Tree Tales Writing Contest Winners Announced

Tree Celebration at Queen Elizabeth Park October 29^th, 1-3 PM

October 25, 2005 (No. 75) - The winners of the Park Board's Tree Tales Writing Contest were announced at a recent Park Board meeting. The winners are as follows:

Age Category	First Prize	Second Prize	Third Prize
Under 14	Angus Lim	Nicole Eastman	Tomohiko Ebashi
14 - 18	Alisha Randhawa	Rushan Shekar	Lubna Luthfy
19 or older	Tom McLauchlan	Susan McLoughlin	Eng Cheng Ferguson

Contest judges Doug Justice, Associate Director and Curator of Collections at the UBC Botanical Garden; Cynthia Flood, award winning fiction writer and Sandra Thomas, Vancouver Courier reporter, chose the nine winners from an outstanding selection of over 100 entries in the three categories.

A special celebration and tree planting ceremony to honour all contest participants is planned for Saturday, October 29th from 1 to 3 PM at Queen Elizabeth Park. Tree and book prizes will be awarded to the winners. Special tree tours by Park Board staff, a tree planting ceremony and readings by the winners are planned. Refreshments will be provided courtesy of Starbucks Coffee. The public is invited to attend.

The Park Board launched the Tree Tales writing contest in June to encourage the public to share their stories, poems and other writings about a favourite tree found on one of Vancouver's public parks, streets or green spaces. The Vancouver Courier was a sponsor of the project.

The Park Board is the steward of the trees on parks and for the more than 130,000 street trees that together make up Vancouver's urban forest. Arboriculture staff grow trees at the Park Board's tree farm in Langley for planting on parks and streets each year. Together with neighbourhood groups, schools, and other agencies, the Park Board promotes and enhances the urban forest to ensure the beauty and livability of our city.

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For further information, contact: Carol DeFina, Communication Coordinator, at 604-257-8440.

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation maintains 200 parks and 40 major facilities throughout the City of Vancouver. The Park Board's mission is to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation services to benefit people, communities and the environment.

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