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
Weapon in deadly 'Rust' film set shooting could not be fired without pulling the trigger, FBI forensic testing finds
FBI testing of the gun used in the fatal shooting on the movie set of 'Rust' found that the weapon handled by actor Alec Baldwin could not be fired without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked, according to a newly released forensics report.

Republicans demand to see affidavit that justified FBI search of Trump's home
Republicans stepped up calls on Sunday for the release of an FBI affidavit showing the underlying justification for its seizure of documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
Fire at Cairo Coptic church kills 41, including 10 children
A fire ripped through a packed Coptic Orthodox church during morning services in Egypt's capital on Sunday, quickly filling it with thick black smoke and killing 41 worshippers, including at least 10 children. Fourteen people were injured.
Catastrophic climate-induced flooding in Calif. could become twice as likely, research finds
A new study is offering a dire prediction for the U.S. state of California, where scientists say catastrophic flooding could become twice as likely in the future due to the effects of climate change.
Antarctica ice melt is accelerating, and research says an overlooked coastal current is to blame
A new study suggests that Antarctica’s ice shelves may be melting faster than previously believed, which is causing sea levels to rise at a more rapid pace and accelerating the dangers of climate change.
Arizona parents arrested trying to get in locked-down school
Police arrested three Arizona parents, shocking two of them with stun guns, as they tried to force their way into a school that police locked down Friday after an armed man was seen trying to get on campus, authorities said.
Norway puts down Freya the walrus that drew Oslo crowds
Authorities in Norway said Sunday they have euthanized a walrus that had drawn crowds of spectators in the Oslo Fjord after concluding that it posed a risk to humans.
'Fanaticism is a danger to free expression everywhere': Ignatieff on Rushdie attack
After Indian-born British novelist Salman Rushdie was attacked during a writing conference in western New York on Friday, current and former Canadian politicians are weighing in on what such attacks mean for freedom of expression and thought.
Salman Rushdie 'on the road to recovery,' agent says
Salman Rushdie is 'on the road to recovery,' his agent confirmed Sunday, two days after the author of 'The Satanic Verses' suffered serious injuries in a stabbing at a lecture in upstate New York.