Recently, the City of Terrace's Parks, Recreation and Culture Department received letters from the students of a Grade 1 class at École Mountainview. The students walk regularly through the forests surrounding their school and were upset when they saw some trees had been cut down. They wrote to the City expressing their concerns and asking why.
The City took this as an opportunity to educate and engage these young, passionate residents.
Image: Eric Lennert, Working Foreman for the City's Parks, Recreation and Culture Department (left) and Kim Service, the City's FireSmart Coordinator, present to Grade 1 students at École Mountainview.
Springtime every year, we conduct danger tree assessments on City properties. We assess the health and risk levels of trees, as well as cut down any that are deemed dangerous - for example, a tall, dying tree that is at risk of blowing over in a wind storm onto a walkway and injuring a resident. Managing forests, within and surrounding communities, is also part of preventing and minimizing community wildfires.
Eric Lennert, a Working Foreman with the Parks department, and Kim Service, the City's FireSmart Coordinator, visited the school and presented on this important work and why the trees were cut down. Eric talked about danger tree work, and Kim spoke about FireSmart practices for forest management. The students were then encourage to share this information with their families and others.
For more information on implementing FireSmart around your home and the community, feel free to reach out to the City's FireSmart Coordinator at: firesmart@terrace.ca
You can also find more info at: terrace.ca/firesmart
