Beware fallen property values when trees, limbs fall after storms

Dennis Hanagan –

Cabbagetown ReLEAF Tree Stewardship is getting the word out to homeowners this spring about the good and bad ways to fix trees damaged in this winter’s ice storm.

After the storm, people with chainsaws and pickup trucks drove around offering to fix damaged trees. But that’s probably not the best way to do the fixing, James Steenberg, ReLEAF vice-president and co-chair, said in an interview.

He points out a tree on a Cabbagetown sidestreet that was “butchered. (It’s) screaming this is what not to do after the ice storm. It’s a Manitoba maple that’s leaning precariously. It’s just a hazard,” says Steenberg whose background is in forest ecology and management.

In June, ReLEAF tree stewards are canvassing neighbourhoods to tell homeowners about better ways to cope with damaged trees. For one thing, they can get a free tree planted by the city’s urban forestry department on city property in front of their houses.

ReLEAF itself has two arbourists on its board to offer free advice. It’s a program called Ask an Arbourist. “You can put a question to an expert and they’ll get back to you as best they can,” says Steenberg.

Steenberg worries the ice storm might have created “social impacts,” explaining that homeowners might think twice about planting a tree in their yards, especially after hearing about limbs that have fallen and damaged property.

“What I’m most concerned about is people’s values might change if they’re not educated soon after the (ice storm) impact,” Steenberg says.

Homeowners can do a lot to prevent damage to trees by planning ahead and selecting the right species for the right locations and then managing them properly.

Cabbagetown ReLEAF’s mission is to promote a larger, healthier urban forest that can benefit neighbourhoods in many ways. “You have local benefits and you have city-wide benefits. The city would be in big trouble (without) trees, especially with climate change coming,” says Steenberg.

Aside from providing birds with places to nest, trees offer physical and psychological benefits, Steenberg says.

An extensive tree canopy provides shade that can help people who suffer from the heat on sizzling summer days. The canopy also helps cool buildings which decreases the use of air conditioners and, with it, hydro costs.

In winter the right trees in the right place serve as a wind block, again reducing the amount of hydro needed for heating.

Trees also slow the buildup of rainwater preventing storm sewers from overflowing and flooding streets. “Because it goes through every little leaf first the period of time that water is hitting the surface of the city is stretched over more time. That’s called stormwater retention,” explains Steenberg.

Trees have a psychological value, says Steenberg. “People just like to be around trees. There was a ground-breaking paper a few decades ago (that) proved people who have a view of trees and natural settings recovering from hospital surgery recovered faster and more successfully than people who didn’t.”

For more information about trees and to volunteer with Cabbagetown ReLEAF visit cabbagetownreleaf.org.