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Don’t just hug a tree, plant one

Tree Appreciation Day coming to Upland Park this Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon. Everyone welcome.
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Oak Bay Parks and the Friends of Uplands Park host Tree Appreciation Day at Uplands Park on Sunday, Nov. 5. Contests, planting, education, refreshments. Parks staff will be on site to answer all your tree questions. (Keri Coles/Oak Bay News)

Are you wanting to plant a tree on your property, but you aren’t sure where to start? Are you interested in learning more about native and non-native trees and shrubs? Are you curious to see saplings from a Gingko tree that survived the Nagasaki bomb? Join Oak Bay Parks and the Friends of Uplands Park for their Tree Appreciation Day event on Sunday, Nov. 5. Parks staff will be on site to answer all your tree questions.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to noon at the Midland and Lansdowne entrance to Uplands Park.

There will be fun for all ages with contests, activities, education, donuts, and refreshments. Learn how to transplant seedlings, plant trees, and grow a Garry oak from an acorn (you get to take one home!). Help plant some Garry oaks trees and camas bulbs. Hear about native plants and invasive species.

A few Gingko trees will be transplanted. The saplings were raised from the seeds of a Ginkgo tree which survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. About 170 trees in a two-kilometre radius of the centre of the bombing are officially registered by Hiroshima as A-bombed trees. They are also called Hibakujumoku, or survivor trees. The seeds of these trees are now shared around the globe as an initiative by Mayors For Peace, recognizing them as symbols of peace. Gingkos are one of the oldest trees in the world and are referred to as “fossil trees” as they are living fossils, remaining genetically unchanged for 200 million years.

“Tree Appreciation Day ties in with the Urban Forest Strategic Initiative (a plan designed to guide the long term health and distribution of trees in Oak Bay),” says Chris Hyde-Lay, manager of Oak Bay Parks Services. “It is imperatively important to have urban forest. We encourage people to plant trees on private property.”

The Tree Appreciation Day event is intended to encourage public engagement in maintaining and enhancing the canopy cover in the community. Oak Bay is a mature urban forest so new trees will need to be planted to replace old, aging ones. This event will make it easier for residents to figure out what trees are best for planting in which areas.

Tools and gloves are provided for those who want to dig in, or feel free to bring your own.


 
keri.coles@oakbaynews.com

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Oak Bay Parks and the Friends of Uplands Park host Tree Appreciation Day at Uplands Park on Sunday, Nov. 5. Contests, planting, education, refreshments. Parks staff will be on site to answer all your tree questions. (Keri Coles/Oak Bay News)