankerworm banding campaign
- educating neighbours & students on how they can play a role in preserving our urban forest, and
- advocating for greater investment in urban forestry by the city through the Trees Please Winnipeg Coalition
When we began our Boulevard Tree Project, there were 945 public trees in Glenelm (boulevards and parks). We are happy that five years in, the count has grown to 1083 public trees.
This was made possible by a $53,000 tree planting grant we received in 2019, complemented by an increased number of boulevard and park plantings by the city!
During this time, the diversity of our public trees in Glenelm has been growing, too. While it’s hard to lose the majestic elms and the “cathedral arch” canopy that they created, it has given us the opportunity to add many new species (from Ohio buckeyes to maples to ornamental crabapples to linden and more!). This helps us move away from fragile monocultures of elm and ash and towards a diverse, resilient urban forest that is less vulnerable to any single threat, such as insect threats or pathogens.