With mayors and councils making important budget decisions now, these questions are more relevant now than ever. For example, Lisa Helps sent out a campaign news release saying we could celebrate Tree Appreciation Day by planting trees in neighbourhoods all over the city, up to 1000. However, only four were planted this year, about a quarter of the number that was planted last year.
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We need to remind mayor and council, that in the March 15, 2018 Council Motion, Council agreed that the new Gonzales Neighbourhood Plan needed to strengthen the language with regard to green space and tree preservation, anticipating forthcoming updates to the Tree Preservation Bylaw and implementation of the Urban Forest Master Plan.
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Can you imagine a world where a walk in the forest is prescribed by medical doctors to reduce stress? Japan began studying the benefits of ‘forest bathing’ in the early 1980s. Their scientific research has shown that 20 minutes in the forest reduces blood pressure, lowers heart rate and increases the number of cancer-fighting cells in the body by as much as 40%.
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I recently stood before the Victoria City council and mayor to urge them to implement the Recommended Actions of the URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN of 2013 and that leaders of the local Indigenous Nations of Esquimalt and Songhees be invited to participate in this work. Affordable HOUSING a green and livable HABITAT must be part of Victoria’s Strategic Plan.
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Kudos to Michael Meagher for this Letter to the Editor in the Nov. 22nd Times Colonist. “Anyone for a tax reduction on properties that contain trees?”
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We are in a climate crisis. Daily we witness or hear about climate disasters all over the world. A recent windstorm in Italy wiped out over a million trees that were 200 years old. Currently in California drought conditions have caused horrific wildfires resulting in a loss of lives, of homes, of trees, plants and wildlife.
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Trees perform important eco-services, such as creating oxygen, cooling the air during our increasingly long, hot summers, reducing storm water, and most importantly, they store carbon. Big trees store a lot more carbon than saplings do. Big trees do more of everything on that list than saplings do.
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Mankind has embarked on a huge, uncontrolled experiment – we have destroyed about 80 per cent of the world’s forests. More are destroyed every minute. How long can we last without them? Instead of waiting to find out, many people are planting thousands, even millions of trees.
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The book explores Jane’s communication with trees, revealing that what they have to share is deep wisdom and pure love. Jane not only shares the heart-felt messages from the trees, she shows you how to experience for yourself the guidance and healing that the trees have to offer.
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