April 03, 2013 by Michelle Bourdeau

As many of you may know, Toronto Hydro is one of LEAF's longest standing sponsors. We have been working together for nearly a decade to protect and improve Toronto's urban forest through our Backyard Tree Planting Program and the annual Leslieville Tree Festival. And every Earth Day we work with Toronto Hydro staff to plant hundreds of trees and shrubs at selected sites across Toronto.

 

 

Together LEAF staff, Tree Tenders graduates, the City of Toronto, Toronto Hydro employees and their families celebrate Earth Day by planting trees in Toronto parks. Each year we plant about 300 trees and mulch existing young trees. Check out this awesome tree planting video!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A94MzC6qzeo



On Saturday June 22, 2013 Toronto Hydro, LEAF and Councillor Paula Fletcher will host the annual Leslieville Tree Festival in Leslie Grove Park (Queen St. E and Jones Ave.). If you're in the neighbourhood, stop by to enjoy an afternoon of local artists, musicians, green vendors and children’s activities.

 

Leslieville Tree Festival

 

You may have also heard that over the next five years, Toronto is expected to lose nearly all of its ash trees (860,000!) to the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle from Asia. Protecting existing trees and planting new ones is now more important than ever. Toronto Hydro is working together with us on getting the word out on what you can do to help...

 

  1. Water new trees two to three times per week and mature trees at least once per month in the summer.
  2. Prune trees three to five years after they're planted. Pruning encourages proper growth and saves you money in the long run. Regular check-ups and preventive maintenance improves your trees' health, and increases safety, especially in bad weather. Have your mature trees regularly checked and pruned by a certified arborist to make them more storm ready.
  3. Don't attach signs or plant vines on electrical poles. These can cause damage and be dangerous.
  4. Don't plant trees or shrubs close to power lines or equipment. As they grow, they can become a safety hazard or even cause a power outage. Toronto Hydro workers also need clearance to do maintenance and repairs.
  5. If you believe there is an issue with tree branches or shrubs around our equipment, don't attempt to clear it yourself. Contact Toronto Hydro at 416.542.7800. Their trained arborists may be able to directionally prune trees (train them to grow away from power lines) or can provide you with guidance on choosing an arborist.

Portions of this post originally appeared in Toronto Hydro's newsletter. Toronto Hydro (or Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited) is committed to the urban forest; protecting and minimizing the impact of their operations on the City’s tree canopy. The utility does its best to limit tree contact with power lines through its vegetation management program and their crews carefully prune tree limbs to direct growth away from power lines.