Chainsaw massacre

This tree near Maple Street is one of dozens destined for the wood pile on Wellington’s main street.

County won’t replace, or allow others to replace, trees being cut down on Wellington’s main street

The tree-lined streets of Wellington give the village the feel of a place to come home to. Dense maples, over a century, provide shade and clean the air.

Because of Wellington’s position on the lakeshore, the trees protect from heavy winds and attract a wide and colourful array of birds that provide the soundtrack to summer. In winter, the bare, frost-covered branches give an organic beauty to a ruthless season.

The older they get, the more precious those neighbourhood trees become. Not only do they hold sentimental value from one generation to the next, they are also teeming with life and renewing it, working to keep our air clean and fresh.

But like all living things, trees die. The ice storm of 2013 and several wind storms over the past year have been a stark reminder that some of the majestic maples that define downtown Wellington are reaching the end of their lives.

Some hot-pink spray painted Cs have appeared on a few trees downtown, trees that have been marked by the County to be cut down. Two weeks ago, the County closed a request for tenders and will be hiring contractors with chainsaws to remove the old beauties, along with all their memories and all the life they hold.

It’s common practice, in a municipality, for trees that are removed to be replaced. Otherwise there is a deficit. This is especially hard to swallow after a commitment by the Ministry of Natural Resources to plant 50 million trees over the next decade has been scaled back due to budget cuts.

In this case, though, Public Works head Robert McAuley says the trees will not be replaced.

“My practice is, if it’s possible, we try to put a new one up. The trouble with replacing them is there’s not a whole lot of place to put them. And it’s not good practice to put a new tree in an old tree’s stump, because it will kill it,” says McAuley. “If it’s possible I’d like to see the trees, but it’s unlikely that there’ll be a space to put them. But I don’t like losing greenery.”

This attitude angers local tree activist and member of the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, Amy Bodman. To her, losing a tree that is still alive for issues of liability is already difficult to accept, but to lose such a tree without any replacement is unthinkable.

“It’s just really wrong. I think if they’re taking down trees, they should replace whatever trees they can… if they’re not planting them there, they should be planting them elsewhere in the County where they can plant them. We just did a tree seed forecasting workshop in June, and all that is they’re just working so hard to try to replace trees, to try to plant more trees because we really do need them to fight climate change,” says Bodman. “To be taking down trees and not replace them just seems so wrong for me.”

McAuley says that while he doesn’t want to lose any greenery, there are other options.

“There’s nothing to stop [homeowners] from putting the tree up on their property, if they want a particular look,” McAuley offers. “If there’s no spot to put it, put it a metre back on your property. If you’re beyond that root zone that the old tree will have contaminated to protect itself, then give it a chance to grow. Put it a metre on your property. Then it’s not in the hydro line, it’s not in the street, you get to look after it.”