Hello fellow tree lovers,

We have precious opportunities right now, to let our community know what is most important to us.
They are firming up budgets. They want to know where they should spend our money. Let’s tell them!

Victoria’s online survey must be submitted by this Sunday.
It’s easy to fill out. Our responses could make a real difference!
(More info below.)

Victoria has a public event tomorrow. More details below.
Lisa will be speaking about trees. If you can, please attend, to speak or support.

And a courageous Saanich counsellor could use our support at the 7 p.m. Monday council meeting.
More details below.

Tell Victoria you care about trees!

Do you wish you had a direct line to city council, to let them know what you would like to happen in our city?
Well, until Jan. 20th, you do!

Many parts of the survey are not mandatory. Just skip what you don’t want to get into.

Lisa Gordon filled out the survey and really encourages us all to go for it. She says:

“I watched every minute of the city’s 4-hour budget town hall online. The vast majority of speakers focused on heart-breaking downtown issues: homelessness, mental health, substance abuse and related policing and other services.

“Only three speakers (all online) advocated for urban trees. Thanks to any of you who did that. A fourth person asked that only non-pollinating trees be planted to help people with asthma. As a life-long asthmatic, I groaned 🙁

“Could we please invite our network to mob the online survey by the deadline of SUNDAY JANUARY 20th.

“There is a section near the end where you can go in-depth about operational spending in each department. I advocated for trees in Public Works & Engineering and Parks & Rec. I could have done community planning too.

Ideally, you would read the tree-related parts of the financial plan first (link below).

“In the financial plan, if you search the word “tree,” you also get “street” in the results.
So here’s a trick: tap the space bar, one space before tree, to narrow the search (and get 81 results).”

Here is the link to all the budget docs:
https://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/city/city-budget.html

Here is the link to the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WG5TLMP

Some points you could make:

• Trees are an essential part of our response to the climate-change emergency. We need to invest in them.
• Trees store carbon. Mature trees store a lot more carbon than replacement saplings do. Let’s keep the mature trees, and plant more.
• We support new staffing to fully implement Victoria’s Urban Forest Master Plan. Included in that would be a progressive update of the dated Tree Preservation Bylaw. No more delays due to limited funds or understaffing!
• We need to spend a lot more money to increase tree-planting in order to maintain and increase our tree canopy. It has been steadily declining for years.
• Whether or not we embrace densification, we must plan ways to retain mature trees throughout our city. Studies have found they improve people’s mental and physical health in many ways.
• Victoria’s street trees save the city nearly $3 million a year in ‘eco-services’ like preventing flooding, cooling streets and buildings, and reducing wind, among other things.
• We urge the city to budget for buying well-treed properties (like 1201 Fort Street) when they come on the market, as one way to retain mature trees into the future. Funding from other levels of government should also be explored.
• We want the City of Victoria to declare itself a place where trees matter, and to develop budgets and policies in every department — Planning, Parks & Recreation, Engineering and Public Works, etc. — that will help retain and sustain our beautiful mature trees.
• We urge the city to invest in finding creative ways to save our mature trees, rather than cutting them down when they’re in the way. We need them now.
• We urge the city to fund a program to support private property owners in their efforts to care for significant trees, as Saanich already does.

Saturday – join Victoria’s Strategic Plan Engagement Summit

Saturday, January 19, 2019
10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
(Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for check-in)
Victoria Conference Centre
From the website: “Want to share ideas, learn together and build community? Give a day to your city and join us at the Strategic Plan Engagement Summit!

You’re invited to roll up your sleeves and join your neighbours to dive deep into the proposed 2019 – 2022 Strategic Plan, to help set the course for the city over the next four years and map out the City’s 2019 Engagement Road Map. We hope you can join us. Register now!

Monday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. — Please lend your support to a Saanich moratorium on tree-cutting!

Nathalie Chambers is making a motion for a temporary moratorium on tree-cutting in Saanich, as a ‘band-aid’ until the EDPA can be replaced.

This will be seen as very drastic by many, but most of us at Trees Matter wholeheartedly support it.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year told the world we have only 12 years to make drastic changes, in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. We need to make big changes, and this would be a start.

Public support makes a huge difference. The more people who can attend and speak in favour of this motion, the more likely it might pass. And then, other communities might consider it…

You do not have to be a Saanich resident in order to speak during the public part of the meeting. Each person has up to 3 minutes.

According to this Times-Colonist article, there will be strong opposition:

https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/saanich-councillor-presses-for-temporary-ban-on-tree-cutting-1.23604521

CHEK-TV covers endangered downtown tree

In case you missed it, CTMN has been speaking up for the downtown tree slated to lose its life for a ‘scramble crosswalk’.

The hearts and angels mentioned in the video were left there Christmas Eve, by our member Verna, who was moved to do a vigil to inform passersby about the tree’s fate.

Thanks to all those who speak up and stand up for the trees!