Notebook Amazing tree quest winners


ship with the Manitoba Forestry Association (MFA). Julie Turenne-Maynard, executive director of Rivers West Red River Corridor, managed the search and the photo contest for the largest trees. The search was created to celebrate the important role that trees play in our lives. Rivers West hopes that deepening appreciation for the individual trees that are important to us will bring home the value of all the trees along the Red River Corridor and our province. Several communities, schools, festivals


L


and individuals from throughout the Red River Corridor participated in the quest and learned how to measure and then locate the tallest, biggest, oldest, most striking and most notable, and just plain favourite trees in the community. Winning nominations include:


• Biggest and tallest tree: Plains cotton-


wood at Emerson, Manitoba with a circum- ference of 28 feet, two inches and a 155.9 feet crown spread. • Historic Tree (a distinctive landmark


recognized by local residents): a tree along the Towering Cottonwood Trail Tree at Red River Blvd. and McBeth Street in Win- nipeg. • Widest crown: Plains cottonwood on the bank of the Roseau River, off of PR 218,


ast summer The Rivers West Red Riv- er Corridor Association conducted an Amazing Tree Quest in partner-


RM of Franklin, Manitoba. • Most notable tree: a bur oak, corner of


Hwy 59 and Beach Road in St. Malo, Mani- toba. • Community favorite: a tree at 11 Queensway Crescent, Winnipeg. Photo contest winner


Plains Cottonwood: Lot #69, 1st Street East in Letellier, Manitoba. In recognition of National Forest Week,


six-foot white spruce trees courtesy of Trees for Tomorrow were given to each winning nomination. This is the letter that clinched the vote for the nominated tree win. A very special tree


There is nothing “special” about this tree.


It is a tree like any other, but having a nor- mal tree in Winnipeg is special, even if, in our ignorance, we have forgotten just how special having a normal tree in your back- yard can be. If you have never lived in a treeless envi-


ronment it is hard to imagine life without trees. Living in China for ten years, I dis- covered that trees like the one now in my back yard are usually only found in large public parks. The large elms and oaks that I remember from my childhood, and took for granted, no longer exist in most cities. According to my wife, the trees she remem- bered from her childhood were cut down in the name of progress; and cities without


trees, I can say with experience, are sterile, lifeless and feel colder than any Winnipeg winter. Visiting Winnipeg for the first time in


2007, my wife marvelled at the large elms that lined our streets and I re-discovered the pleasure of walking down a tree-lined bou- levard. During one such walk, my wife and I both resolved to return to Winnipeg. In 2010, I brought my wife and five-year-


old son back home. We spent a year living in an apartment, then purchased a house and, by extension, a rather large elm that grows in our back yard. This is not a great climbing tree. The trunk is just too straight and high for my son to climb. Yet, it is nonetheless a great tree. Its main feature is a rather large tire swing attached to a lower branch. Attaching a new rope to the tree was the first thing my son and I did together in our new home, and the swing has become more than just a swing. My son, who grew up in China without trees, has quickly adopted it as his own open air theatre. One day he is paddling up an imaginary river, the next, aliens are landing in his flying saucer. As for my wife and I, we understand that


the tree on our property is only being held in trust. It is a gift that has been given to us, which we will in turn, with care and atten- tion, pass on to another family. ` −Robert Drummond, Winnipeg.


The bur oak of St. Malo Nominated by Louis Gosselin, St. Malo, Manitoba


The Tree of My Life! My Tree There it stands, all squiggly On top of the cliff Near St. Malo grotto grounds.


The tree speaks to me.


Nathanaël, as I’ve named it, is a great gift. I go visit it.


I sit and lean against its roughness, its toughness.


Born of nothing much. Meant to grow straight towards the heavens. Nathanaël knows its past.


Such as a person would, it speaks of dreams, hopes, and meaning. A reason for BEING.


Crushed, broken, rejected, it has become just a squiggly old tree, but FREE! It tells of much needed courage, will to live Against all odds! My tree still just IS!!!


Louis Gosselin with his favourite tree. 6 • Foodie 2012 www.localgardener.net


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32