Urban forest gets a trim - Vancouver, BC

North Island Midweek - Urban forest gets a trim

Closely cropped downtown street trees are a sure sign that spring’s on the way.

As part of its annual tree maintenance program, the City of Campbell River prunes street trees along the Shoppers Row sidewalk from 13th Avenue to the Pier Street.

Two pruning methods are used downtown, says the city’s parks foreman and certified arborist Tom Clarke.

The London plane trees will be pollarded, a pruning technique that might look unusual to some people. “The first time we pruned the downtown trees this way, some local gardeners were surprised and even concerned by the look,” Clarke says. “We’d like to assure everyone that pollarding is the proven pruning technique for this type of tree in this type of location.”