Please visit our current website www.sydenhamdistrict.ca and contact us for up to date information about the SDA's tree planting initiatives. 

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ARCHIVE

TREES NEED WATER IN DRY CONDITIONS!
 
During July & August, any tree which does not receive at least 20 litres of water in a week will suffer damage.  The hotter the temperature, the faster the tree dries up.  PLEASE WATER THE TREES NEAR YOU!

What a tree under “drought stress” looks like

Ø      Symptoms of drought injury to trees can be sudden or may take up to two years to be revealed. Drought injury symptoms on tree leaves include wilting, curling at the edges, and yellowing.  Deciduous leaves may develop scorch, brown outside edges or browning between veins. Evergreen needles may turn yellow, red or purple. They may also turn brown at the tips of the needles and browning may progress through the needle towards the twig.  In continued drought, leaves may be smaller than normal, drop prematurely or remain attached to the tree even though brown.  Often times, drought stress may not kill a tree outright, but set it up for more serious secondary insect and disease infestations in following years.                                                          

       HOW TO WATER:  Leave a garden hose running at the base of the trunk of a tree for approximately 15 minutes to ensure it receives enough water.  This amount of water will cost only pennies on your PUC bill but will mean so much to the trees!

DEMAND ACTION DURING A DROUGHT!   After a successful meeting between Mayor Gerretsen, Director of Public Works Damon Wells and SDA Tree Committee Chair Peter Stroud along with concerned resident Ariel Salzmann, City Council voted unanimously in favour of creating a Drought Management Strategy.  Please remind City Staff and elected officials of this in times of drought!



OCT. 28 & 29, 2011 - The St. Mary's of the Lake Project - A BIG SUCCESS!
 
Tree planting took place on Friday, October 28 and Saturday, October 29.   McLaren Landscaping was hired to dig the holes. They not only did so for a great price, but the company's owner, John McLaren, operated the excavator and donated the use of his flatbed dump truck and large trailer as well!  He remained at the site all day and was very helpful with instructing volunteers as to proper planting technique.

In the morning of October 28th, Mr. McLaren, along with current SDA chair Ken Ohtake and SDA past chair Bill Hutchison started preparing the holes, precisely measured earlier by Peter Stroud, SDA Tree Chair and Manager for the 2011 Tree Project.  SDA board members Floyd Patterson and Anita Krebs donated tools and cookies. SDA board member David Nelson went with Mr. Stroud to pick up the 18 trees at Long Branch Tree Farm, a local independent tree-grower in Sydenham.

The trees were all put in the ground that Friday, thanks to the day-long efforts of the small volunteer work crew comprised of Peter Stroud, Bill Hutchison, and David Nelson.  On Saturday October 29th, young volunteers Oliver Stroud, 4, and Charlotte Stroud, 2, and their mother and grandmother Jessie Smith and Linda Stroud, helped the same crew spread 100% Pine mulch (from Pyke Farms, Wolfe Island) around all the trees.  Two miniature Tonka dump trucks were actually put into service for this.  We will be posting photos soon!

The trees all survived the winter. You should check them out!  There are six Royal Red Maples, six Harlequin Maples, and six Norway Spruce - now standing where the old rusty fence once stood.


Tree Committee Beginnings

The tree committee began in a small way in 1992 planting two trees in City Park near West Street. Rosemary Dobbin, treasurer at the time, took care of fund raising and Gerry Wyatt, chair, pitched participation to the city. At one point, the board decided to add to the tree fund by saving on the postage for delivering our newsletter. It has been delivered by hand ever since.  The fund is currently 100% funded by individual donations from residents of Sydenham District, usually also SDA members.  The work is done entirely by a very small group of community volunteers.

Plantings - Since 2006!
 
If you are interested in looking at where the SDA has planted trees, knowing more about the types of trees planted or how our trees are growing today, please use our Tree Map which provides a marker for every tree planted by the SDA over the years.   
 
Click on the map image to be redirected to the online map.
 
map created by:  Peter Stroud, SDA Tree Chair 2010-2014
 

SDA's King Street Project 

King Street 1869 from Earl Street towards downtown
King Street is perhaps the most scenic entrance to downtown Kingston from the west. However many of the stately trees that line this street had become victims of the ice storm of 1998 or old age. 

Returning King Street to its tree lined beauty has been a major project of the SDA Tree Committee. Donations from SDA members have contributed to the planting of around 60 trees in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Queen's Green Scheme gave substantial financial support to this project.
 
  
                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                      
Partners
 
The donations of SDA members are used to purchase trees. For all planting on city property, the City, our oldest partner, covers all other costs including transportation and planting.  

In 2011 the project was on private property, owned by the Sisters of Providence.  SDA hired a contractor to dig the holes, and the trees were delivered for free by SDA volunteers, who picked them up directly from the grower.
 
In 2006 and 2007, a group of Queen's University students mentored by Prof. David Gordon created the Green Scheme. The Green Scheme contributed resources and funds to the SDA tree planting programs. The organization also implemented several other initiatives that contributed to the greening of the CIty, particularly in the Queen's area.
 
SDA was to have a received a Community Partnership Grant from the Green Streets Canada programme to pay for trees planted in in partnership with the City in 2008. When this grant was not received, the City contributed $2,310 to the SDA Tree Planting Programme.         
 




THANKS FOR CARING ABOUT THE DISTRICT'S BEAUTIFUL TREES!  WE ARE LUCKY TO LIVE WHERE WE DO AND TO ENJOY THE LOVELY VARIETY AND AIR-CLEANSING POWER OF TREES!