Saba's Blog: arts, culture, visual material, and good readin' - Heritage Trees: Helping to Develop and Foster a City's Identity

While searching Google for some information on the native trees of Vancouver, i stumbled upon Vancouver Washington's Heritage Tree Guide.

This was the first time I learned about Heritage Tree Programs. These programs are ordained by municipalities around the world to protect special trees found in their communities.

If a tree's nomination for heritage status is approved, it becomes protected by law against cutting or removal. This ensures that the tree will remain in the community for its future generations, and that its legacy and value will continue to be honoured. 

The process by which a regular tree becomes a heritage tree varies slightly from city to city.  But essentially, it starts when a citizen nominates a tree for heritage status, and it ends when some sort of municipal board approves or disapproves the nominated tree. 

The Board's decision could be based on a variety of factors including horticultural value, age, beauty, or associations with historical people and/or events.

Check page 2 of the Vancouver Washington's Heritage Tree Guide for how this municipality selects its heritage trees.

Trees are an important aspect of a city's identity and history.  Protecting these treasures from developers and shortsighted residents who want unobstructed views is a good way of developing and fostering a city's culture. 

I was disappointed to learn that there are no Heritage Tree programs in either Vancouver or my hometown of West Vancouver. I haven't searched for other local neighbourhood's Heritage Tree programs yet, but I was happy to learn that North Vancouver has one.