Update: Tree Planting - Ed Blake Park - Off Kipps Lane
It'sbeen about a week since I noticed the huge reservoir of water installed at Ed Blake Park to water the approximately 41 trees planted by area groups last May 31st. Roughly 90% of the water remains in the reservoir and buckets have appeared under the huge plastic container.
Question is, why wasn't the reservoir installed immediately after planting and not two months later. The trees clearly needed a regular watering schedule from Day One. That was the Job of the Organizers and those groups which donated the trees. Why were more neighbours not asked to water trees from their backyards. This would have been easy to do. Some have clearly done so in parts of the Park.
The condition of the trees has not changed. The trees near homes that were probably watered by neighbours are doing well. The other 50 to 60% are in rough shape. All the watering which I did over two days made no difference. The trees which are gasping for water need a large infusion of water quickly. They are located at the south end of the Park.
Some trees have apparently already bitten the dust and been cut down. A few others have no leaves and appear to be dead. It's hard to see how these trees will thrive through this fall and winter without a massive infusion of water RIGHT NOW. The reservoir could be quickly used up and refilled if there are enough neighbours around the Park interested in saving the trees. If not, I doubt about 30 to 40% will make it through the winter.
A second problem is that the staking on many trees has been vandalized and trees are growing crooked. An otherwise healthy tree was just cut down by the City on a boulevard on Kipps Lane because it had been bent by vandals and it was not staked.
It is extremely hard to understand why all the groups who worked so hard to plant these trees last May 31st have not come quickly to their aid. Carrying buckets of water manually through a park is back breaking. The work should be done with a City vehicle with pickup or a trailer. It's one thing to organize a one day event.
It's another matter to care for a living organism such as a tree in its early years or plants in a garden which need daily care. I raise bountiful crops of tomatoes on my balcony each summer in containers. I know what I am talking about.
It will be very interesting to see how these trees fare through this unusually hot end of summer, fall and winter. I continue to photograph them throughout the fall to monitor their progress. These trees are not small plugs or saplings. They were planted with at least 5 years or more of growth at a significant cost to the donors at the Urban League and ReForest London. It would be a waste if a significant number of them died for lack of watering.
