CORNWALL – The City of Cornwall now has little taste of the forest right in the downtown.
Members of Transition Cornwall + Tree Action Working Group planted a number of trees and bushes beside the Cornwall Public Library on the northwest corner of Sydney Street and Second Street East.
Some of the species, once mature, will start bearing fruit in the tiny forest. The species are Pawpaw, Black Elderberry, High Bush Cranberry, Chokeberry, American Plum, Staghorn Sumac, Nanny Berry, Saskatoon Berry, Crab Apple and Eastern Red Bud.
After planting six trees on National Tree Day last fall, Transition Cornwall + spokeswoman Susan Towndrow told Cornwall Newswatch she is thrilled to see the project taking off.
“I’m just so encouraged because we didn’t know what we were going to be dealing with in the spring and so this is just life and just being able to do something positive and something for the future,” Towndrow said.
Students with Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School’s (CCVS) Tiny Forest initiative have been involved in the project since September. Due to coronavirus, many were not on hand for last week’s planting. But Towndrow says they will be involved in the future.
“Definitely, because this is going to be learning grounds. That’s the whole point, so there’s going to be lots of things to observe. Things to change and plant. Hopefully, there will be some ground cover, some other vegetation that we can incorporate so that will come along as students are able to participate,” she said.
CCVS teacher Genny St. Germain and her son, Zayden, were able to make it for the planting.