During a windstorm at the beginning of October this year, a huge branch split off a tree and straddled Spruce street until work crews hauled it away. It was then that we noticed that the center of the tree seemed to be rotting.

People in our neighbourhood and around Toronto have been noticing the slow but relentless decrease in our tree population.  This decrease is due either to the trees reaching the end of their natural lives or to illness or disease.  Most severe storms these days are now accompanied by falling branches which can cause significant damage.

Part of the charm and beauty of our neighbourhood here in Cabbagetown is the existing canopy of mature trees.  The DVCRA would like to address this issue by forming a committee to draw up an action plan to tackle this issue. Our first step would be to complete an inventory of our trees, assessing their health and approximate age and making plans for their replacement where necessary. Other neighbourhood associations, such as Roncesvalles, Leslieville and Withrow Park, are already tackling these same issues. Many resources are available from the City and other organizations to help us with this task.

We need your help, however.  We are therefore looking for those among you who feel strongly about protecting our beautiful tree canopy and would volunteer your time to sit on this committee. You don’t eed to have any prior knowledge of trees, although an arborist among our midst would be a bonus.

If you are interested, please contact one of us.

Thank you

Judy Trogadis, jtrogadis@gmail.com , 416-975-9878

Garnet Siddall, gsiddall@mac.com , 647-298-9228