Rooted in Community: Why Your Support is Vital to Our Urban Forest’s Future

Ecological and Environmental Importance:

Ash trees are foundational plantings in Alberta’s urban forests and play a life-supporting role in our cities. They are essential for sustainable biodiversity, resulting in resilient, interconnected ecosystems. They provide food and shelter for hundreds of species of insects, including pollinators, birds, and mammals. Trees support entire food webs and diverse microhabitats.

Ash trees provide essential ecoservices that sustain our quality of life. They cool our communities by creating shade, help clean the air by filtering pollution and absorbing harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and ozone. Ash trees also absorb carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we need to breathe.

Social Importance:

Our urban forests help strengthen community connections by encouraging social interaction, fostering stronger relationships between neighbours and increasing feelings of safety.

Park systems and open green spaces in our communities promote physical activity and recreation with measureable positive impacts to our mental well-being such as reduced stress and anxiety. This can lead to healthy heart rates and blood pressure.

Urban forests have an beneficial impact on road safety, reduce crime rates and incidences of violence.

Importantly, trees beautify our living spaces.

Economic Importance:

Ash tree species, Fraxinus genus have been the preferred boulevard tree, second only to elm species, for their cold-hardiness and ideal canopy shape.

Urban forests require continual, complex care. These assets help cities achieve goals outlined in their city plans and management costs are calculated into four-year budget cycles with adjustments made annually. In the City of Edmonton, public ash trees along street boulevards and open green spaces total approximately 180,000 and represent 39% of all boulevard trees. They are valued at $390 Million (City of Edmonton Urban Forest Asset Management Plan, 2021).

Ecosystem services, more aptly described as relational values, are essential assets that support the efficient functioning of cities. The services they provide to the people living in cities amounts to billions of dollars and will vary for each municipality depending on their urban forest demographic. For the City of Edmonton, these benefits are valued at over $2.7 Billion (City of Edmonton Urban Forest Asset Management Plan, 2021). These benefits are at risk.

Rural ash shelterbelts in Alberta shield homes, gardens, buildings and keep roads accessible from northwesterly winds, snow and overland flooding. They protect our rich agricultural soils and nutrients from erosion and severe droughts. These stands of ash trees are at risk.

Tree nursery operations have made significant production investments in supplying ash tree species throughout Alberta. Recent commitments are estimated at $10 Million. Over two million ash trees have been planted in rural shelterbelt areas since the program started.