{"id":2212,"date":"2022-06-03T13:30:58","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T19:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2022-06-03T13:31:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T19:31:00","slug":"cochrane-gets-an-official-tree-and-declares-arbor-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/?p=2212","title":{"rendered":"Cochrane gets an official tree and declares Arbor Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"wpfai-list\"><li class=\"wpfai-list-item facebook\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbillbelsey.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F2212&amp;t=\" title=\"Facebook\" class=\"wpfai-facebook wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack \">\r\n          \r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-facebook fa-stack-1x \"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item twitter\">\r\n      <a 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href=\"http:\/\/www.tumblr.com\/share\/link?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbillbelsey.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F2212&amp;name=&amp;description=\" title=\"Tumblr\" class=\"wpfai-tumblr wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack \">\r\n          \r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-tumblr fa-stack-1x \"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item stumbleupon\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbillbelsey.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F2212\" title=\"Stumble Upon\" class=\"wpfai-stumbleupon wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack \">\r\n          \r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-stumbleupon fa-stack-1x \"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item envelope\">\r\n      <a href=\"mailto:?subject=&amp;body=http%3A%2F%2Fbillbelsey.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F2212%20-%20\" title=\"E-Mail\" class=\"wpfai-envelope wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack \">\r\n          \r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-envelope fa-stack-1x \"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item bullseye\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.specificfeeds.com\/follow\" title=\"Specific Feeds\" class=\"wpfai-bullseye wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack \">\r\n          \r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-bullseye fa-stack-1x \"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><\/ul>\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=Cochrane+gets+an+official+tree+and+declares+Arbor+Day&amp;url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.cochranetoday.ca%2flocal-news%2fcochrane-gets-an-official-tree-and-declares-arbor-day-5410634&amp;via=CochraneEagle\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Shared%20from%20CochraneToday.ca%3A%20Cochrane%20gets%20an%20official%20tree%20and%20declares%20Arbor%20Day&amp;body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cochranetoday.ca%2Flocal-news%2Fcochrane-gets-an-official-tree-and-declares-arbor-day-5410634%3Futm_source%3DEmail_Share%26utm_medium%3DEmail_Share%26utm_campaign%3DEmail_Share%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%3A%20be%20sure%20to%20check%20out%20all%20of%20today%27s%20latest%20news%20at%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cochranetoday.ca%0D%0A%0D%0ALike%20getting%20your%20news%20by%20email%3F%20Sign%20up%20for%20our%20FREE%20headlines%2C%20sent%20to%20your%20inbox%20daily%20at%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cochranetoday.ca%2Fdaily-headlines\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"file-2746163\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vmcdn.ca\/f\/files\/cochranetoday\/2022\/screen-shot-2022-05-26-at-12.57.22-pm.png;w=960\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 12.57.22 PM\"\/><figcaption>Mr Belsey&#8217;s Grade 6 class from RancheView School visited the Grandfather Tree, which became their inspiration to lobby for the white spruce to be named Cochrane&#8217;s official tree. (Photo by Bill Belsey)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vmcdn.ca\/files\/texttospeech\/5410634-4be35225-ea74-4a2f-9762-4e6ce1dee440.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen to this article00:03:43<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do Manitoba, South Dakota, and Cochrane all have in common?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, it\u2019s not the set-up for a joke \u2013 the answer is that all three share the white spruce as their official tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also from this point forward, the first Saturday in June will be designated as Cochrane Arbor Day, much to the delight of a Grade 6 class who lobbied Cochrane Town council hard for the decision. The students made&nbsp;an impassioned presentation to them on March 21, ending with a rousing all-class plea: \u201cWe are the future. We can be leaders in the fight to save our world. We want to be part of creating a healthier world. Please hear us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The message must have sunk in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At their meeting May 24, council declared the first Saturday of June as Arbor Day, beginning on June 4 this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the same motion, as also requested by\u00a0Bill Belsey\u2019s class from RancheView School, council declared the white spruce as the official tree of Cochrane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m really proud of what they\u2019ve done and they\u2019re pretty proud too,\u201d Belsey said. \u201cIt\u2019s not often students in Grade 6 get a chance to get a local government to accept their proposals, and actually have an Arbor Day in Cochrane and officially designate the white spruce, and to pave the way for students to plant trees in their school yard, so, they\u2019re pretty proud,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Council went ahead with declaring the white spruce the official tree, going against&nbsp;the recommendation&nbsp;from administration, who had previously suggested&nbsp;the Town&nbsp;initiate a public engagement process aimed at ensuring Cochrane residents had the opportunity to weigh in on the choice of tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThrough this engagement we will be able to build upon the already passionate interest of our residents in our green spaces, highlighting the importance of urban forest principles, thereby arriving at a future official tree designation that is reflective of all input received,\u201d stated a staff report at the May 24 meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAdministration will work on development and implementation of an engagement strategy, with the goal of having engagement feedback received and subsequent recommendations brought back to council before the end of Q4, 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mayor Jeff Genung favoured moving ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would be more inclined to just declare the white spruce the official tree of Cochrane tonight and move forward with something that we\u2019ve heard from the Grade 6 class \u2013 it is a significant tree in our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve not heard from one other individual in Cochrane for as long as I\u2019ve been here, who wants&nbsp;to declare a tree of any kind in Cochrane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, council agreed with the mayor and the Grade 6 class to go ahead with the designation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a really good example of how democracy works, for the youth of our community and for anybody in our community,\u201d said Coun. Alex Reed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belsey\u2019s class went on a hike to visit the Grandfather Tree in Cochrane Ranche Park, which is a white spruce, and the inspiration for their choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The white spruce assumed the role of Manitoba\u2019s provincial tree in 1991 for its extensive geographic range and contribution to the local landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>White spruce trees are also plentiful across the Canadian landscape as specimen trees, hedges or windbreaks on residential properties, and along streets and seashores, due to their salt tolerance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests) website describes the white spruce as \u201ca legacy tree that holds exceptional cultural, historical, and intrinsic value, contributing to a natural landscape in many ways over time. The white spruce (<em>Picea glauca<\/em>), a geographically abundant tree species found east to west across the country, as far north as the arctic tree line, and as far south as the northern states, is a Canadian legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spray Lake Sawmills is donating 300 white spruce trees to the school project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article00:03:43 What do Manitoba, South Dakota, and Cochrane all have in common? No, it\u2019s not the set-up for a joke \u2013 the answer is that all three&#8230; <span class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/?p=2212\">Read More<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2213,"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billbelsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}