RESIDENTS PRESENTATION TO ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING COMMITTEE, VANCOUVER PARKS BOARD

APRIL 7, 2011

Our Trees

Our Trees: Overview

Intro & backgroundOur vision for the East 6th ElmsThe rationaleThe bigger pictureThe way forward

Who we are, what happened to us, and what we learned

Intro and background

Who we are

Residents of East 6th Avenue, between 1500 and 2300 block

“These trees are part of East Van history, I know I have lived here for 60 years, it is the most FANTASTIC image when walking up from Commercial Drive...these trees go hand in hand with the historic houses that line the streets.”- Judy W.

Who we are

Also residents of East 7th Avenue, and the broader community

“These trees are truly magical and draw people from all over to stroll through the majestic canopy they provide.”- Paula K.

What happened to us

Woke up one morning to a notice that our world would change

“My daughter and I sing songs to these trees. To remove them would be like removing a small part of our heart.”- Alix R.

What happened to us

“I nearly always choose 6th to come home from Commercial. These are the most fantastic trees we have in Vancouver. They have so much life in them, especially in spring, shooting branches from every part of their trunks.”- Julianne K.

Community came together to get answers and demand consultation

What we learned

“If we really want to be 'the greenest city in the world by 2020' aren't trees part of that picture? City of Vancouver: Please don't log our 'hood.”- Danielle L.

Big picture missing: no plan for management of mature treescapes

What we learned

These Elms & other trees in the area have been badly pruned for years

What we learned

“TREES ARE LIFE!!! I live in this neighbourhood and our trees are our air! Their shade cools us, they nourish our souls!”- Jo C.

Practices for treescape renewal & tree replacement are, frankly, dismal

What we learned

“I have loved these trees on East 6 for over three decades! Their canopy creates a verdant portal that is magnificent and revitalizing. Please SAVE these trees!”- Luna N.

There are good models elsewhere that we can learn from

To regenerate the East 6th Elms as an environmental and heritage asset to the community

Our vision

Our vision

Our vision is to regenerate the East 6th Elms and maintain them as an important asset to the community and city of Vancouver

1.Recognize the ElmsFormally recognize our Elms as an asset to the community and city

2.Develop a planRecognizing aesthetic, historical, community & environmental values

3.Establish a moratoriumOn removing any Elms (except for emergencies) until this plan is endorsed by the community

4.Renew the ElmsAs a first step under this plan, fill all gaps on this street with Elms, as reflects the emerging consensus preference in the community

Why the Elms are worth preserving

“If we don't protect these majestic green trees from culling, what hope do we have in preserving what's left of our city's unique heritage?”- Sarah M.

The extraordinary structure & canopy of these Elms inspires & connects us

Our vision

1. Formally recognize this stretch of Elms as an environmental and heritage asset to the community and the city of Vancouver

Values that should be considered

aestheticshealth community

The current technical approach to assessing our Elms does not take into account key values of these trees to the community

heritageenvironment

Our vision

1. Formally recognize this stretch of Elms as an environmental and heritage asset to the community and the city of Vancouver

2. Develop a plan for our Elms that recognizes the aesthetic, historical, community and environmental values of our Elms, in addition to technical and safety considerations

In making removal decisions

“Twelve experienced arborists assessed eight trees using eight different risk assessment methods. The variances in scores amongst arborists were large, in many cases the arborist assessment output values for the same tree ranged from Low to Extreme Risk.”- Martin Norris “Tree Risk Assessments: What Works, What Does Not, How Can We Tell?”

Tree risk assessment is as much an art as a science; more rigor and transparency is needed

Our vision

1. Formally recognize this stretch of Elms as an environmental and heritage asset to the community and the city of Vancouver

2. Develop a plan for our Elms that recognizes the aesthetic, historical, community and environmental values of our Elms, in addition to technical and safety considerations

3. Establish a moratorium on removal of any of our Elms (except for emergencies) until after this plan has been endorsed by the community

Renew the Elms and the trust

An opportunity to rebuild trust: renew a treescape with a community

“Many street trees are even-aged single species stands that will leave a significant gap in the canopy if they all reach the end of their useful life within the same timeframe. Planting younger trees while older trees are still healthy helps to provide continuity in the canopy cover.”- Planting Our Future Toolkit

EastEast 6th AveEastEast 6th Ave

64 gaps (45 missing; 19 mismatches)

out of 200 spots = 7 gaps per block = 32% of treescape gone

Wider neighbhourhoodWider neighbhourhood

289 gaps (147 missing; 142 mismatches)

out of 60 blocks

= 5 gaps per block= 22% of treescape gone

Gaps in treescape: missing & mismatched trees

Our vision

1. Formally recognize this stretch of Elms as an asset to the community and the city of Vancouver

2. Develop a plan for our Elms that recognizes the aesthetic, historical, community and environmental values of our Elms, in addition to technical and safety considerations

3. Establish a moratorium on removal of any of our Elms (except for emergencies) until after this plan has been endorsed by the community

4. As a first step under this plan, fill all gaps on this street with Elms, as reflects the emerging consensus preference in the community

Why East 6th Ave is important to Vancouver and Parks Board

The bigger picture

Building community trust and involvement

Decisions to remove trees should be done with community involvement

“We don’t own these trees. You own them. Our job is to take good care of them and make sure we can hand off a good urban forest to the future residents of Vancouver.”- Malcolm Bromley, Community information meeting on East 6 Elms

Developing a city-wide plan

Managing our mature tree canopy is a critical concern

“Heritage Vancouver calls for a review of the Vancouver Park Board’s policies regarding street trees. We need to recognize that we are in danger of losing the historic canopy that helps define our city’s environmental character.” “We recommend that the Park Board develop a Street Tree Management Plan that would specify a ‘one-to-one’ replacement, which would see each tree at the end of its life replaced with an identical species.”- Heritage Vancouver

Vancouver 2020 Greenest City Initiative

Opportunity for Parks Board to show leadership in realizing the vision for Vancouver’s urban forest

Access to Nature Goal:“Vancouver residents enjoy incomparable access to green spaces, including the world’s most spectacular urban forest.”

From a pilot approach to a city-wide plan

The plan for the East 6th Elms could serve as a model and pilot approach for how to work with other neighbourhoods and become a foundational pillar for a city-wide urban tree plan.

For Parks Board to continue working with the community to develop the plan for our trees together

The way forward