Where once there were no trees, now there are millions

One of the things about Calgary that I always found interesting is its flora. Specifically, the fact that prior to foreigners settling here, Calgary had practically no trees. It was just bald-assed steppe, man. Almost every tree you see was planted by one of the new settlers, first along the river banks, then further out. When new homes are built in this city, there is a requirement (I think) to plant at least one tree in both the front and back yards. Calgary has also been on a campaign to plant extra trees (with property owner picking up the tab of course). Today there are several million trees within the city limits.

If you want to see what Calgary looked like back then, just visit Nose Hill Park, which with the exception of a few isolated strands of short trees is an example of our 'native' flora'.