A group of citizens in Prince Edward County is looking to put together a comprehensive report on the urban forest in Prince Edward County.
Gerry Jenkison, a member of the Tree the County and Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, appeared in front of councillors at Shire Hall on Thursday afternoon detailing the initiative that will begin in the village of Bloomfield.
The project was initiated by Tree the County that is working to preserve and enlarge the County’s tree canopy.
She told council the data collected will help them “to be good stewards of the urban forest”.
Volunteers will spend several weekends in June and July identifying trees and taking measurements on Bloomfield streets and parks.
The data will then be entered into the Neighbourwoods data base that will provide a detailed canopy map of the village.
As part of their long term goals, they are looking to also collect data from Wellington and Picton.
Jenkison says they are beginning in Bloomfield as this is the first time the group has done a tree inventory and they feel it is a manageable size to tackle.
Councillor Barry Turpin asked if the group would be making recommendations as to what trees should be planted where, for future information.
Project Manager Patrick Howe says it wasn’t in the scope of their project but says they can see where this inventory takes them.
Jenkison says one of their goals is to expand the tree canopy in Prince Edward County.
She says she knows it will take 30 to 40 years before the trees will be a reasonable size, but they have to start somewhere.
This is the first Neighbourwoods Tree Inventory Project for the organization.
Jenkison says there are approximately 45 people who have volunteered their time to collect data on the trees including location, site characteristics, species, size and condition.
The group received a municipal grant of $1,750 for project expenses.
