Trees of Victoria Park workshops

AMY TERRILL, Executive Director, BGC Kawarthas

KAWARTHA LAKES: On Saturday, May 28th, Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes is offering short introductory workshops on the trees of Victoria Park. If you always thought ginkgos were a kind of lizard or would have difficulty distinguishing a tamarack from a hemlock, or a silver maple from a sugar maple, this free workshop is for you.

In the space of 20 minutes, participants will get to know a dozen of the more than 25 tree species in the park. Using clues such as leaf shape and arrangement, bark, branching, and the tree’s silhouette, they’ll learn to identify each. Youngsters will make bark rubbings, a form of artwork which is also a way to see differences in bark texture.

A diverse assortment of trees is represented, and participants will learn interesting facts about each. Among the species they will encounter are:

•A species which was around before the dinosaurs

•A tree with a leaf which can be close to a meter in length and has long seed pods that can persist through the winter

•A tree with needles which loses all its needles in the fall

•A tree with fruits popular with birds and small animals and leaves which are food for caterpillars that turn into Question Mark and Tawny Emperor butterflies

•The territorial trees of Nunavut and Northwest Territories

The mission of the not-for-profit Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes is “to protect and enhance the urban canopy in the settlement areas of the City of Kawartha Lakes (CKL).” The hope in offering these free workshops is along with skills in identification and knowledge about some tree species; we will come to an appreciation of the value of our trees and the important role they play in our communities.

No registration is required. There will be sessions at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12 noon on Saturday, May 28th. Meet at the Victoria Park gazebo in Lindsay.

For more information contact, contact CPKL member Jamie Morris at jamie1804@gmail.com.

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