Paradise Grove Forest Management

Niagara Parks has removed 30 dead oak trees in the Paradise Grove area on the north Niagara Parkway. Paradise Grove is representative of a remnant black oak savannah, which is one of the rarest habitat types in Ontario. The dead oak trees, which were located near or adjacent to the Parkway and the Niagara River Recreation Trail, posed a safety risk to visitors if left standing in the long term. This was the only reason for their removal. The trees will be harvested for their wood and re-purposed in the future for uses such as public park benches.

Niagara Parks has undertaken work to plant over 200 new trees at Paradise Grove, comprised of oak, maple and sassafras, to ensure a diversity of tree species in the area. Based on soil analysis conducted as part of the project, a combination of factors over the past five years has led to the decline of the mature oak trees. Factors included, invasive species, drought, and a lack of soil nutrients. In addition to selecting species that are suitable to the soil conditions, Niagara Parks will be using compost produced by its Environmental Services team, to gradually add nutrients back into the soils around the newly planted trees.