City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/36513
City of Toronto staff climber prunes a street tree. the proactive maintenance program has already been employed, area land uses (through aerial imagery), and areas where EAB has been detected and/or where trees have already been identified to be declining or dead as a result of EAB. What are we happy about? Urban Forestry has been supported in numerous City policies and through the budget process. We have successfully raised the awareness of the contribu- tion the urban forest makes to the well-being and liveability of the City. Recognizing the significance and benefits of the urban forest, the City’s Official Plan recommends the protection and enhancement of the existing urban forest and provides a man- date for increasing tree canopy. The 2004 Parks and Recreation strategic plan, Our Common Grounds, was adopted by City Council and recommended among other things that we develop the necessary policies and strategies to increase the tree canopy to between 30% and 40%. Toronto currently has approximately 20% forest cover. The acknowledgment by City Council of the value of the urban forest has lead to increased funding for for- est maintenance and management, renewal, and for- est protection. Our efforts are also aided by other City divisions that have developed complementary policies 12 that recognize that a healthy urban forest is essential to creating a healthy environment for people. The mandate to support the growth of the urban forest has resulted in a number of policies and strategies that are helping to increase the tree canopy and the health of the urban forest. The Toronto Green Standard for example, developed by City Planning in consultation with Urban Forestry, makes the requirements of the quantity and quality of soil provided for successful tree planting a condition of development approval. The Toronto Streetscape Manual is an urban design reference tool for the improvement of the City’s arterial street network. It was prepared by City Planning - Urban Design in collaboration with other divisions such as Transportation, Technical Services, and Urban Forestry. It provides the technical details for constructing sidewalks in a manner that will significantly improve the growth of trees in the harsh conditions of our City sidewalks. The life expectancy of street trees has been on average ten years at best. The new planting techniques should increase life expectancy to 40 years. We have also had success in our response to threats such as European gypsy moth, Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALHB), and EAB. The choice to play host to destructive insect City Trees