Business tree stewardship project
A Business Improvement Area (BIA) is an association of commercial property owners and tenants within a defined area who work in partnership with the City to create thriving, competitive, and safe business areas that attract shoppers, diners, tourists, and new businesses.
Caring for the urban forest
Street trees in the City of Toronto have a life expectancy of 5 to 7 years due to the stresses placed on the tree such as concrete planting containers, hard and/or very compacted surface area, and the stress of high volumes of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The trees are also vulnerable to damage, pollutants, salt, and lack of moisture, nutrition and proper soil volume. The Business Tree Stewardship Project is designed to stimulate interest in watering and caring for urban street trees.
Please join GreenHere and other partners to beautify our streets by watering the local street trees in your business area regularly during the hot summer and fall. Adding 2L of water to street trees once a week is a simple and valuable contribution to our community and our health. A time commitment of 5 minutes per week and an additional $0.50 per month in water costs (Ottawa Forests and Green space Advisory Committee, 2008), is all that it takes to create a leafy, beautiful streetscape that will provide many advantageous economic benefits.
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•To connect with local businesses
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•To increase awareness of the urban forest and the need to care for our city trees
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•To take advantage of the position of businesses as destinations and hubs for neighbourhoods
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•To promote knowledge sharing to increase green spaces in Davenport by involving the local business community
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•To create a face-to-face and on-going relationship with the local businesses and provide resources in multiple languages
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•To build and promote the local businesses by adding participants to the GreenHere website and other communication / media
Business Tree Stewardship Watering Project objectives:
The appearance of a business can send many messages
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•Research shows that shoppers in well-landscaped business districts are willing to pay more for parking and up to 12% more for goods and services (USDA Department of Agriculture)
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•Well treed commercial retail areas are more attractive to shoppers, apartments rent quicker, tenants stay longer, and space is more valuable to sell or rent (Trees in Business Districts: Positive Effects on Consumer Behavior Fact Sheet: University of Washington)
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•Amenity and comfort ratings were about 80% higher for a tree-lined sidewalk compared with those for a non-shaded street (Trees in Business Districts: Positive Effects on Consumer Behavior Fact Sheet, University of Washington)
