Retirement community gathers to celebrate National Tree Day

GUELPH

National Tree Day (NTD) will put it’s roots here when the Village By the Arboretum (VBA) takes part in second annual national event.

On Sept. 26, at 10:30am a ceremonial planting of a Sugar Maple, Canada’s national legacy tree, will take place outside the Village’s recreation centre.

“The Village By the Arboretum is a gated community retirement community of approximately one thousand people,” said Margaret Stinson, who is working with her spouse, Ivan, to coordinate the event.

The Stinson’s learned about  NTD during an awards event in Halifax, for Landscape Nova Scotia. It was there the couple met MP Royal Gallepeau, from the riding of Ottawa-Orleans, who introduced a bill to create a National Tree Day in 2011.

The bill received consent from the House of Commons on Mar. 2, 2011. The first NTD took place in a number of rural and urban communities in Canada on Sept. 21, 2011.

“Ivan and I were so determined to make this happen where we live,” Stinson said.

Ivan is co-chair of the landscape advisory group for the VBA, along with Scott Reid of Reid Homes, and he recommended the idea of a national tree event to the executive of the community, Stinson explained.

“National Tree Day takes place on the Wednesday of National Forest Week,” Stinson said. “It also hapens to be twenty years for the organization Tree Canada this year.”

Tree Canada is a not-for-profit organization established in 1992 to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural communities for non-commercial use.

Stinson registered the VBA on the Tree Canada website, and coordinated items donated by the organization to help educate and promote the importance of trees amongst her neighbours, including a book that Tree Canada will present to the VBA for their community library.

Nature’s Palette, a landscape design company in Guelph has donated the Sugar Maple to be planted at the site.

“These trees, planted on National Tree Day, are for the non-economic benefits of the community,” Stinson adds, noting similiar events will take place across the county. “One mature living tree provides enough oxygen for four adults in a day. That is pretty important.”

Stinson notes the value of a tree ceremony like this is important to help people understand the significance of trees as a natural resource.

“It’s about things such as shelter and clean air,” Stinson said. “Simply the feeling of tranquility in nature and creating homes for wildlife.”

National Tree Day celebrations will be presented by the VBA executive, landscape advisory group and Reid’s Heritage Homes.

The program which will include an emcee, representatives from the University of Guelph and the City of Guelph,  takes place on Sept. 26 at 10:30am outside the recreation centre. A reception will follow in Reid Hall South.

Members of the VBA community should contact Ivan Stinson at 519-767-5549 or mistinson@sympatico.ca for more information.

September 21, 2012