Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan
Probably didn't need to be said, but I mostly said it because it got me thinking that a lot of Canadian cities can be proud of their urban tree canopies, especially when some of those cities were developed on flat treeless parts of the country (Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, etc - don't know enough about the topography of Eastern Canada to know where it could be true there). And nowhere did I say it was average, just that many of us can be proud of our cities' canopies (as displayed by many of the photos in this thread).
And it makes sense that Winnipeg would have the largest stock of Elms, it was the largest city in western Canada during the era when the plantation of Elms was done almost exclusively of all other tree species. It makes for a great look, specifically for the reason they were planted, huge canopies with more minimal lower foliage, but also lead to the devastation of Eastern North America's similar canopies.
In any case, I didn't realize it would be so controversial to point out that it is something many of our cities got right... Similar to how when someone says that Halifax, Regina, Calgary, or Winnipeg (among others) have good/great skylines for cities of their size, someone usually says, "it's something that Canada in general does well". I'll keep my eye out for similar such comments in future and ensure they are pointed out as being insulting toward the city, whose original photo/comment sparked the extra discussion. I'll also avoid discussions about Winnipeg as apparently anything that is a shared quality or some similarity with other Canadian cities steals Winnipeg's thunder and is automatically a debbie downer comment. (This probably also didn't need to be said, but I'm not feeling pariticularly cordial after Shinook's little tantrum - here and through PM).
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One quick question if I may though... Does the Manitoba gov't do much to take out and destroy infected trees surrounding Winnipeg? There was a bit of talk here a while ago that the RMs around Regina and Saskatoon aren't really getting much support from the province and so many trees are not being cleared out, making the odds of Dutch Elm Disease striking Stoon and Regina with more than just a few infected trees every year increase greatly. And it also makes me wonder if it's only a matter of time before the canopies of Western Canada also disappear.
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Honestly there is nothing wrong with what you said. It just seems there could have been an appropriate time to say it. Shinook is very defensive of his city, and can be overly aggressive about it, taking things out of context. Looking back at it, I can see how your comment
could be taken either way, and seeing as how Shinook was exclaiming pride, it could have came out as a bit of a negative response to his post, in that he potentially shouldn't be proud of something that is so common. I didn't personally take it like that, but am just explaining how he could have. I have to say though, if in response to his post you had said, "It is something Canada does well", there would be no room for misinterpretation.
People from Winnipeg are used to others bashing it, so they can become overly defensive. They take the rare opportunity to show pride in there city and it is usually shoved back in their faces. I am not at all saying you did that, because you didn't, but Winnipegger's can have a chip on their shoulders.
I definitely agree with you though, Canada in general has something to be proud of in terms of how extensive its canopies are.
In regards to the province, they have always contributed, but as of this year City Council put a budget on the table where they would each pay an equal portion towards Elm Treatment, protection, etc. The province, I believed agreed to it. That was a huge step forward for the city, because it literally resulted in double the funding for the program. Prior to the new funding Winnipeg had (still has) a net loss of between 1000-2000 trees a year. It is really quite sad. There is also the Emerald Ash Borer, and the Oak tree is affected as well. I personally feel that the city should have a 1 for 1 program, where for every felled tree, 1 is replaced. Unfortunately, among other things, some people don't like having to rake leaves in the fall, and actually prefer their yards once the tree dies, so a lot of the time the tree is not replaced.