Hurlingham island now completely replanted!

The south end of the Hurlingham island between W. Bellevue and W. Poplar has just been planted with 6 Canary Island pines. This completes the transition there to this species. The old, towering pines on this island, fighting infestation by pine bark beetles, have been dying off, one by one, for a couple of decades. Several attempts were made to replant the same species of pine, but those young trees all succumbed quickly to the beetle. So the City's Managing Arborist recommended shifting to the Canary Island type, which appears more resistant. You can see those thriving young trees at the island's north end. The final stand of 7 mature pines collapsed rather suddenly this year. Their removal cleared the path to establishing a fully cohesive, new grove. Appreciation is due the City Arborist for swiftly planting these replacements, despite the fact that the City's budget for new trees had been fully allocated months ago.