Five new trees were planted on Monday at Dawson College in front of the Peace Garden along the paved area of the driveway.

The trees are native to Quebec forests in our region and include: two sugar maples, one black walnut, one bur oak and one beech.

"The black walnut and beech tree are two new species for the Dawson grounds," said Chris Adam of the Sustainability Office. "They will increase biodiversity, add shade over paved areas in the hot summer months and colour our grounds with red, orange and yellow colours in the fall."

The trees were dug out by a large "tree spade" machine at a tree nursery in Les Cèdres on Sept. 30 and delivered by a 45-foot flatbed truck. Each tree weighed approximately 5-6 tons!

The trees will be dormant for the winter and establish news roots in the spring. More trees will be added to our grounds next year.

Riding your bike in the Fall at best is sunny cool days and colourful leaves. It is gorgeous! Unfortunately Fall can also be wet, cold and dark. Dressing for wetness on a bike is difficult. Try to have a change of dry clothes wherever you are headed.

Waterproof breathables are great as are synthetic or merino wool base layers. The trick is to have just the right number of layers to your onion. Gloves and a light toque will help you stay warm more than a thick jacket as they won't cause you to get wet from the inside.

It's important to remember that the sun goes down earlier. 5 p.m. in rainy late October can be quite dark! Be visible: be sure to be equipped to ride at night and in darkness, have blinking lights in the front and the back of your bike. Fenders will also go a long way in helping to keep you dry.

Finally, if you are thinking of extending your season into the winter, join us for a Zoom workshop on Oct. 28 at 12 p.m. Click Read More for the link to the meeting.

Facilities Management hired a forest engineer to evaluate Dawson’s  trees and nine showed major structural problems.

For safety reasons, they needed to be cut down. One native silver maple over 100 years old and four non-native Norway maples were cut on the Sherbrooke side of the building while other smaller chestnut trees and maples were cut on the Atwater Street side.

As part of Dawson’s climate action and landscape initiatives, a variety of large trees that are native to Quebec will be replacing the cut trees. They will be part of a tree planting effort to maximize shade on paved areas and cool our property during the summer months.

We will welcome these “living machines” that filter air, store carbon, produce oxygen and provide habitat for countless living things this Fall.

Photo credit: Debbie Resurreccion
Debbie says this photo is of a Norway maple, which was over 100 years old. Now, it serves as a nurse log and fosters biodiversity on campus.