Early this year, the SOS Trees Coalition released its Saskatoon Tree Tour booklet, with new destinations of remarkable trees to visit within Saskatoon’s city limits. SOS Trees Coalition grew out of the SOS Elm Coalition, which was founded in 1992. Citizens were concerned about the future of American Elm trees within the city. There was the very real threat of Dutch Elm Disease (DED), which had invaded south-eastern Saskatchewan. With the aging of the city’s original tree canopy and many infill projects, the scope of the organization widened to include other species at risk due to new threats such as climate change, urban expansion and the aging inventory of trees.
Royalty crabapple tree in bloom at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park. | Photo by Bernadette Vangool
This year’s edition of the Tree Tour does not disappoint, with a new section added on the proper planting of trees. It clearly outlines the benefits of trees and why urban trees matter. As well, it features twenty-seven distinctive Saskatoon trees. Each tree has one page dedicated to its description, including a large photograph showing the tree form and a smaller one featuring a distinct leaf or fruit. This is great for the new tree enthusiast, helping them identify a particular species in the general landscape. Each description also includes information about its native habitat and its usefulness, past and present. For example, the bur oak’s fruit, the acorn, is loved by squirrels, whereas humans would use the Douglas fir in home building and boat construction.
Each featured tree has its address included, and at the bottom of the page, an alternate location is mentioned for most specimens. The centre of the publication has a map, giving you an overview of tree locations, to more easily plan your driving route. And for those of us walking, it is also easy to find groupings of trees for your walking tour.
Another innovation this year is the section that deals with tree destinations, where many trees can be observed in one visit. These include; Woodlawn Cemetery, where Memorial Avenue, begun in 1923, was planted with stately elms commemorating Saskatoon soldiers who died in the First World War; Patterson Gardens, established in 1966 to test hardiness of trees to local conditions; Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, established in 1972 and named in 1979 after Richard St. Barbe Baker, a great forester and environmental pioneer; University of Saskatchewan Campus with a unique collection of trees which was curated by Dieter Martin, the Grounds Supervisor from 1957 to 1976; Innovation Place, which includes the Boffins Garden; and last but not least the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park, formerly the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station, which distributed 147 million tree seedlings during its history and now is a Saskatoon park, which also houses the Zoo.
A page on Dutch Elm Disease, which is fatal to the American Elm, is included, describing its symptoms and ways to discourage its spread. This has become urgent – Saskatoon had a huge increase of confirmed cases of DED in 2024, causing 18 mature elms to be removed. The suspected cause was illegal elm firewood brought into the city from elsewhere.
Another addition this year is a discussion around planting native trees and shrubs to enhance your natural landscape. Native species will benefit native pollinators and can be successfully integrated into your garden. References to Wild about Saskatoon, which has plant list resources for starting a native garden and the Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan, which has a “grow me instead” list of plants to replace some perennial plant species which have become invasive.
With Arbour Week in Saskatoon fast approaching, be sure to pick up your new copy of the Tree Tour at one of the following locations: Steep Hill Food Coop on Broadway Ave., Early’s on Lorne Ave., the Western Development Museum, Wild Birds Unlimited and Dutch Growers. Other locations for booklet pick-up and a copy of the new Tree Tour will be available for download on the SOS Trees website soon.
To kick off Arbour Week, the Friends of the Forestry Farm House are having a walking tour of the Forestry Farm Park starting at the Superintendent’s Residence at 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, May 25. If you are interested in local history, you can also view the house between 1.30 and 2.30 p.m. On Arbour Day, May 30, 9 a.m. to noon, SOS Trees volunteers will be helping Grade 5 students of Ecole Henry Kelsey plant 60 trees and shrubs in Pierre Radisson Park. Thank you to the City of Saskatoon Parks Department for assisting with this project and for watering the new plantings for three years to help the trees become established. In closing the week, the Saskatchewan Perennial Society has a Labour and Learn scheduled for May 31 from 9 a.m. until noon. Join us to help clean up the Robin Smith Meditation Garden and Heritage Rose Garden at the Forestry Farm Park. The crab apple blossoms in the garden and the park are usually spectacular at this time.
This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society.
(SPS; [email protected]). Check our website () or Facebook page () for a list of upcoming gardening events.
