80-year-old elm tree saved in Selkirk
An 80-year-old elm tree in Selkirk has been saved from construction damage with some creative city planning.
The tree, located in front of the Royal Canadian Legion at 403 Eveline Street, has an extensive root system that had grown under the existing street pavement. When it came time to repave the road, special care had to be taken in order to keep the tree alive.
“It’s a huge tree, one of the city’s oldest and nicest,” said Selkirk’s newly hired Naturalization Coordinator, Mihali Schindle. “Obviously we wanted to preserve it.
“We decided we would protect the root zone on the road side by creating a garden bed that would go out on the curb side about three metres and that would allow for additional soil to be put back down on the root zone instead of paving over this area.”
The result will be a small green area around the tree.
Selkirk’s Director of Operations Dan McDermid said it’s a measure that would not have happened ten years ago.
“We’ve changed the way we do things … and we’re committed to protecting and enhancing our urban forest,” McDermid said.
The city has developed a long-term care plan for the tree that includes watering, fertilizing and maintenance, as well as monitoring it for Dutch elm disease.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.