As seen in The Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette
We have come a long way from March 11th, 2020, planting 100 trees in our first (COVID-19) year to planting 1066 trees/shrubs and 600 tree seedlings in our own tree nursery last year. Instructional videos of ‘How to Plant a Tree,’ ‘How to Prune a tree,’ and more were created and posted on our YouTube channel.
Our strong partnership continues with Wilmot Township. We celebrated receiving a $163,000 2 Billion Tree Grant Capacity Building from Natural Resources Canada over two years. The grant provides the opportunity to grow LTW even more.
What are we up to this year? Of course, we are planting more trees, but it is critical that the trees we plant survive. Working with the Township, we are exploring the best methods of watering the newly planted trees for their first two years. Monitoring the survival rates and tree health will be a larger part of our programming. More educational videos will be created and shared beyond our own tree planting community. We have strong ties with Trees for Woolwich and Reep Green Solutions (Kitchener).
Our tree nursery will expand by another 800 seedlings in April. This project is important as the industry has a shortage of native trees and soon, we will be able to use our own stock.
Save-the-date for spring tree plantings events. April 22nd (afternoon), May 7th (afternoon) and May 13th (morning). Dean Peachey’s LTW Project Committee team has been planning since last fall with Mike Yost, Certified Arborist and Kerry Schutten, selecting species, sourcing and ordering trees. Where are we planting? On April 22th, in tandem with Wilmot Tree Giveaway by Wilmot Township, we will complete planting by Wilmot Recreation Complex’s triangle along the highway with about 200 trees. In the future, as the trees mature, the area will provide a great noise buffer, windbreak and wildlife corridor. We are trying something new with a Sunday afternoon planting at the request of some residents. We will be planting at Scott Park (30 – 40 trees) and Catherine Street Park (100+), New Hamburg around its perimeter. Our last spring planting on May 13th will be at Baden Sand Hills with approximately 150-200 trees surrounding the parking lot and the roadside pathway. For more information and to register, see EventBrite/Let’s Tree Wilmot.
Thank you to our other partner Nith Valley EcoBoosters and all the residents of Wilmot Township for your enthusiastic support.
Let’s Tree Wilmot is a project of Wilmot Horticultural Society (WHS). See our website and Facebook pages for latest events and learning opportunities.
