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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-08-03, Page 1The $L50 HST included PM40064683R07656 cknow Sentinel www.lucknowsentinel.com Wednesday, August 3, 2016 From grey to green infrastructure in Lucknow, one tree at a time Darryl Coote Reporter Three years ago when Pat Weptler bought 719 Have- lock in Lucknow, it wasn't for the leafy tree that tow- ered over her new home. She appreciated it, she said, as it's a nice tall shade tree, but she thought it was nothing more than a deformed maple as it pro- duces leaves with fewer lobes (the individual points of a leaf) than a leaf of a reg- ular maple, and the lobes its leaves do have appear fused together. "That's what the leaf looks like, like a deformed maple," she said. However, at that time, she didn't know that high up in its canopy large yellow blos- soms that cup around tens of sinewy filaments at its centre bloom every spring. "I was shocked," she said. "I had never seen one of them before." After doing some research online she learned that what was growing in her front lawn was not a malformed maple but a liriodendron tulipifera, better known as a tulip tree. She also learned that it's growing just outside its native habitat of the Carolin- ian forest zone that covers much of the eastern United States and southern Ontario. However, the zone ends near London. Since she discovered the identity of her 100 -year-old Darryl Coote/Reporter Lucknow resident Pat Weptler sits underneath her large tulip tree. When she moved in three years ago, she thought it was nothing more than a deformed maple, but once learning its true identity and that it is not indigenous to this area she has been its biggest supporter hoping for it to become a local landmark tree, she has been its most ardent supporter, even going so far as championing it for Ontario Heritage Tree status. She has also placed large name signs at its trunk's base to tell passersby what they are looking at. While It does not meet the criteria to be a Heritage Tree, of which there are only about 30 in the province, it is being examined by Forest Ontario as a potential seed tree. "It is a very important tree to us," said Kerry McLaven, the forest program manager at Forest Ontario. "It's very good for the tree planting work that we do across the province, so this is a really unique species for us." The tree, she said, will be monitored for crop produc- tion of seed cones, which may be harvested in the fall to be later used to populate the tree in the area. While much attention is paid to the environmental significance of trees, less is given to the social role they play, she said. "It's really important to identify the fact that it is socially significant," she said. "[Weptler's tree is] going to be a landmark in that area as long as it stays healthy and nobody is cutting it, and that is significant to have in a community:' Toni Ellis, co-ordinator with Heritage Tree Ontario, said it is "wonderful" to see a member of the community working so hard to raise awareness about her tree and hopes others in the community will take a simi- lar interest in what's growing in their yards. "In this day and age we need our trees like never before," she said. "We under- stand now how much value they bring to a community. It's wonderful to see some- body who is so keen to pro- tect her tree and celebrate it." Trees add value, Ellis elab- orated, both monetarily and socially. For one, they offer shade, which Ellis said is becoming increasingly important due to the rise in skin cancer, cool the environment, con- vert carbon dioxide to oxy- gen and slow rainfall. "So when you have street trees when the rain hits the canopy of the tree it slows how quickly it hits the pavement, so it extends the life of the pavement, and it reduces how much water actually goes into the storm drain, she said. When it comes to aesthet- ics, she said, there isn't a sin- gle person who claims that a street with no trees is more attractive than a street cov- ered with them. "They're really seen as bringing a great deal of beauty to landscape" she said. Recent studies, she said, show that a single good- sized tree can increase the value of a property by 10 per cent. CONTINUED > PAGE 5 02,p01r tD0 C SUMMERILEASE DEALS! 4x4, Ext- Cab 48 Month Lease iG 20,000km PerYear 0 Down • ` '2016 • SILVERADO 168.00 +HST ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS Double Cab, Black Out Edition, 4x4, 5300 V8, 48 Month Lease 20,000km PerYear 0 Down $211.00 +HST ONCE EVERY IWO WEEKS J RA SIDO •,_ High Country Crew 4x4, Power Retractable Boards, White Diamond, 48 Month Lease 20,000km PerYear 0 Down $337.83+HST ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS Monday - Friday 8 am - 6 pm, Saturday 8 am - 4 pm all 180 Suncoast Drive, East, Goderich 519-524-8391 or 1-800-265-5507 • www.mcgeemotors.ca