An open field at Beech Hill Park will soon be home to hundreds of native trees and shrubs.
Volunteers will plant 250 trees and 100 shrubs on Sept. 26 in a grassy field near the park entrance. It is the first of two years of planting planned for the site.
Jamie Ferguson, Tantramar’s manager of active living and culture, said the field sits between two forested areas and has largely been covered in grass.
“We’re planting smaller trees, so we plant a little bit closer ’cause we want to try to mimic a natural forest as quick as we can,” Ferguson said.
The Beech Hill Park work is part of a larger grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund. Between 2026 and 2028, Tantramar plans to plant 550 trees and 100 shrubs. Five hundred of those trees and all of the shrubs are planned for Beech Hill, with another 50 larger trees going along municipal streets and in other parks.
Council approved $11,821.80 in grant money for the trees and shrubs at its Sept. 8 meeting.
Beech Hill Park was not the only location staff looked at. Ferguson told council Cherry Burton Memorial Park was already fairly full, while Parc Richard and Bill Johnstone Memorial Park could receive some of the larger individual trees included in the grant.
“I think it’s a great idea. The more trees, the better. But I do not like the idea of putting them all in Beech Hill Park,” said Councillor Barry Hicks.
Hicks said the area had been considered for a possible future expansion of the industrial park and raised the possibility that the trees could eventually have to be removed.
The Beech Hill Park field had been mowed twice a year before the municipality stopped mowing it last summer. Ferguson told council planting there would add a buffer from the highway and connect tree cover along the western edge of the park. Hicks cast the only opposing vote on the purchase.
Red oak, red maple, witch hazel and red-osier dogwood are among the native species going into the field. Ferguson said the trees should start becoming established within three to five years.
Staff plan to check the site in the spring and fall, including for animal damage and how well different species are surviving. Ferguson said staff would consider replanting if about 25 per cent of the trees were lost, and the young trees could be watered during droughts.
“After that 10-year mark, the site’s pretty much established, and we just kind of leave it to be until it reaches sort of maturity into what we would consider a full forest or a full woodland,” Ferguson said.
The Sept. 26 planting starts at 10 a.m., with volunteers asked to arrive around 9:30.
Theodore Ramharack holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Western University and a diploma in Broadcast Journalism. He recently completed an internship with CBC News’ The National.
Originally from Ontario, he moved to Sackville to join CHMA as a local journalist and is excited to get to know the Tantramar region and share stories from the community.
