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www.brantfl orist.com/obdentistoakville.com905.639.7001905-842-6030HALTONTRANSMISSIONwww.carstaroakville.com547 Trafalgar Rd.905-845-7579559 SPEERS ROAD, UNIT #3 2212 Wyecroft Rd.SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010ONTOTravelARIS TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008Beaver Trails(905)842-0725905-847-2595A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 49 No. 74USING32 Pages $1.00(plus tax) COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIESTHURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011Town needs you to save our treesPublic enlisted to fightemerald ash borer beetleBy Kim ArnottSPECIAL TO THE BEAVERIts you versus the green beetle.Thats the message the Town is sending out to residents, who will be the deciding factor in whether the majority of Oakvilles ash tree canopy can be saved from the destructive emerald ash borer beetle.The Town has launched Unless private asha community outreach program, the Oakville tree owners engageCanopy Club, to encour-with, support and age residents to help save follow the lead of thethe towns tree canopy.Town, most of the ash Since 2002, the inva-canopy in Oakville will sive Asian beetle has killed be lost to EABmore than 20 million ash .trees in North America. It was first discovered in Town staff reportOakville in 2008. If not managed, infestation could potentially kill all of the estimated 175,000 ash trees south of Dundas Street.The Town has set a goal to protect 75 per cent of the ash canopy cover on streets and parkland. Yet, about 80 per cent of Oakvilles treatable ash tree canopy is on private property.Unless private ash tree owners engage with, support and follow the lead of the Town, most of the ash canopy in Oakville will be lost to EAB, concludes a Town report.While the emerald ash borer is a significant threat to the trees, Town staff says healthy and structurally sound ash trees can be saved if residents choose to treat them.The Oakville Canopy Club aims to encourage residents to treat healthy ash trees, remove dead or dying trees to mini-mize the spread of the insect, dispose of infected trees prop-erly, replant new species of trees and spread the word about the infestation.KAREN NEWMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER On Monday, Council received a report that estimates the cost to save the ash trees at about $2.8 million a year SIGN UP:Oakville's emerald ash borer mascot was on hand at the launch of the Oakville Canopy Club at River Oaks Public School on Tuesday afternoon. This community outreach program encourages residents to save Oakville's tree canopy from the threat of the emerald ash borer. See Doing page 8