Spate of bad weather jeopardizing already damaged trees
The extreme weather that has been working its way through Guelph as of late has left significant damage in its wake, particularly on the University of Guelph’s Arboretum. Since the major ice storm of Dec. 22, Arboretum staff have been attempting to calculate just how much of a toll was taken on the nearly 2,500 trees on the grounds.
The manager of the Arboretum, Ric Jordan, in an article for the Guelph Tribune, estimated that it will be months before the damage can be fully assessed, although it is clear that employees will be working through the spring and summer to clean up the damage.
“There are at least 1,000 trees that have sustained damage in some form or another,” said Jordan, who was reluctant to make estimates on the cost of the damage. “How do you put a cost value on something 30 years old that we’ve grown from a seed?”
Some of the trees in the Guelph Arboretum were planted as early as 1970. While estimated costs for repairs will cover the superficial damages, they cannot account for the decades needed to grow some of the trees that have been destroyed.
It may cost the Arboretum upwards of $12,000 to clean up the damage, according to preliminary estimates.
While some trees have been completely knocked down, others have just lost limbs or been bent due to the weight of the extra snow. With the severe weather warnings for the Guelph area in the coming weeks, Jordan is concerned for trees that have already sustained damage.
“In some cases, there are trees that are bent into a horseshoe shape,” said Jordan. “The longer they stay like that, the less chance there is that they’re going to come back up.”
While it is not uncommon to lose some weak trees and extra limbs to severe winter weather, Jordan notes that this winter has been particularly difficult for the Arboretum staff. “As far as widespread damage…this is the worst I’ve seen,” said Jordan.
So far, “only a dozen or so” trees have been completely lost, but it remains difficult to properly assess the damage to the facility in the increasingly bad winter weather. There could be other unseen damages to contend with when the harshest winter Guelph has seen in recent years comes to an end.