In a recent interview, Saanich manager of sustainability Rebecca Newlove bluntly stated: “We're not on track,” when it comes to the district's Climate Action Plan.
Well, here's a solution that's right in front of us and doesn't cost a dime. Save the big, mature trees. Things are heating up, we need their shade – now. During atmospheric rivers, we need their thirstiness. Stop the clear-cutting and the planting of replacement trees. Start with the premise that all new projects must be built around the trees. If it costs extra, make the developer pay.
Replacement trees might look nice in an artist's rendering – move them around, one here, one there, how pretty. The reality is replacement trees are a stick stuck in the dirt. Absolutely no underground network like the big, mature trees. If not staked, they fall over, especially in the hurricane-like winds we get and that will only increase. They take massive amounts of water to take root; who will water them? What will shade them during ever-increasing temperatures and future heat domes?
After development, a replacement tree, or a possible tree as I call them, has to compete with all of the new concrete, pavement, underground services and the mass of any new buildings. What are the chances of survival? We don't have time to wait and find out. Big, mature trees have root systems that go deep and everywhere. They are survivors.
Come on Saanich, it's a no brainer.
Dave Secco
Saanich
