The urban forest is essential for everyone living in a city. Many studies on urban forests mainly look at trees on public property, missing those on private property. The City of Kitchener keeps track of its public trees, studying their types, needs, how invasive species affect them, and their health. However, it’s important to note that 54% of Kitchener’s urban forest is located on private property and remains unassessed.
Dr. D. Puric-Mladenovic and Dr. A. Kenney from the University of Toronto developed a program called Neighbourwoods to address this knowledge gap. Neighbourwoods is a community-based tree inventory, monitoring, and stewardship program that collaborates with local community members. It aims to gather information on the species, size, health, and structure of individual trees located on private property. This data can provide supplementary information to urban foresters regarding species diversity, common pests, and forest age and health. Additionally, the program empowers community members to better understand and interact with the urban forest.
Through a partnership with the City of Kitchener and using Neighbourwoods, Reep launched an effort to study and check the health of trees on private property through our Backyard Tree Planting program. Homeowners could have their trees inventoried during a special visit offered by Reep. In 2023, Reep assessed 127 trees across 43 properties, although most properties had at least one new native tree, which could skew the data compared to the whole city.
The health assessment looked at 17 factors, like rot or leaf color, scoring each to determine the tree’s health status. Many trees were found to be in good condition, as shown in the map below.
Among the 127 trees inventoried, 22 different genera were identified, with Acer (Maple) being the most common, followed by Juglans (Walnut). This suggests a need for more diversity since nearly half were from just these two genera. Further analysis revealed that most trees were native to Ontario, likely because properties assessed were participating in Reep’s tree planting program.
This Neighbourwoods pilot project offered a detailed look into Kitchener’s private urban forest. The assessments revealed that the trees making up our urban forest experience unique challenges and exhibit a diverse range of issues, including girdling roots, insect infestations, construction impacts, pollution, and more, each requiring unique solutions. These problems may arise from improper planting or care over the tree’s life, poor genetics, and vulnerability to certain diseases/pests, or from exposure to harsher urban conditions. The data also highlighted weaknesses in species diversity and an abundance of non-native trees. Additionally, the assessments identified progress in combating common invasive species and poor tree care practices, such as topping and volcano mulching. Regular updates to tree inventories would facilitate ongoing monitoring of these issues.
A key component that Neighbourwoods offers is the opportunity to engage with homeowners to discuss the importance of caring for trees on their property, both large and small. Topics of conversation often include the benefits of native species over non-native ones, pruning strategies, the use of fertilizers/pesticides, and much more. Further discussions could explore the significant potential that private lands hold for tree planting and climate change mitigation. If you’re interested in planting trees on your property or having a conversation with one of Reep’s arborists, please refer to our Backyard Tree Planting program application here. Additionally, for those who wish to contribute to the preservation of our urban canopy’s legacy trees, consider supporting the Tree Trust initiative with a donation. Your support can help extend the life and health of these essential trees for future generations.