Tree Trust weighs in on upcoming Elora-Cataract Trailway tree removal

ERIN/HILLSBURGH ‒ As the countdown to the next phase of the Elora-Cataract Trail sewer construction begins, Tree Trust has added its voice to community members who are doing their best to protect the trees with what little time is left. 

Last month, Dig Erin announced the trail will close to the public on Sept 5. while 5,000 trees and vegetation are removed over six to eight weeks beginning Monday. 

While the town intends to replant 20,000 trees back onto the trail and on other properties within the town post-construction, Toni Ellis, executive director of Tree Trust, a program at the Elora Environment Centre working to preserve the mature trees, wants to know whether there’s been a thorough review of alternative options as tree planting is always the second choice to tree retention. 

“The whole scale removal of the trees to make way for the infrastructure is the cheapest and simplest option which is, in my view, old school,” said Ellis. “It discounts the significant value of the existing habitat not to mention public outcry.”

According to Ellis, an existing canopy delivers far more environmental value than what hundreds of saplings can offer, not to mention providing important habitat, moderating rainfall, and storing carbon. 

“The standing trees also provide welcome shade and beauty to all who use the Trailway,” said Ellis. “The loss of this stand of trees will leave this stretch barren, windier, and a whole lot less inviting to all of us.”

Ellis also wanted to know what the plan was to water and mulch the saplings for their first few years to ensure that they survive. 

As explained during an evening community information session hosted by Dig Erin, the township is working with the CVC to try and ensure that the saplings survive. For every mature tree removed, three saplings will be replanted. If a tree is larger in size, it's eligible for additional saplings.

"We're putting them in strategic locations around the town where they'll be monitored on an ongoing basis and then replaced if need be," said acting CAO Jim Sawkins at last week's meeting.

Mayor Michael Dehn said at the meeting that some of the future locations for saplings will be at Town Hall, Barbour Field, and the Deer Pit. 

But Ellis said that the wide-scale tree removal and construction will compact the soil making it a tougher growing environment for future saplings. 

“If soil remediation and a tree care plan were calculated into the cost of the project, the economics of this approach would look different,” said Ellis. 

Residents are to expect delays and increased traffic at trail access points at Main St. in Erin Village, Sideroad 17, Wellington Road 22, and Trafalgar Road in Hillsburgh, with roads at the trail intersections temporarily reduced to one lane. Access for emergency vehicles and pedestrians will be maintained at all times.

Work will take place from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, but the notice warns after-hours or weekend work may be required over the course of construction.

Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.