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St. Catharines Downtown Association

Category: Business Announcements


New Downtown Business: Tandem Waves Collective
Posted on November 30, 2022November 30, 2022 in BIA Member Communications, Business Announcements, Downtown in the News, Featured Members

New Downtown Business: Tandem Waves Collective

Tandem Waves Collective is a new Downtown Business that offers innovative & affordable group therapy, corporate wellness training, workshops and […]

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Part-time Job Opportunity: Office & Admin Support
Posted on September 28, 2022 in Business Announcements

Part-time Job Opportunity: Office & Admin Support

The St. Catharines Downtown Association (SCDA) is looking to fill a part-time Office & Admin Support contract position. Responsibilities include […]

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Alazzam Engineering Inc.
Posted on May 4, 2022May 5, 2022 in Business Announcements, Featured Members, Uncategorised

Alazzam Engineering Inc.

A warm downtown welcome to Alazzam Engineering Inc who are also celebrating 11 years in business this month! Owners Fouad Alazzam, […]

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Downtown Newsletter: January 2022
Posted on January 25, 2022January 25, 2022 in BIA Member Communications, Business Announcements, Downtown in the News

Downtown Newsletter: January 2022

Our January Newsletter is out! This months newsletter features: Tag Your Take-out promotion, Chairperson Robin McPherson appointed to City Council, […]

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2021 Weekends in the heart of the City Selected for My Main Street Program
Posted on January 21, 2022January 24, 2022 in Business Announcements, Downtown in the News

2021 Weekends in the heart of the City Selected for My Main Street Program

Downtown’s 2021 Weekends in the heart of the City project selected in first round of My Main Street Community Activator […]

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Chair Robin McPherson Appointed to City Council
Posted on January 18, 2022January 18, 2022 in BIA Member Communications, Business Announcements, Downtown in the News

Chair Robin McPherson Appointed to City Council

The St. Catharines Downtown Association sends a big congratulations to our Chair Robin McPherson for being appointed to St. Catharines […]

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Posted on March 30, 2021March 31, 2021 in Business Announcements

March 2021 Newsletter

Swing into Spring in Downtown St. Catharines! Read the latest information in our newsletter. Your neighbours and friends in the […]

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Posted on March 1, 2021March 1, 2021 in Business Announcements

Niagara Moves to Level Red-Control on March 1

The Ontario Government has moved the Niagara Region to Level Red-Control, effective March 1, 2021. New measures are now in […]

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Posted on February 25, 2021February 25, 2021 in Business Announcements

February 2021 Newsletter

Support Local in a number of ways in Downtown St. Catharines. Read the latest information in our newsletter. Your neighbours […]

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Posted on February 19, 2021February 19, 2021 in Business Announcements

Downtown Association AGM

The 48th Annual General Meeting of the St. Catharines Downtown Association will take place on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at […]

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Posted on February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 in Business Announcements

Ontario Returns Niagara to Grey-Lockdown on February 16

February 12, 2021: Today, the Ontario provincial government announced that the Niagara Region will be in Grey-Lockdown as of 12:01am […]

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Posted on January 27, 2021January 27, 2021 in Business Announcements

SCDA Membership Forum

Proposed summer pedestrian zones downtown Please join the Downtown Association along with Mayor Sendzik and City Staff to discuss options […]

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Posted on January 12, 2021January 12, 2021 in Business Announcements

Province Issues Stay-at-Home Order

Jan. 12, 2021: The Province of Ontario has declared a Second Provincial Emergency and has issued a stay-at-home order, and […]

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Posted on January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 in Business Announcements

Downtown Association welcomes six new board members

St. Catharines Standard (Jan. 5, 2021): Further change is on the horizon for the St. Catharines Downtown Association after six […]

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Posted on December 21, 2020December 22, 2020 in Business Announcements

Ontario-wide shutdown begins December 26

Dec. 21, 2020: Today, the Ontario government has announced that there is a province-wide shutdown starting at 12:01 a.m. on […]

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Posted on December 19, 2020December 19, 2020 in Business Announcements

Niagara Moves into Level Red-Control on December 21

The Ontario government has announced that it is moving the Niagara Region, including St. Catharines, to Level Red-Control at 12:01am on Monday, December 21, […]

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Posted on December 3, 2020December 11, 2020 in Business Announcements

Free Afternoon Parking starts December 7

Free afternoon parking in Downtown St. Catharines begins December 7, 2020. Enjoy 3 hours of free parking at Downtown St. […]

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Posted on November 26, 2020November 26, 2020 in Business Announcements

Road Closures for Holiday Square Event

Local residents are being invited to visit Holiday Square at 201 St. Paul Street (at James Street) on Saturday November 28 and Sunday […]

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Posted on November 13, 2020November 13, 2020 in Business Announcements

Niagara moves into Orange “Restrict” Level on November 16

The Niagara Region moves into Orange “Restrict” Level on Monday November 16, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-response-framework-keeping-ontario-safe-and-open#orange

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Posted on November 6, 2020November 6, 2020 in Business Announcements

Ontario Moves St. Catharines & Niagara Region to Level Yellow-Protect

Effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday, November 7, the Ontario government is moving Niagara Region, including St. Catharines, to level Yellow-Protect as […]

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2020 DOWNTOWN ST. CATHARINES CALENDAR
Posted on November 28, 2019November 2, 2020 in Business Announcements

2020 DOWNTOWN ST. CATHARINES CALENDAR

We are thrilled to announce that our 2020 Downtown St. Catharines wall calendar “The Dogs of Downtown” is ready for […]

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Posted on October 1, 2020October 15, 2020 in Business Announcements

October 2020 Business Announcements / Newsletter

Read our October 2020 Newsletter for news about downtown weekend road closures, events including Culture Days, Pumpkinville and virtual events from the […]

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Posted on October 15, 2020October 15, 2020 in Business Announcements

St. Paul Street Reopens This Weekend

With the cooler fall weather upon us, and in consultation with our membership we will be pausing the weekend road closures, […]

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Posted on September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 in Business Announcements

Call for Nominations: SCDA Board of Management

MEDIA RELEASE: The St. Catharines Downtown Association is pleased to announce a new interim Chairperson, effective immediately. Brian Gasbarini, owner […]

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St. Catharines Downtown Association

Do More in the Core.

