Another tree has been intentionally poisoned in Kelowna

The City is seeking the public’s help to identify the culprits who poisoned a mature tree near the waterfront.

The incident is the third of its kind within the last 12 months, excluding a separate incident involving a burnt tree on Earth Day.

Vandals have now targeted one of the largest trees at 1055 Sunset Drive, drilling 25 holes into its trunk and pouring herbicide inside.

“It’s hard to understand how someone in our community would go out of their way to kill a tree like this,” infrastructure general manager Mac Logan said in a statement. “The City will have to recover the cost to eventually remove the tree replace it, but the idea that someone would actively choose to harm their community in this way bothers me greatly."

Noting it was the third time this has happened in less than a year he said the community needed to stop such acts.

The poisoned tree will perish over the next two to three months and City staff will seek to preserve the tree in an effort to continue to support local wildlife until it is deemed a safety hazard and needs to be removed.

Previous acts of intentional vandalism targeted urban trees on Manhattan Drive and in the Clarence Greenspace area.

The vandalism at Clarence Greenspace last summer led to the harm of more than just the initial target; due to a connected root system, six other Aspen trees died as a result.

In addition to the targeted poisonings, on Earth Day this year, the Kelowna Fire Department responded to a fire burning in the root system of a mature tree in Kelowna’s waterfront park on Cedar Avenue, and while extinguished, the tree was significantly damaged and had to be removed.

Investigations to identify individuals responsible for this latest case of vandalism are underway with joint efforts from both City Bylaws and the RCMP.

"We are asking the public to come forward if they know who is responsible or if they have any knowledge of why or surveillance," Cst. Mike Della-Paolera said. "This type of offence has happened before in other jurisdictions by home owners wishing for better views. In our case, we have no suspects or evidence that suggests a motive at this time."