Residents urged to get planting trees
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on August 3, 2023.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
The City of Lethbridge is encouraging residents to plant as many trees as possible in their yard as part of the recently announced 1,000 trees in 2023 initiative.LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com
The City of Lethbridge is encouraging residents to plant as many trees as possible in their yard to help them reach their goal of planting 1,000 trees in 2023.
The City recently announced its 1,000 trees in 2023 initiative to increase Lethbridge’s tree canopy and to inspire and empower residents to plant and care for trees on their private property, contributing to a thriving, climate-resilient urban forest for future generations.
“Planting a tree is more than a gardening activity; it’s a legacy project,” said Paige Rosner, environmental education and community projects lead at Helen Schuler Nature Centre in a release.
She added that a tree planted today will make its greatest impact 30 to 50 years from now, providing shade, beauty, and ecological benefits to future generations.
The release states that most of the city’s trees are planted on private property, and many large ones were planted decades ago.Â
The City’s initiative provides residents with the information and resources needed to successfully plant a tree, and in order to encourage and help residents select the proper trees for their yard a Lethbridge Tree Guide has been developed.
The initiative also includes a tree registry where residents can record details about their trees to help increase understanding of the types of trees located on private property.Â
The guide and registry can be found at https://nature.lethbridge.ca/programs-and-events/details/1000-trees.
“Our vision for a healthy urban forest includes a diversity of tree species and age groups,” said Anna Larney, urban forestry technician with the City of Lethbridge in the release.
The release states that since Lethbridge is in the grassland region, it is important to consider tree selection carefully.
The City states that a community with trees is more livable. Trees contribute to quality of life offering shade and shelter from the wind. Furthermore, they improve people’s health by reducing stress, enhancing mood, and boosting their immune systems.Â
They also state that trees are not only aesthetically pleasing but offer an array of benefits such as reducing energy costs for heating and cooling buildings, cleaning the air by removing pollutants, and mitigating the severity and frequency of flooding events by holding, filtering, and slowly releasing water.
Late last month while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Blue Sky Lodge a tree was planted and Mayor Blaine Hyggen mentioned the 1,000 trees in 2023 initiative and said jokingly “now we only have 999 more trees to go.”
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16-15
AND I urge the city so start planting trees in Indian Battle Park since many of the old growth trees are dying off. A sad thing!
AND do you not understand how much more GHG emissions there are by causing traffic to start and stop with your unsynchronized traffic lights and 4 way stops? Your are increasing more emissions in this city than half a million trees could absorb! Look at the industrial areas between 3pm and 5pm. Mayor Magrath Drive and Scenic Drive.
Do you know how you know when your red light is getting ready to change when trying to cross Mayor Magrath Drive? When you see no traffic on Mayor Magrath Drive that have a green light, and then you see a large number of vehicles coming up to the green light, just to be stopped again.
Lethbridge loves to stop and control traffic by stop and start methods instead of allowing them to flow. We live in a high tech era and there is just no excuse! Concerned about speeders? That is why there is radar!