livingfeature
at Westminster School on Lethbridge’s north side. It represents the spirit of the
residents of the north side–resilient, self-sufficient, and strong. Old Westy is my
neighbourhood tree, so I’m attached to it.”
Maureen isn’t the only person partial to Westy. The tree has been a permanent
and beloved member of the neighbourhood, and residents have even chained
themselves to its trunk in protest when its removal was threatened. Since then,
the old cottonwood has been dedicated in 1997 with a plaque by Mayor David
Carpenter as a Notable Tree of the Past, and has also been catalogued as a
provincial heritage tree as well.
“The biggest tree is the Fairfield Poplar found at the Lethbridge Research
Station,” Maureen says. This monstrous tree towers above the forest at
a staggering 100 feet tall, and spans 100 feet from branch tip to branch tip.
Maureen mentions that the smallest tree is a beautiful bristlecone pine, also
located at the research station. “I also admire a white pine at a private residence
on Seventh Avenue North. White pines aren’t too common to our area, but this
one is thriving and doing very well.”
“People have taken such great care of all of these trees
and these trees deserve to continue living a great legacy,
even if those original homeowners are gone. I really think
it says a lot about the people who contributed to a good
quality of life in the neighbourhoods they were creating
when Lethbridge was a young community.”
“Most of our established trees were planted by hand,” Maureen says. “There
are some volunteer trees, which have sprouted from seeds or suckered from
parent trees, but for the most part, our city trees were planted, with purpose, by
residents of our past.”
The black walnut on 12th Street B North was a tree sprouted from one of three
seeds sown by a family who moved from North Dakota in the 1930s. The tree
that stands on the property today is an exceptional specimen that now drops
hundreds of pounds of nuts every year. Its planting was deliberate and for the
betterment of the neighbourhood and for the family that lived on the property.
“People have taken such great care of all of these trees, and these trees deserve
to continue living a great legacy, even if those original homeowners are gone.
I really think it says a lot about the people who contributed to a good quality
of life in the neighbourhoods they were creating when Lethbridge was a young
community,” Maureen says.
She hopes that through the program, many groups will come together to
support our heritage trees and to preserve their trunks and branches for another
100 years. “My hope is that we can create a good resource for people to nominate
trees, to preserve their trees, or for people to visit these trees to appreciate them
for their history and beauty,” she says.
Planted on a blank canvas of prairie grass and shrub brush, Lethbridge’s
trees share the same historical relevance and importance as our historical
buildings. To care for and preserve these leafy giants enhances the property, the
neighbourhood, and contributes to the rich canopy of our community.
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LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM
JAN-FEB 2016