193 Keyworth Tree Removal on Citizen Front Page

On the cover of this morning’s Ottawa Citizen paper edition, there is an article about the recent loss of an ancient oak tree in our neighbourhood.

The online version of the article (and not too surprisingly, a few comments too) is available at:
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/urban-forest-champlain-park-residents-mourn-oak-tree

it starts out…

Champlain Park residents outraged after massive bur oak cut down

By Joanne Laucius, Published Oct 28, 2024.

The residents of Champlain Park were shocked on Oct. 21, when machinery moved in to remove a pre-Confederation oak tree on a building site on Keyworth Avenue.

By the end of the day, even the stump of the massive burr oak was gone, said Catherine Shearer, whose lot backs onto the building site.

[… lots of background info and stories, see the surprisingly comprehensive newspaper article …]

“This tree was there in the days of Confederation. It had 150 years left to live,” Johanis said. “There has to be something that can be done to protect this kind of tree.”

[20241029 Ottawa Citizen Front Page with Keyworth Oak Tree Article]

3 thoughts on “193 Keyworth Tree Removal on Citizen Front Page”

  1. Prof. Barry Wellar asked me to make an outside-of-the-paywall link for inclusion in his next report:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YDge4F6UXIkURNCkozja1hlxBFWZK7uZN7JlXgL2sn8/

    Craig https://youtu.be/qVmozfR_nEs

    Why didn’t Mayor Sutcliffe’s tree plan take root? Jun 23, 2024 https://drbarrywellar.wordpress.com/2024/06/23/professor-barry-wellar/
    Citizen letter published Jun 21, 2024 https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/todays-letters-climate-change-is

    Tree-planting plan remains opaque I agree with Randall Denley that the city’s plans should involve doing something on climate change, not just mouthing slogans, and that it should provide citizens with performance measures and associated data records so that we can evaluate climate change mitigation progress. As a case in point, during the election campaign now-Mayor Mark Sutcliffe repeatedly committed to planting one million trees in four years, an action that would help limit Ottawa’s heat and humidity in the coming decades. However, despite my inquiries to Sutcliffe, councillors and city staff, no evidence has been obtained about tree-planting plans or performance measures, much less about action taken to put trees in the ground and not just on paper. Barry Wellar, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa

  2. From: George A. Neville  Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 4:34 PMTo: letters Cc: Barry Wellar ; doug arnold ; Theresa Kavanagh Subject: Felling of massive oak a ‘nail in the coffin’ of urgan forest (Ottawa Citizen A1, 29th October 2024)Importance: High

    From: George A. Neville <george.neville@ncf.ca> 
    Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 4:34 PM
    To: letters <letters@ottawacitizen.com>
    Cc: Barry Wellar <wellar.barry@gmail.com>; doug arnold <douglasarnold@sympatico.ca>; Theresa Kavanagh <bayward@ottawa.ca>
    Subject: Felling of massive oak a ‘nail in the coffin’ of urban forest (Ottawa Citizen A1, 29th October 2024)

    Letters Editor,

    The hasty removal of a healthy, massive 250 year old bur oak on 21st October from the backyard of 193 Keyworth Ave. in the area of the “Champlain oaks” is a travesty facilitated by city forester Jason Pollard’s issue of a cutting permit. 

    “According to Pollard, the permit was granted as the tree was within the footprint of an approved building permit for a new house and garage.” The tree, however, was removed to accommodate placement of a ‘detached garage’.
    City planning should have required an attached garage to the house (still standard planning these days) to retain the Confederation oak!

    The required 7-day posting of the tree removal permit was slyly placed too far away for people in the neighbourhood to be able to read it. For required prominent posting, the cutting permit should have been posted at the front of the property where it could be seen and read by passers-by. 

    This whole orchestration makes a mockery of Mayor Sutcliffe’s pledge to plant a million trees when his administration cannot save one arbor treasure whose canopy could have graced the Keyworth site for the next 150 years during which Sutcliffe’s trees might slowly attain their crowns.

    George Neville
    908 Iroquois Road
    Ottawa, K2A 3N5

    From: George A. Neville  Sent: Saturday, November 2, 2024 12:04 PMTo: Barry Wellar ; doug arnold Subject: Letter to the Ottawa Citizen on cutting majestic Bur OakImportance: High

    Good afternoon Gents,

    I was disappointed that my subject letter did not make this Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen cut in spite of its submission early in the week.
    Perhaps it will appear next week, but one is inclined to wonder if
    its critical note regarding city administration is being withheld
    for civic peace.  George

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