The Rural Voice, 2003-12, Page 59Advice
Wellington County plans 'green' anniversary
The County of Wellington will be
150 years old next year. A number of
activities are planned to celebrate the
anniversary, including a project
called the Green Legacy.
Under the Green Legacy, the
County will purchase 150,000 tree
seedlings and distribute them to
interested local municipalities,
environmental groups, service clubs,
schools and private landowners for
planting in late April or early May of
2004. This will be during Arbor
Week and Earth Week.
The project is being overseen by a
committee consisting of Puslinch
Township Mayor Brad Whitcombe,
County staff, and partners from the
Ministry of Natural Resources, the
Grand River Conservation Authority
and the Wellington County
Stewardship Council.
Who is Eligible? — The focus will
be on getting trees to local
environmental groups and service
clubs working with school classes
throughout the County.
Organizations and schools within the
City of Guelph are also eligible to
participate as long as the trees are
being planted outside of the City or
on school sites within the City. Local
municipalities as well as
Conservation Authorities will also be
able to participate. Trees will be
provided free to all of the above
groups.
Provided there are sufficient
supplies, private individuals will also
be eligible to receive trees to plant on
their properties. However, unless
private individuals are working with
a group or a school class, they will be
asked to pay 25 per cent of the cost
of the trees.
Tree Species — The County intends
on ordering approximately 70 per
cent conifers and 30 per cent
hardwoods. This split is an attempt to
balance costs as well as encouraging
plantings with conifers acting as a
nurse crop for hardwoods.
The following species will be
available White Pine, White Spruce,
White Cedar, Tamarack, European
Larch, Norway Spruce, Silver Maple,
Red Oak, White Oak, Black Walnut,
Butternut, Bitternut Hickory,
Shagbark Hickory, Redosier
Dogwood, Gray Dogwood and
Sumac. While the County will try to
balance the various species requests,
we will be limited by the overall
conifer / hardwood mix.
Types of Planting Situations — The
type of planting situations can be
varied and will reflect each group's
own interest. Plantings can be for
strategic environmental purposes
such as along streamsides, linking
woodlots, as windbreaks or erosion
control, reforesting marginal
agricultural lands and other similar
situations. Trees may also be planted
along trails or roadsides, in parks, on
school properties or public properties
and on private land. If you do not
have a site, the County may be able
to assign a site in your area.
Partners — It is Wellington's hope
that the Green Legacy will go beyond
just planting trees. The County would
like to see partnerships formed
between landowners, organizations
and schools. They are particularly
interested in getting students
involved, to help develop an
appreciation of the natural world by
making a tangible contribution, If
you can't find a partner, let us know
and we will try to help.
Tree Planting Training Workshops
— The County and its partners, the
Ministry of Natural Resources.
Conservation Authorities and the
Wellington County Stewardship
Council will be organizing a series of
workshops during the late winter of
2004..The workshops will provide
technical training on seedling care,
site preparation and tree planting
itself. While not all partners will
require training, some organizations
and schools may.
Application Forms — In order to
participate in the Green Legacy,
interested groups, schools,
municipalities and individuals will
need to fill out a brief application
form indicating:
• Who they are
• Contact information
• Description of the tree planting
project
• How many trees they want and
preferred species type
• Whether they have a planting
site(s), its location and size
• Whether they have a planting
partner or would like a school class
assigned to them
Application forms are available at
the County office in Guelph [contact
Andrea Ravensdalel, local
municipalities and through local
newspapers. They can also be
accessed via the County website
www.county.wellington.on.ca and
submitted by email. While there is
some flexibility in ordering dates. we
are asking that applications be
submitted to the County as soon as
possible. We will need to finalize
tree orders with the nurseries. Try to
apply early as trees will be allocated
on a first-come, first -serve basis.
The Challenge — Come on and join
us: help to make this project a
success. Think of a good project. find
a partner and get your tree orders in
soon!
The Green Legacy Registry — The
County of Wellington will also he
setting up a registry for 'anyone' who
plants trees in the County in the year
2004. This includes both those who
receive trees from the County and
those who purchase their own trees.
Prizes and special recognition will be
part of the registry program.
Further Information - Please contact
the following persons at the County
of Wellington office, Guelph:
Andrea Ravensdale. Clerk's
Department, (519) 837-2600 Ext. 232
or Email:
Andrear@county.wellington.on.ca or
Mark Van Patter. Planning
Department, (519) 837-2600 Ext.
208, or Email:
markv @county.wellington.on.ca.0
DECEMBER 2003 55