Urban Forest Walkabout – The Dartmouth Edition

Friday, Aug. 7, 2015 (Halifax, NS) – The Halifax Regional Municipality is inviting citizens and tourists to participate in an educational hour and a half guided walk under the wonderful urban canopy of historic downtown Dartmouth.

On Sunday, Aug. 9 (rain or shine) beginning at 4:30 p.m. urban forest experts will lead a walking tour around the streets of downtown Dartmouth to talk about the value of trees to our ‘City of Lakes’.

This is the second of three urban forest walkabouts planned for the summer through a partnership between the municipality and Dalhousie University.

This weekend’s walk through downtown Dartmouth will be led by municipal urban forester John Simmons, urban forestry supervisor Kevin Osmond, and Dalhousie masters student David Foster.

Discussions during the tour will include, among other things, the challenges of maintaining an urban forest in newly developing communities. The walking tour will also branch off into our unique Urban Orchard, located at the Dartmouth Commons.

In 2013, Mayor Mike Savage initiated his ‘Conversation on a Healthy and Liveable Community’, involving more than 80 stakeholders working to address public and community health issues. Those discussions identified local food production as a priority for Halifax’s municipal government.

Similar concerns were expressed by the public in 2012 during development of Halifax’s Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP), which was adopted by Regional Council in September 2012.

Establishing an urban orchard pilot project was seen as a short-term, achievable goal that would contribute to progress in food security and local food consumption.

Participants are asked to meet in the park/plaza next to the Alderney ferry terminal. While the tour will have some structure to it, there’s no obligation for tour participants to remain on the tour for the entire 90 minutes.

One more urban walkabout is planned for later this month on the Dalhousie University campus.

Source: Release