Here are some of Windsor's oldest trees and how the city plans to protect them

There's a tree on Windsor's Bernard Road that reaches up toward the sky and fans out in all different directions.

While many trees do that, this one is special: it's one of the oldest documented street trees in the southwestern Ontario city. 

That's determined from the size of its trunk, which appears to be the largest, according to Windsor city forester Yemi Adeyeye. 

He said the diameter of the white elm's trunk at nearly 1.4 metres above the ground is 145 centimetres. This means it's likely more than 100 years old, he said. 

Across the city, he said, there are several other known elder trees, many of them maples. 

"A tree that is 150 years old has bigger limbs, bigger branches, bigger protection, bigger shade structure," said Adeyeye. 

He also said the trees better connect people to nature and their community. 

Because of these and many other benefits, the city has been working on creating a strategy — the Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) — to better protect and maintain the region's trees.

The UFMP follows reports that Windsor's trees covered 19 per cent of the city — lower than other southern Ontario cities, with cover ranges between 20 and 30 per cent. 

This week, that plan is getting another step closer to being approved. 

Where are the city's old trees? 

According to the city, some of the oldest street trees on record include silver maples on Cameron Avenue and Felix Avenue, along with a Norway maple on Randolph Place and two other silver maples on John M Street. 

There was a silver maple on St. Louis Avenue in East Windsor that was said to be the oldest known street tree in the city, but it was taken down in 2018 after it was damaged by a storm. 

"It was quite big and quite robust," said Adeyeye. "It had this very surreal feeling when you walk by it because it's so majestic." 

It was estimated to be anywhere between 150 to more than 200 years old, he said. 

After the storm, a assessment found the tree was hollow, which made it more vulnerable to collapsing or losing limbs. 

Though he wasn't part of the department at the time, Adeyeye said there was quite the debate on whether the tree should come down. 

"Trees, they hold so much ... history. Our department had a lot of conversations around you know, 'Can we keep it? and how long can we keep it for?'"

But deciding it was too hazardous, the city removed it and turned it into mulch that was used to help nourish newly planted trees. 

Resident Josie LoPorto Freeborn has lived on St. Louis Avenue since 2009 and fondly remembers the "giant" tree. 

"That [tree] was one of our favourite stops," she said. 

"[My] kids noticed it and they always wanted to get out of their strollers when they were little, and they'd go up and hug the tree ... like it was a friend. We loved it so much." 

What does the draft forest plan suggest? 

The extensive draft plan, created by Urban Forest Innovations Inc., outlines 62 action items for the next 20 years. 

These items are all meant to bring the city closer to accomplishing its goals around learning more about trees in the region, knowing how to keep them healthy and functional, and finding ways to expand the urban forest. 

Starting this year and over the next five years, the plan suggests some of the following: 

• Use and update the city's tree inventory. 
• Create policy around trees growing on the boundary between city and private lands. 
• Reorganize and create more positions in the city's forestry division. 
• Enhance street tree maintenance program. 

The draft plan is headed to the city's community services standing committee Wednesday. If the committee recommends it, the plan will then go to city council for approval and adoption. 

If approved, it would be the first plan of its kind for Windsor.