More door to door in Middle Springs 2, and a plea for urban forestry

The fall sunshine was warm, but the air was crisp, on Saturday afternoon in Middle Springs 2.  At least three families had celebrated the first snow by building snowmen.  A birthday party in the Cabin was in full swing.  And the views were spectacular -- Rundle, Cascade, and everything in between, with a fresh dusting of snow.

Lots of interesting discussion:  debt, the pedestrian bridge, herbicides on lawns, how hard it is to get chain stores to support local non-profit events, the Housing Corporation and tree preservation were the big topics of the day. 

On the topic of trees:  As I mention elsewhere in my website, I would like to see a greater emphasis by the Town on the health of our urban forest.  In the last few years, I feel that we have been losing more trees than we are replanting. 

 One Middle Springs couple told me that they had heard that the Town's "tree budget" is fully expended on dead or fallen tree removal, with no money left over for planting new trees.  I haven't seen the budget, so I don't know this for sure, but I hope it's not true. 

 Trees are a lot more than an aesthetic resource for our town, although that part is very important (Can you imagine living in a town without trees?).  They're part of our environmental infrastructure -- filtering pollutants, removing greenhouse gasses, stabilizing slopes, diminishing stormwater impacts, providing habitat for birds, lowering the energy needs of adjacent houses by cooling them in summer and insulating them in winter.  They're part of our tourism infrastructure -- helping to create the beauty of a small, woodsy town in the Canadian Rockies.

We need to be more active in protecting trees and replacing lost trees.  I'd like to see the Town devote resources to doing this.

A voter in Middle Springs had a great suggestion to help make tree replacement more affordable:  a "memorial tree" program, like the very popular "memorial bench" program.  Imagine buying a new tree for the town to celebrate someone's 80th birthday, or a special anniversary, or to remember a dear friend or relative.  With appropriate plaques, we'd all be able to refer to the trees by name.  "Have you seen how Mrs. B's tree is doing down by the library?" , we could say.

Next time you go for a walk here in town, look up at the canopies of the trees you pass.  Notice the dead pines, and the other trees that have been stressed by careless development nearby.  Now look at eye level, and notice the replacement trees, so few and so small.  Let's do a better job on our urban forestry, so that our trees can continue to protect, serve and beautify our town. 

You can read more about urban forests at this link: 

http://www.treecanada.ca/programs/urbanforestry/index.htm