Replacing the Roblin Trees is Commendable – But They’re Only a Drop in the Bucket

We reacted to the news that the trees illegally cut down during a house move on Roblin Blvd in August will be replanted, in the October 23, 2021 edition of the Free Press.

We’re relieved to hear they will be replaced–but what is the maintenance & protection plan to help them thrive? And what about the thousands of other public trees that don’t get replanted when they are lost to disease and age?

Read the article here: Trees felled by house move to be replaced

“We’re in a situation in this city where only one in five trees is getting replaced… While it’s terrific that these (particular) median trees are being replaced so quickly, I think the main reason is because it got so much press and people were so appalled (that someone) would just take down (that many) trees to move a house,” said Erna Buffie of Trees Please Winnipeg.

A Winnipeg urban forestry report notes the city replanted just 19 per cent of the trees it removed in 2020, while an average of 9,000 trees are removed annually due to natural death, storm damage and disease.

Buffie said all governments must invest in the urban canopy now because trees offer critical benefits that are too often overlooked.

“They absorb storm water, they reduce air pollution, they sequester and store carbon… We have to stop looking at trees as this nice little aesthetic feature of our city and start seeing them as essential as roads and sewers in our infrastructure,” she said.