Make trees priority, city told

Sat, October 21, 2006 By JOE MATYAS, FREE PRESS REPORTER

If London wants to be worthy of its title as the Forest City, it should make tree planting a priority, a woman who protects rare species said in London last night. The city should also do everything it can to preserve its existing inventory of trees, Diana Beresford-Kroeger said before speaking to a full house at Wolf Performance Hall. "You can't just leave it up to authorities," she said. "There has to be a lot of citizen engagement. Everybody who can should be planting trees, the right kind of trees for this environment." Trees serve many good purposes, the most important being oxygen generation and water purification, she said. "Trees are geniuses when it comes to doing these two things." Beresford-Kroeger, a botanist and agricultural researcher who lives near Smith Falls, said the mental and physical health consequences of tree loss are enormous. "If you want to have a healthy city, you need to have an abundance of trees." Beresford-Kroeger said she approved of London city council's recent decision to give more protection to woodlands facing development pressures. A healthy environment is good for business, she said. "People want to live in cities that are attractive because of their natural resources." Beresford-Kroeger's visit to London was sponsored by the Thames Talbot Land Trust and it attracted an audience from most of the city's "green" groups. Since its formation in 2000, the trust has been raising money and acquiring natural environments to be held in trust for future generations, said executive director Don Gordon.