General News

Town collecting street tree watering bags in October

October 12, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Town of New Tecumseth will collect street tree watering bags in October to prepare for winter.

The Town is committed to growing the urban forest. Working to increase the tree canopy, this project starts with the success of newly planted trees.

To help keep trees healthy, the Town has secured tree watering bags and provides them to residents willing to help water a newly planted boulevard tree.

Tree watering bags are available to residents in the spring. Watering bags should be filled once each week, continuing into the fall. The program will help trees establish a good root system and survive the establishment period – the first two to three years after it’s planted.

The goal is to grow the boulevard trees into a healthy urban forest. If trees survive past two-to-three years, their survival rate is much higher.

The tree watering bag’s slow-release watering system provides deep water saturation and is convenient to use as it needs to be filled only once per week.

You can also participate by watering a boulevard tree with your household hose. Turn the hose on to a trickle and set the hose beside the tree for 30 minutes to an hour. You can also use a five-gallon pail as a measure, drill a small hole at the base of the pail and let the water drain out slowly. You can also do this once per week.

The Town will be removing the tree watering bags for the winter to avoid damage from freezing.

You can participate in the spring if you have a tree in front of your house by contacting the Town and requesting a tree watering bag.

The Town has determined an urban tree canopy cover of 21 per cent for all developed areas as of 2021 and is working toward a goal of 30 per cent.

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