Tree Wars

The first thing civic government's like to cut is the budget on tree planting, pruning or anything to do with trees. They are not the only government. Mark Carney might have cut too much so far but he cut the tree planting program as a carbon capture policy. At the vest least the program could help replenish the tree lost to forest fires in the last decades. The unsung heroes are the young tree planters out there. It is like a calling.

Most time tree budgets get cut and there is no publicity. This time $1.2 million on forestry in Winnipeg was to be diverted to Journey to Churchill to cover a shortfall by orders of the province. It outraged so many. And with an election this year, the turnaround came fast.

Four city councillors are not running again and the last thing they want to do before they leave is to torpedo for an entire year, trees being planted or pruned. Households and schools have embraced tree planting all over the city. The heat dome we are presently experiencing is much worse when you are out on the bald prairie. The heat in some new suburbs is merciless. The trees there are just not high enough to even count.

The canopy trees Winnipeg has are amazing. The city from his origins were bereft of these trees although some seem to have nostalgia for those. Every street in Winnipeg has trees that are recorded in a registry. The kind of tree is listed. And those trees were all planted by us. It appears that residents of the city are no longer satisfied with the city being denuded and then waiting years for a tree to be planted. 

Because this is an election year, councillors and mayor races are deeply influenced by moves like cutting down trees. There will be new councillors no matter what happens this election. Some of them will advocate for a billion to expand Peguis and Kenaston. Where that money comes from in uncertain. The hope is that the federal fairy godmother will pay for the work. It is unlikely. They might pay for sewers but not so that the city can pay for superhighways while cutting spending on parks and recreation.

This is early rounds for trees. With this dreadful heat, it is easy why we need the trees, least of of all for shade.