St. Catharines Downtown Association

80 King Street, Main Floor, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, L2R 7G1

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In a forest, some trees provide shade for other species to thrive beneath the canopy – while others share nutrients in the soil so that diversity can thrive! Similar to these forest trees, the best way to create strength and resilience for a sustainable urban forest is through the establishment of formal partnerships.

To bring more harmony between the City wide greening efforts, a formal partnership could exist between the City of St. Catharines’ Green Committee and the SCDA’s own StreetScape & Sustainability Committee. This would establish a cooperative force to ensure that urban street trees are effectively managed and prioritized as important infrastructure for the Downtown core.

These partnerships can be extended to other groups that will improve our collective efforts to provide a sustainable urban forest for many years to come such as:

  • The City of St. Catharines
  • Niagara Region
  • Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
  • Vineland Research & Innovation
  • Niagara College
  • Land Care Niagara
  • Trout Unlimited
  • Bring Back the Brookies
  • ncStewards
  • Many more!

By 2041, Downtown St. Catharines will look at lot different than it does today with an estimated 30% increase in population density. This level of development will have significant implications for the urban forest (UF) in the BIA. Currently, tree planning and maintenance is generally divided between two departments: Community, Recreation & Culture Services and Municipal Works.

These two departments are responsible for the entire UF in the City of St. Catharines which is an incredible amount of responsibility. An Urban Forest Manager would amplify and assist the work being done already, allowing these two departments to have greater capacity for interdepartmental collaboration and external participation from the public.

This Urban Forest Manager can provide many services for the City, to ensure these urban forests are properly valued and maintained into the future.

We all love trees for their natural radiance: they provide us with shade, greenery, and a sense of community. For many of us, trees are the reference for where we call home. Like many other animals, we use trees to keep us cool, to get around and to keep us safe. Since trees are so important, it can be difficult to truly capture the infrastructural importance of trees for our communities and the environment.

This is where our first step comes into play. By reclassifying USTs, we will help establish these trees as valuable, sustainable, and significant assets for the City. The City of St. Catharines Asset Management department works to provide longevity for their assets, guide decisions, provide guidance for maintenance and rehabilitation, analyze costs/benefits, and strategically integrate this infrastructure with community objectives.

“Natural asset management is a meaningful way for municipalities to respond to the impacts of climate change.”

Cassandra Pacey, Asset Manager, City of Waterloo (August 2022)

By reclassifying trees as assets, particularly with an emphasis on Climate Change adaptation, the City of St. Catharines will ensure that the services trees provide us are justly appraised and appreciated, so that proper management of these assets can create a sustainable investment into the future.

When a tree falls in the city, does it make a sound? Under the direction of the Urban Forest Manager & with the proper by-laws in place, every urban forest tree will be provided with various protections to prevent unmonitored losses:

  • Long-term maintenance
  • Developer accountability for equal-value replacements
  • Funds or subsidies for private property owners for replacing trees
  • Tree inspections and assessments
  • Investigations on maintenance and replacement strategies

Many municipalities have varying urban forest management by-laws that help protect their urban canopy. By exploring these protections, the City of St. Catharines can help protect our urban forest investments and reduce costly retroactive efforts to replace lost value.

While the law can help protect the existing tree population, the City of St. Catharines can invest in effective planning to ensure that new trees are provided with the proper ingredients to thrive and grow into maturity.

Each tree will require its own unique considerations and should be appraised by a professional. The primary considerations include:

LOCATION: Determining available sites within the Downtown core for new trees.

SPECIES SELECTION: Selecting hardy species that can survive within the conditions of an urban environment, while ensuring that the diversity of the urban forest remains high (this creates resilience against disease and climate change).

SITE PREPARATIONS: Preparing the site is arguably the most important step to ensuring longevity in a tree population; if a tree doesn’t have the opportunity to establish stability within its environment, it will not likely reach its full potential for size and age. There are multiple factors to consider:

  • Tree Species
  • Canopy potential
  • Stature
  • Hardiness (i.e. resilience to drought, weather conditions, sunlight, etc)
  • Leaf Size (shade capacity)
  • Soil Conditions (i.e. compaction, nutrient accessibility, moisture availability, etc.)

Is the soil too compacted for a sapling to establish itself? Perhaps a soil cell system and potential mycorrhizal amendments will do the trick! Is the site not suitable for in-ground tree planting? Perhaps a large, mobile tree planter would be more suitable.

There are a lot of creative ways to integrate green technology to ensure a flourishing urban canopy!

Imagine grabbing your bike and riding along the Twelve Mile Creek to your favourite restaurant downtown!

Once trees are established as natural assets and partnerships are created, these urban trees can be protected through the implementation of municipal by-laws. These efforts will provide urban trees with the proper resources to grow into mature infrastructure under the guidance of an urban forest manager.

From there, we can expand the St. Catharines Downtown BIA, to include the Twelve Mile Creek. Expanding the BIA boundary to include Twelve Mile creek will help the SCDA to activate and monitor this area for its potential as a tourist asset. With this inclusion, the SCDA can also advocate for improved multi-modal transportation routes and monitor their value for the downtown BIA.

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