Street Tree Pruning Program

Arboriculture staff prune and maintain street trees on a seven year pruning cycle. Crews systematically prune at least 1/7th of all trees in each of the 22 neighbourhoods annually. During maintenance of each street tree, staff update information regarding trunk diameter, height and tree condition. Prior to entering a scheduled neighbourhood, staff inspect every tree and prioritize the work that needs to be done. As well, during the year, Tree Inspectors, responding to service requests from the public, designate specific blocks for pruning, or prioritize street tree maintenance.

The Street Tree Inventory

Each street tree and planting site is recorded on "VanTree", a computerized tree management system.

This database records the tree's vital statistics such as:

• species
• height
• diameter
• condition

Location of each tree is inventoried by street name and hundred block, with exact location indicated by a "cell" number showing its position relative to a building or residence address. VanTree also records service requests, and tracks the work history of each tree: from time of planting, watering and stake removal, through systematic pruning cycles, emergency calls for broken limbs, and finally, as the tree declines, a record of its removal and stump grinding, and the re-planting of a replacement tree. Deleted trees are retained in memory for historical reference.

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