Annapolis Valley resident raising money to save vulnerable hemlock stand in Kentville

An Annapolis Valley resident is working to save a vulnerable stand of eastern hemlock trees in the Kentville area, after a devastating invasive insect was found about 50 kilometres away.

The massive, centuries-old conifers are located around the ravine trail in Kentville and are at risk of being infested by the hemlock woolly adelgid.

The adelgid has been wreaking havoc on hemlocks in eastern North America — including Nova Scotia — for years.

The tiny bugs, native to the Pacific Northwest and Japan, kill trees by attaching themselves to the base of hemlock needles and feeding on sugars, starving the tree of nutrients. While feeding, they produce a woolly-looking substance visible on the underside of the needles.

Christianne Hagerman wants to prevent that from happening to the "beautiful" old-growth forest that is home to a well-loved park in the area.

Hagerman, who has a bachelor of science in biology from Acadia University, said the adelgid was recently found near Middleton, about 50 kilometres west of Kentville.

"We are sure that it's going to reach the ravine quite soon. In fact, we're expecting that it will arrive sometime in the spring," Hagerman told CBC Radio's Information Morning Halifax on Tuesday.

"That's why we're starting the fundraising initiative right now so that we will have time when it does arrive before it quickly takes over the forest."

Hagerman, along with a small group of volunteers, started the online fundraising campaign called Save the Kentville Ravine Initiative just last week. 

They're raising money for an insecticide that would protect the trees from future infestations, similar to what is being done in the Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site and the Tobeatic Wilderness Area.

Hagerman said there are hundreds — if not thousands — of eastern hemlocks near the Kentville ravine that would need to be injected, but the insecticide costs $45 per tree.

"Just when you enter the park, you realize, 'Oh, this is mostly hemlock,'" she said. "So it is unlikely that we will be able to chemically inject every single tree with the preventative treatment."

Hagerman said the group hopes to raise about $10,000, which would protect 222 trees in the area.

As of Tuesday, the campaign has raised $540.

Hagerman said if the forest does become infested, many of the trees would die and some would need to be cut preemptively to prevent further spread.

"We will see a huge empty stand of what was once a beautiful park," she said.

She also said she's worried about how the area will be affected if these hemlocks aren't protected. 

"[These trees] are really important for maintaining habitats since they do make up a huge majority of old-growth. They keep forests cool by shading out the forest floor and this also protects things like fish breeding in streams that are below these trees," she said. 

"They also filter water and you can imagine, if these trees were to disappear from the Kentville ravine, you would see a lot of erosion from rain just pounding on the ravine." 

Rachel Bedingfield, Kentville's director of parks and recreation, said the environmental impacts of this invasive insect are also a major concern for the town.

"For many reasons, the Kentville ravine is such a sacred space to the town, both from recreation usage, from hiking and exploring and we have camps and programs in there," Bedingfield said.

"And then the other piece too is the environmental side of it. There's the carbon offsets, but then there's also flood mitigation which is really important to the town. I can't express how vital it is." 

Bedingfield said the hemlock woolly adelgid has been on the town's radar but council hadn't yet decided how to move forward without external support.

She said she was pleased to hear that Hagerman was willing to take the initiative.

"The ravine is such a huge asset to our community and for a community member to take this on and be as passionate as we are is just absolutely wonderful," Bedingfield said.

Bedingfield said the town is now partnering with Hagerman to introduce an education and awareness campaign about the insect and what it could do to the trees in the area.

"I just spoke with her about possibly leading some hikes through the ravine to introduce people more intimately, perhaps, with the hemlocks and the value that they bring to our community, both from a recreation perspective, but also from an environmental perspective," she said.

Hagerman has also been invited to present her initiative to the town council for potential insecticide funding in January at the latest.