CHESTERMERE – Twelve families, along with their newest additions, gathered together in Westmere Park to take part in this year’s birth forest planting on Oct. 3.
Parents were give the chance to pick a tree before tagging them with their baby’s name. They then helped put the tree in the ground and pack soil around the roots.
Birch, oak, mayday, trembling aspen and ornamental crab apple trees were planted this year. The new forest is located close to the lake in Westmere Park.
This is the seventh year that a small forest has been planted to honor the year’s babies. It began in 2005 during the Alberta Centennial, when a group of trees were planted at Founders Point. For the next four years, the trees were planted at Sunset Park. In 2010, they were planted in one of the small green spaces along West Chestermere Drive.
“The trees we planted in 2005 are doing well,” said organizer Bill Peddlesden, who helps get the trees planted on behalf of the local Streetscape Committee. “We’ve kept an eye on them, they’re certainly growing.”
Peddlesden said that he was pleased to see all 12 families come out to plant their trees this year.
“We had a 100 per cent turnout this year,” he said. “Usually we do the planting on the weekend, and then other things get in the way for people.
“This year we did it on a weeknight and everyone showed up, it was great that everyone could be here.”
All of the names of the children who had trees planted will be kept on record, so that they can be maintained in the future. The trees are kept under a watchful eye by the town for their first
few years, to make sure they survive. If a tree dies, a new one will be planted in its place. Only one tree needed to be replaced last year, and Peddlesden said that they typically have a high survival rate.
Each tree is given a metal tag that features the name and birthdate of each baby. The tags were upgraded from plastic to metal in recent years to keep them from deteriorating.
“We’ve been pretty lucky with the tags and keeping track of who belongs to which tree,” he said. “If a tag gets lost or breaks we will replace it.”
The $25 fee to participate covers the cost of the tree, the tag and the maintenance. The cost will also cover the plaques that are going to start being made. These plaques will be placed in each park near the birth forests, and will feature the full names of the participating children.
Peddlesden said that he enjoys seeing everyone come out and enjoy doing the planting.
“It’s kind of a fun thing, the parents really like the idea,” he said. “It’s a fun thing to be a part of.”
