ISAO TOUR des TREES eh! 6th Annual Tour, September 26, 2004 It’s hard to believe that six years have passed since Greg Hill initiated this fun event in an effort to raise funds for tree research. This year’s ride, held again in the Niagara Region, was a day of highlights for everyone who participated. The weather was perfect for a day’s outing along the Niagara Parkway and our route itinerary, coordinated by Randy Lidkea, was filled with activities that piqued the interest of everyone. Randy, with Heather for van support, rode the route himself prior to the event to ensure that the path proposed by Team Canada was the leisurely cycle we claimed! Buddy Andres of Niagara Parks welcomed our group at Fort George and introduced us to our personal historical interpreter who proceeded to enthrall with a tour of the fort buildings. The animated and informative history of past military activities was over too soon, yet we rode with an awareness of the historical settlement of the area that we discussed as we headed towards our destination – the NPC Botanical Gardens. A quick break stop at the Queenston General Store for home baking nourishment and we were soon up the hill past the Brock Monument. (With a little traffic help from Michelle Clement and Heather Lidkea, our personal van support team). Everyone received a warm welcome at a delicious BBQ lunch hosted by the second year students on the patio of the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture. Lunch break wasn’t over until we were treated to a walk around the arboretum to view specimen trees of interest – an arborist’s delight! Our day wasn’t over yet as we made our way to the Butterfly Conservatory for a private behind-the-scenes tour of the facilities by administrator Leslie Foster. Leslie introduced us to the day to day planning and management of this spectacular 1,000 square metre conservatory. Picture Greg and Warren with butterfly nets in hand trying to catch any fluttering escapees from the cages as we watched fascinated with chrysalides being formed. The enthusiastic response of all of us who glimpsed this wondrous event was indeed a tribute to the day’s activities. After viewing the meandering flight patterns of dozens of different butterfly species in the tropical foliage conservatory, we took our own flight back along the Niagara Parkway. I think all of us headed home with many magical moments to remember. We rode for tree research and awareness of the urban forest that represents our livelihood as arborists. If you haven’t yet donated to the Canadian TREE fund this year, please support the energy of all of us working towards a future with trees! Call Randy Lidkea at 519-376-1727 or email us to make this year’s event a financial success! — Susan Mentis Last Modified: Wed, Nov 10, 2004