The City of Ottawa and a local conservation authority are teaming up once again to recruit residents in their fight against the destructive emerald ash borer. For the second year in a row, the city and South Nation Conservation are offering Ottawa homeowners up to $500 per tree to remove and replace trees damaged by the invasive beetle. There’s a 10-tree limit per participant. The emerald ash borer was first detected in North America in 2002, and has since destroyed millions of trees including many in this region. The ash borer gradually infiltrates trees, blocking the passage of nutrients from roots to leaves. It can take years for a tree to sustain serious damage, but homeowners will start noticing dead patches soon after the insects get down to work.

A researcher with the Canadian Forest Service says, while forest fires are a common and essential part of northwestern Ontario’s boreal ecosystem, climate change will alter how frequently the region sees a “bad year.” The 2019 forest fire season has seen several large fires, some of which have forced evacuations of remote First Nations, burned very close to municipalities and damaged some power and telecommunications infrastructure. “None of the individual fires that are actually occurring would be something that we would say are driven by climate change,” said Joshua Johnston, a forest fire research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service. “Ten, 15 years ago, you might have had a bad year every four or five years.” “What we’re seeing [now] is a trend towards having more frequent activities, so, basically, it’s going to start to become more like an annual basis.”

TIMMINS, ONTARIO – Timmins community welcomed Zac Wagman today as he progresses on Project Learning Tree Canada’s Green Ride for Green Jobs on his Picolo Velo wooden bicycle. Starting his day at the EACOM Timmins centennial sawmill with a tour, he then presented the virtues of Green Jobs to youth at the local YMCA and took a scenic ride around the city. …“The partnership with PLT Canada is a natural fit, showing that by managing Canada’s greatest renewable resource responsibly, we generate stable jobs and opportunity for communities like Timmins. We’re happy that Zac is riding across our communities and inspiring youth to consider these wonderful careers in the great outdoors,” concluded Kevin Edgson, President and CEO, EACOM Timber Corporation and Project Learning Tree Canada Board Member.