The City of Charlottetown wants to plant a tree in its downtown area. To keep the tree alive and provide shade, measures are being taken beyond the usual ones.

The price for this special concrete planter is almost $40,000.

The city hopes the structure will protect a large tree sapling (species to be named later) from the stresses of urban life, including soil compaction where its roots try to grow, extreme heat and cold exposure due to its exposed location, and damage from cars and people. The goal is to help Charlottetown more reliably increase its downtown tree population.

Currently, tree cover in Charlottetown’s downtown is declining and is expected to fall below the amount recommended for human health, the environment and climate protection, says Jessika Corkum-Gorrill, head of the city’s environment and sustainability department.

She said other tree planting methods the city has tried in the past have not worked particularly well.

“We need to make sure those numbers go up,” she said. “For our trees to survive downtown, we really need to set them up for success.”

This is where the concrete flowerpot comes into play.

Landscape gardener Earthform builds planters

Corkum-Gorrill said the site for the tree will be about the size of a parking lot. Workers will excavate the area, pour a foundation and fill in soil. Below ground there will be room for the tree’s roots to grow, and above ground the planter will protect the tree from things like snow plows and runaway cars.

A bench will also be installed.

The proposal for this planter was presented to the city’s Environment and Sustainability Committee in early August. Landscaping company Earthform has submitted a bid of $39,330 for the construction, with possible additional costs for excavation and site preparation.

Charlottetown city councillors voted 7-2 in favour of the project at their council meeting this week, although councillor Bob Doiron said he thought the money was too much for a single tree.

While Corkum-Gorrill recognizes that this planter comes at a cost, she says one must also consider how expensive it is to continually plant trees that die instead of thriving.

“It costs the city a lot of money and in the end we don’t get the mature trees we need,” she said.

Having trees in a downtown area can pay off, Corkum-Gorrill said. Trees are especially important in cities because they help regulate air temperature, absorb pollutants and regulate stormwater – all problems that, if not addressed, have long-term costs.

“Planting in the city center is different than planting in a park or on a street with green space,” said Corkum-Gorrill. “It comes at a cost.”

If this tree planting effort is successful, the city says it will work with the contractor to see if the costs of future plantings can be reduced.

The city doesn’t yet know exactly where the planter will go, she said. Original proposal documents suggested it could be placed near Founders Hall, where numerous trees were lost during post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022.

The work is scheduled to be completed this fall.