Talks, walks, planting and pruning are all on tap for the annual Tree Appreciation Day celebration in Oak Bay.
For an event that highlights the importance of trees, the district builds on the trend already started through its Coolkit program – which saw 50 trees added to private property last year.
Oak Bay started a pilot partnership in 2022 with the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning at the University of British Columbia and its forestry department, to engage and educate residents about reducing their carbon footprint. The Coolkit program aims to engage community members of all ages with a focus on impacting climate change in an active way.
The district began the Coolkit program in conjunction with the UBC forestry program in spring 2022, hosting spring sessions introducing ways to engage all ages with a focus on impacting climate change in an active way, Prof. Stephen Sheppard told the Oak Bay News.
A trio of workshops launched about 40 climate champions and eight neighbourhood groups into the community.
The resulting climate champions, and groups, started looking at things in their homes and neighbourhoods such as landscaping to create pollinator corridors.
Oak Bay’s greatest potential to expand its urban forest cover is on private land and everyone’s help is needed to reach the district’s Urban Forestry Strategy canopy cover target of 40 percent by 2045, said parks manager Chris Hyde-Lay.
So the district will dole out trees – while supplies last – for property owners.
“The trees within Oak Bays parks, along our boulevards and natural areas, but especially on private property form a complex system of urban greenery that are critical components of Oak Bays green infrastructure. These trees help maintain a functioning, healthy and livable community,” Hyde-Lay said.
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The day also includes a community tree walk led by Ron Carter, Uplands Park tour hosted by Friends of Uplands Park Wylie Thomas and Margaret Lidkea and information on how to plant, prune and care for trees.
Tree appreciation day – hosted by Oak Bay Parks, Recreation and Culture, the UBC School of Urban Forestry and Friends of Uplands Park – runs Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the entrance to Cattle Point.