City planting 500 new trees this spring

The city will be planting 500 new trees this spring as the Emerald Ash Borer (E.A.B.) continues to impact the city’s tree canopy.

Staff have taken proactive measures over the last 10 years, since the disease was first confirmed in Oshawa in 2011, by treating parks and boulevard ash trees with TreeAzin. However, the treatment doesn’t guarantee tree survival, according to the city.

Although the city has seen success in many areas, such as Lakeview Park, many of the ash trees on streets, in green spaces and on the trail system have been impacted by the insect, resulting in the tree no longer being viable and potentially creating a risk to the public and/or the surrounding property,” states the city.

The health of all types of city trees are inspected by forestry staff through ongoing maintenance and resident inquiries, and if a tree inspection discovers that more than 30 per cent of their live canopy has been lost due to E.A.B., it will be removed.

The same monitoring also applies to the 150 other city tree varieties to ensure ongoing health of the tree canopy.

“Continued efforts to replace the removed trees is underway,” states the city, noting once an infested ash tree in a park or on a boulevard is removed, the stump will be replaced by a new species of tree in the next calendar year.

Since 2011, more than 1,200 ash trees have been replaced with tree species based on the previous tree function, the intended location and soil conditions.

Forestry crews will be working in neighbourhoods throughout the coming months to plant 500 new trees throughout the city.

The city says community members with ash trees on their property are responsible for managing their trees, and if concerned, should consider hiring a certified arborist to discuss options.

For more information, visit www.oshawa.ca/EAB or call the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711.