But what if, instead of the heavy snow and ice, the storm had been a Tornado - almost 1.5 kilometers wide with a speed of 280 kilometers per hour - that swept in to flatten our entire community in seconds? For the people of Goderich, Ontario, this was the reality. Before it hit on August 21, 2011, they boasted an enviable green urban landscape – known as Canada’s prettiest town. But the effects were devastating and hardly temporary - nearly a year and a half after the storm the community continues to rebuild.
Looking out at my own neighbourhood last week, I witnessed a neighbour helping a stranger dig his car out from under a great white bank. I watched a man rush to help another in his eighties cross the street piled high with snow. Despite the cold, these small deeds showed me that many are still willing to face certain chaos to lend a helping hand. My hopelessness lessened - even for a moment.
In Goderich, entire buildings, trees, and landmarks disappeared. Dedicated teams of volunteers began rebuilding a torn community - another example of neighbours facing chaos to help each other out. The Goderich Trees Project is a group I came to learn about through the UFSN, an online community hub created for the practitioners, professionals and stewards of our urban forests. Their goal is to replant and restore the urban forestry that was destroyed in the storm. GTP coordinator, Jody Armstead, shared a few words on why she got started:
“There are so many stories from our residents that haven't been told yet but part of the loss we sustained was our trees. The privacy and comfort they provided us, the shade, the shelter and part of the soul of our community as other living breathing entities. The pictures you saw of the devastation don't even begin to give you a sense of how it feels to live, work and play in a landscape devoid of them. Here is a gift that will truly keep on giving.”
To date, they have planted hundreds of trees, each one a beacon of hope. Pin oaks, dawn redwoods, shingle oaks and beech trees roll in with celebrated tree parades. These replants, which will continue into the foreseeable future, revive people’s spirits along with the canopy overhead. Large caliper trees, some as big as 60 ft tall and 30 ft wide, have been carefully selected and matched to the soil chemistry. They fill the patchwork of the area and ensure healthy diversity.
Moving trees as large as these isn’t common for a reason - done improperly it can shock and even kill them. But losses as big as Goderich’s require a creative response. The large investment to preserve and protect the green infrastructure of the town maintains not only a sense of civic identity, but its citizens’ well-being.
For more information about the Goderich Trees Project, check out their profile on the Urban Forestry Stewardship Network. We invite anyone involved in the preservation, protection and healthy growth of the urban forest to learn about each other’s roles and projects, to ask questions, and to share their stories. What’s yours?
Big or small, one person or one hundred, the Urban Forest Stewardship Network is where we come together to enhance our leafy green infrastructure. Get inspired and connect with the people behind great projects. Share your own success stories and help us build our library of resources and ideas.
The steering committee, made up of LEAF, NeighbourWoods on the Grand, ReForest London and Peterborough Green-Up, is leading the development of this network with support from OPG Biodiversity.