Today’s Community Success Story is all about the City of Lethbridge’s new Community Tree Nursery. Urban Forestry Technician Anna Larney gave us the low down:
Please describe the tree nursery project
The Community Tree Nursery is a space where the City of Lethbridge Parks Department can grow trees locally to add to our urban forest. The Community Tree Nursery was made possible through a generous donation from Oldman Watershed Council.
Why is the tree nursery important?
The best way to create a climate-resilient urban forest is to grow trees locally! Having the Community Tree Nursery allows us to collect and propagate seeds and cuttings from the some of the best and most beloved trees in Lethbridge. Some of these trees we are collecting seed and cuttings from are over 100 years old and have withstood a lot of extreme weather events in their lifetimes. This makes them great candidates for extreme weather to come in the future!
What makes the tree nursery a success for Lethbridge?
The Community Tree Nursery just got up and running last October, so it is very much in its toddler stage! So far, we have used the space to grow cottonwoods propagated from local trees. We will continue to grow these cottonwoods to a larger size , then plant them throughout River Valley and upland parks. This summer we will be adding more baby trees grown from local trees including bur oaks, black walnuts, horse-chestnuts and, of course, more cottonwoods.
How can people get involved?
People can get involved by joining one of our upcoming Community Tree Planting events! There will be two cottonwood-planting events in Indian Battle Park using trees grown in our nursery (Friday, June 13 from 1:30-3:30pm and Monday, June 16 from 6-8pm. Meet at the Little Fort Playground – near the horseshoe pits in Indian Battle Park).
Click here to find all of this year’s success stories, plus Environment Week events and activities.