Good things come 1n trees

» New Westminster protecting urban forest with new bylaws

Aaron Guillen
Staff Reoorter

hose who have been living

in New Westminster for the
past two decades, might have
noticed the amount of greenery
in the city has slowly declined.
This is because there has been
an estimated 1.5 per cent yearly
decrease in the botany since
1994. As the discussions of
climate change reach an all-time
high around the world, the City
of New Westminster is taking
action to prevent further loss of
their urban forest.

The urban forest includes
all private trees, public trees,
and supporting greenery in the
area. From the hordes of trees
that can be seen while looking
out the SkyTrain windows,
to the row of trees along the
sidewalk heading to Douglas
College, all shrubs and the like
make up the 18 per cent urban
forest that currently covers New
Westminster.

Although it has the same
percentage as neighbouring

: cities such as Vancouver and

: Victoria, it pales in comparison

: to the North American average

: of 27 per cent. Understandably,

: most cities with a higher density
: population will have lower

: numbers, but that doesn’t mean
: that the city has to give up on its
: dream. Last year, the New York

: City accomplished their goal of

: planting one million trees in

: 10 years, which was planned in

: 2007, just under 2 years ahead of
: schedule.

With the Urban Forest

: Management Strategy voted

: in only a couple weeks ago,

: City Hall has their minds set

: on “an additional 8,500 trees

: on public lands and 3,300 on

: private lands by 2035’—10,000
: of which will be planted within
: the next 10 years. Additionally,
: the new bylaw protects Crown
: trees and sets up a system for

: private property owners who

: want to remove their trees,

: who will now require a permit
: from city hall. Overall, the

: new strategy intends to keep
New Westminster sustainably

: healthy, happy, and beautiful
: through its “protect, enhance,
: and engage” initiative.

The residents of New West

: are encouraged to protect

: the trees on their property in

: solidarity to help sustain and

: improve the urban forest. The

: city recommends residents to

: go out of their way during the

: hotter months by watering

: the neighbourhood trees and

: complying with open fire bans.

“We recognized that

: trees are often managed at

: the periphery of city policy.

: We see trees every day. They

: define our experience in the

: city, but we rarely treat them

: as an aggregate, as an asset for
: the city,” said Edward Porter of
: Diamond Head Consulting to

: the New Westminster Record.

“One of the opportunities

: with the city’s urban forest

: management study is to look
: beyond trees in the city and

: start to look at a forest for the
: city.”

  

Image via horticulturaldna.com

 

Hearings in municipalities as Kinder

Morgan looks to twin pipeline

» Opposition looks to federal government for answers

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor
& news@theotherpress.ca

en concerns regarding
the Trans Mountain
pipeline, a product of Kinder
Morgan, were brought to the
public’s attention this week,
with issues being voiced by
the City of New Westminster,
the Musqueam First Nations,
and environmentalists—
particularly involving the
twinning of the pipeline.

By twinning the pipeline,
Kinder Morgan proposes to
nearly triple oil transport.
According to the New
Westminster Record, twinning
the pipeline will allow transport
of up to 890,000 barrels of
oil per day, as opposed to
300,000 daily with a single
pipeline. The pipeline will span
from Edmonton, and move
southwards in BC through
Kamloops and Burnaby
before reaching a terminus
at Port Metro Vancouver.

The National Energy Board
(NEB) started their hearings
of local concerns regarding
the pipeline in Burnaby on
January 19, and will continue
the hearings until January 29.

: After that, the hearings will

: move to Calgary for a four-day
: session. Hearings and reviews
: are expected to continue

: taking place until May.

“You have heard, through

: the submissions and argument
: of Trans Mountain, a story—a

: story applauding the expertise
: of the board’s advisers, a story
: full of self-serving statements

: expressing how fair this

: process has been,” Anthony

: Capuccinello, a representative
: for the City of Surrey, said to

: CTV. Yet Capuccinello doubts

: that the NEB will place too

: much weight on oppositional

: concern in their review.

The City of New

: Westminster is concerned that
: the pipelines will harm the :
: environment, in particular about :
: the restoration of Brunette River :
: potentially being reversed. The
: City also announced that effects :
: on local botany, the response

: time first responders regarding
: pipeline incidents, property :
: values, and public safety are also :
on top of the list of concerns.

Local indigenous

: populations have expressed

: concern that the pipelines may
: damage rivers and significantly
: affect the ability to fish.

 

Meanwhile, Audrey

: Sieg] of the Musqueam First
: Nation has called to Prime
: Minister Trudeau for action.

“Stand with us if youre

: going to stand with us. We
: need more than just words.”

During the federal election,

: Trudeau promised a new and
: transparent review process
: regarding the approval of oil

  

: pipelines. Since the Liberal

: government was elected,

: Natural Resources Minister

: Jim Carr said that a new review
: process was being worked on,

: but that ongoing projects would
: not be asked to start again

: and that projects under review

: would be allowed a transition

: period, according to CTV.

Although resources

usually fall under provincial

: control, the ultimate decision
: regarding the Trans Mountain
: Pipeline will fall to the federal
: government, because of the

: pipeline expanding through

: two provinces. Once the

: NEB finishes their review in

: May, the cabinet will have

: three months to make a final

: decision on the pipeline.

Te

Image via thinkstock