To help slow the spread of COVID-19 and support Public Health officials, the Town of Oakville has joined the Province of Ontario and Halton Region in declaring a State of Emergency. Facilities and parks remain closed. Only essential services are being delivered.
The Town of Oakville continues to be a municipal leader in Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) management with a program in place to mitigate the impact of the infestation.
The Emerald Ash Boer (EAB), an invasive insect from Asia, is considered to be one of the worst alien forest pests to ever be introduced to North America. Since 2002, ash trees across large portions of the United States, Ontario and Quebec have been devastated by the EAB infestation. EAB lay their eggs in ash trees. The larvae eat the soft wood under the tree’s bark, preventing the tree from moving water and nutrients between its roots and leaves, and killing it within one to three years.
Learn about the town’s Canopy Conservation, Hazard Abatement and Canopy Replacement programs.
Oakville has one of the most aggressive management plans in Canada to combat EAB. Town Council approved a plan to treat a portion of the public ash canopy on streets and in parks with TreeAzin™, a biological insecticide.
Public ash trees receive treatment if they:
You may notice green dots and/or green ribbons on the trunks of public trees that are being treated.
To protect resident safety and property, the town will remove the remaining 25 per cent of the public ash canopy over the next few years and replace it with trees of different species.
Trees that did not qualify for treatment and are scheduled for removal are marked with an orange X and in some cases, a red ribbon.
To find trees in the Treatment and Streets and Parks Hazard Abatement programs, visit Explore Oakville maps - Street and Park Trees.
The town continues to treat municipal street and park trees to protect against EAB. However, the EAB infestation has had a devastating effect on our woodlands. Most, if not all of the town’s 43,000 woodland ash trees are now dead or dying. The town is removing dead and dying ash trees throughout our woodlands over a 10 year period. Learn about the Woodlands Hazard Abatement program.
The town is replacing municipal street and park ash trees with trees of different species. Trees removed in the spring or summer will be replaced the following fall or spring.
While natural regeneration will account for most of the regrowth in our woodlands, portions of select sites have been identified for enhanced and/or intensive regeneration and replanting. Learn more on our Woodland Hazard Abatement page.
If you have an ash tree, you have two options:
Remove. Dead and dying trees can become structurally unsound. Remove and replace untreated ash trees with a different species. Doing nothing may put you and your property at risk. For planting tips and a list of native species, visit our Tree Planting page.
Get more information on EAB by visiting the EAB resources page.
Plant a tree today!
Visit our Tree Planting page for a list suggested trees to plant in your area.
Please note we are not accepting new adoptions. EAB infestation is now high to extreme throughout most of Oakville. Trees not already treated will not be accepted for treatment.
To renew an adoption, please complete the form agreement for contractors to perform arborcultural services on town property (pdf).