TREES WILL GROW AGAIN
The reforestation of Arlington Woods
The city will soon announce a program to replace some of the trees that were lost when a tornado ripped through Arlington Woods, residents were told during a solemn ceremony at the edge of a devastated forest on Sunday.
About 130 neighbours stood at a clearing at the edge of Bruce Pit in what was once a forest of 150-yearold pines, listening to speeches, music and poetry.
The tornado that touched down a month ago destroyed many of the trees that were a beloved part of the neighbourhood in the west end of Ottawa off Greenbank Road.
A city program will allow residents to choose trees that will be planted in rights-of-ways in the neighbourhood, said Robert Onley, a vice-president of the Trend-Arlington Community Association.
Another initiative between the city and Tree Canada, a tree-planing charity, is being developed to help homeowners replace trees on their land, said Onley.
And fortunately, some members of the community had collected seeds from local pine cones in the neighbourhood as part of a Canada 150 project so trees could be replaced if they died or came down. There are now 2,200 Arlington Woods saplings growing in a Kemptville nursery.
They should be ready to replant this spring, said Onley.
It was a touch of good news for a community that was hit hard by one of the six tornadoes that touched down in Ottawa and Gatineau on Sept. 21.
Sunday’s ceremony was held to mourn the trees, but also to celebrate the community spirit that has neighbours working together to rebuild.
“We’re here to be with our community, and to remember the trees,” said Lisa Wright, with son Charlie, four, and daughter Elsie, six. The forest was “our escape,” she said. She loved roaming there. “It felt like we were away from the city. It was where we went to be with nature. To be silent. To be surrounded by wildlife and trees. “And it’s gone.” Neighbours mourn the loss of the trees, said Trend-Arlington Community Association spokesperson Sean Devine. But the disaster also revealed how fortunate residents are to live in such as “amazing community,” he told the gathering. Neighbours pitched in to help each other out, and the work will continue for months and probably years.
The ceremony included speeches from two ministers, poetry and live music — including a performance from a duo dubbed the Trend-Arlington Tornadoes who sang Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds (“Don’t worry about a thing/’cause every little thing gonna be all right”).
Bagpipers then led the group on a procession through the neighbourhood to a get-together at the community building.
About 50 homes in the neighbourhood were damaged, said Onley. Twenty-one will have to be torn down.