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Trees planted in storm-beaten Pinhey Forest

Recently planted young trees and shrubs are seen along a trail leading into Pinhey Forest off Slack Road on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. About 600 trees are being planted at Pinhey Forest this fall after a devastating derecho on May 21. (Kristy Nease/CBC - image credit)
Recently planted young trees and shrubs are seen along a trail leading into Pinhey Forest off Slack Road on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. About 600 trees are being planted at Pinhey Forest this fall after a devastating derecho on May 21. (Kristy Nease/CBC - image credit)

About 600 trees and shrubs are being planted in Pinhey Forest this fall after the derecho windstorm six months ago felled great swaths of trees in the area.

While a detailed analysis hasn't yet materialized, the National Capital Commission (NCC) estimated earlier this year that the May 21 severe weather event destroyed about 70 per cent of the upper tree canopy in both Pinhey Forest and Pine Grove to the east.

Hydro One provided funding to the NCC for the tree planting project. It came after trees on NCC land had to be cut down to make way for a temporary power transmission line — part of a joint Hydro Ottawa/Hydro One project to bring more power to south Nepean, according to Tiziana Baccega Rosa, a Hydro One spokesperson.

Seventeen native species from a nursery in Manotick are being planted, including American beech, oaks, maples, dogwoods and three varieties of cherry trees, the NCC said in an email.

"Some of the trees are fruiting trees, which are important to maintain strong insect diversity," the NCC said.

Kristy Nease/CBC
Kristy Nease/CBC

A few dozen small trees and shrubs were seen planted along a trail leading into the forest off Slack Road, not far from Woodroffe Avenue.

Steps behind them, a large area of felled trees remained.

The NCC did not answer a question about whether more trees would be planted, saying only that this was a "first step" in a "complex and lengthy recovery process."

Kristy Nease/CBC
Kristy Nease/CBC