London: The Forest City
You don’t have to be a tree hugger to notice that London’s trademark logo is a tree. You might have even discovered that London’s alias is ‘The Forest City’. This may seem surprising at first, but there is some interesting history behind the title.
After doing some quick research, it becomes evident that the City of London was originally selected to serve as the capital city for Upper Canada in 1793. This idea was rejected because the area consisted of extensive hardwood forests, and was not appropriate for the development of a capital city. Further reading suggested that this hardwood forest was actually rare Carolinian forest dominated by deciduous trees like hickory and walnut.
While London didn’t become the capital city for Upper Canada, much of the original forests were still cut down to create what we now know as the Forest City, and a lot of effort has been focused on replanting trees in the area.
Reforest London is a non profit charitable organization dedicated to re-foresting London. They hold regular events throughout the year so that volunteers in the community can help grow trees in the city. In the spring and fall, volunteers are needed to plant trees; in the summer and fall, volunteers are needed to care for the trees. Check out http://reforestlondon.ca/ to learn where and when these opportunities are taking place.
Reforest London is also responsible for leading the Million Tree Challenge which aims to plant one million trees in London over the next ten years. Their first goal is to plant at least one tree for every Londoner. So far, they have planted over 25,000!
Trees do a whole lot more than just providing habitat for wildlife animals. They reduce pollution of our water resources because they absorb stormwater runoff; they combat the urban heat island effect; and they even act as natural air filters by removing pollution like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter that leads to smog.
Research has also shown lower rates of asthma in young children, where more trees exist. Other health benefits include improved attention and function, reduced stress, and faster recovery following surgery.
Now that you’ve learned all about the benefits of trees, you may be thinking of planting one. Visit Reforest London’s website at http://reforestlondon.ca/plant-tree to find out how to plant and take care of a tree. The site also has tips on which species to plant in London, and how you can get involved through Reforest London! Who knows? Maybe you’re a treehugger after all!