The city wants your help to protect its trees

The City of Edmonton is launching a new program to train residents on how to become tree experts to protect its urban forest.

The Urban Forest Ambassador Program will teach residents how to detect threats to trees, like Dutch elm disease and emerald ash borer.

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Training begins next Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Lois Hole Library, and more sessions will be scheduled this summer.

Space is limited and registration is required online.

Edmontonians who become Urban Forest Ambassadors will contribute to the reporting of the long-term health of elm and ash trees and raise awareness in their neighbourhoods as key community contacts.

How to spot Dutch elm disease

The city is also reminding people not to bring firewood from other communities back to Edmonton because it could have insects that spread Dutch elm and other diseases.

Tree owners are asked to prune diseased, dying and dead branches from elm trees from October to March. To dispose of it safely, burn it, bury it, chip it or take it to the Edmonton Waste Management Centre, the city said.

People who see signs of Dutch elm disease – brown staining in the sapwood or leaves that wilt, droop or curl from late June to mid July – are asked to call 311.

Dutch elm disease was spotted in Killarney last August. The infected trees and a number of nearby elms were removed to control the spread.

The city hired six new arborists after that to help monitor the disease.

There were no new cases over the winter.

Elm trees make up nearly 22 per cent of Edmonton’s forestry, the city said earlier this year.

For more information on Dutch elm disease and the city’s efforts, click here.