Premier of The EAB Could Be In Your Tree Video Series!

THE EAB COULD BE IN YOUR TREE: VIDEOS TO RAISE AWARENESS

This morning Councillor Hume just released the first of three videos aimed at educating residents on the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetle that has been devastating the ash tree population in Ottawa. The first video in the series starts by showing residents how to identify an EAB.

The videos feature an artist, recorded in stop-motion style, sketching: first, an EAB beetle; next, an ash tree branch; and last, an image of an infected ash tree. Each video educates the viewer on an aspect of the EAB scourge, and refers them to the Councillor’s new EAB webpage for more information on treatment and containment: eab.peterhume.ca.

“We’ve found that residents in our ward were asking for more ways to spread the word about EAB amongst their neighbours,” explains Councillor Hume. “The video series is a catchy, cleaver way to raise awareness with their peers.” With the videos available via Hume’s Twitter, Facebook, Blog and Youtube pages, residents are encouraged to share the clips through their own social media channels. “By creating something so easily shared, it allows residents to reach out to each other.”

Councillor Hume will be continuing public education efforts in Alta Vista over the next few weeks by placing EAB signage on trees around the community, placing ads in community papers, and working with the City’s forestry department to keep the eab.peterhume.ca page updated with the newest information on the beetle.

“Our best defense right now is education,” says Hume. “Residents need to know their options: properly-conducted tree removal for badly infected trees, vaccine for milder cases, and interplanting of new species to replace those trees taken down. It’s important that residents understand: a badly infected ash tree becomes a major safety hazard.”

More information on the battle with EAB will be available on the eab.peterhume.ca page, along with all three videos being released throughout the week.

Link to the first video here: http://bit.ly/EABbeetle .