w w w .in si de H A LT O N .c om O A K V IL LE B EA V ER W ed ne sd ay , A ug us t 2 4, 2 01 1 1 0 The Town of Oakville is calling on residents with ash trees on their property to get TreeAzin injections before its too late. TreeAzin is a bio-insecticide intended to protect Oakvilles ash trees from the destructive Emerald Ash Borer. The deadline to treat ash trees with TreeAzin is Aug. 31. After that, residents will have to wait until spring. To date, Oakville has treated all 2,659 public ash trees scheduled for treatment this year. Unfortunately, 80 per cent of Oakvilles treatable ash tree canopy is on private property and the cost of treating all these trees is the responsibility of the individual property own- ers. Oakville is doing its part to save our urban forest. We have set ambitious canopy coverage targets and I expect that well reach them with the support of the community, said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton. Feedback tells us that residents are treating their ash trees. I hope our work inspires other municipalities to fight back. Since 2002, the invasive Asian beetle has killed more than 20 million ash trees in North America. It was first discovered in Oakville in 2008. With almost 180,000 ash trees at risk, the town recently launched the Oakville Canopy Club, an innovative community outreach pro- gram to encourage residents to save Oakvilles tree canopy from the threat of the Emerald Ash Borer. In order to track the success of the Oakville Canopy Club, homeowners are encouraged to notify the Town of Oakville if they have treated, removed or planted a tree this summer by emailing their name and address to canopy- club@oakville.ca, calling 905-845-6601 ext. 3467 or visiting www.oakville.ca/eab.htm. Qualified service providers will let you know if your ash tree should be treated now or if it can wait until the spring, said John McNeil, manager of forestry services for the Town. The cost of injections ranges by vendor, and the size, location and health of the tree. Make sure you get multiple quotes and do your research. Oakvilles approximately 5,900 street and park ash trees that qualified for treatment had a trunk diameter at breast height of at least 20 centimetres; wood condition of at least fair; and crown condition of at least fair (poor is more than 30 per cent crown die-back). To learn more about Oakvilles Canopy Club, treatment options and what Oakvilles doing to manage the Emerald Ash Borer, visit www. oakville.ca/eab.htm. Time running out to protect trees from Emerald Ash Borer