Whose Tree is This?

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Did You Know?

The town owns a strip of land along the front of every titled property, usually for the purposes of utility location.  This is called a boulevard.

Residential boulevards are ideal sites to plant town trees, since they have been shown to survive and grow better than trees in parks or along major roadways.

Boulevard width varies depending on where in town your property lies, so it's worth confirming before you start any projects!

What Can I Do To Help?

The Town of Slave Lake Parks asks that homeowners do not interfere with their boulevard tree with regards to any pruning, spraying, fertilizing or removal operations.

However, during dry spells these trees benefit greatly from supplemental watering.  If no significant rain has fallen in the past month, turning your garden hose to a trickle and letting it soak the ground for one hour in a few different places over the tree's root zone will help it continue to grow and thrive.

Directing your downspout or sump pump hose at the root zone of the tree is another option to provide extra water.  However, in these situations the tree must be monitored closely during rainy spells to ensure it doesn't drown.

Many homeowners like to plant flowerbeds around their trees, which usually helps with supplemental watering.  However, piling soil or mulch against the trunk of a tree can eventually cause rot and decay, so we ask you to please pull extra soil or mulch back so they are not laying directly against your tree's trunk.

CALL don't CUT! The best thing a homeowner can do for their trees is to call our Manager of Parks & Facilities at 780-849-8021 if they have concerns about the health of the boulevard tree.

The Benefits to You

When a tree is dropping leaves or seeds on your lawn, you might ask yourself why we have them in the first place!  There are many concrete benefits to having a healthy boulevard tree in front of your home, such as:

  • Providing shade for vehicles and homes
  • Increasing  property values on your home and in your neighbourhood
  • Providing habitat and food to wildlife and birds
  • Absorbing air pollution and blocking dust and wind
  • Residential boulevard trees are usually healthier and live longer than trees in parks and along roads. This is typically because of the extra water and nutrition they receive from the homeowner's landscape care. 

The Town thanks homeowners for helping to grow Slave Lake’s urban forest!