Over the past five years, I’ve watched a huge toll being taken on the trees in my yard, most of which I planted myself.

A black cherry and a pin cherry came crashing down during the historic derecho windstorm of May 2022. Another cherry, along with a trembling aspen and an Autumn Blaze maple, was badly broken and disfigured by the devastating freezing-rain storm of late March 2025.

An American elm finally succumbed to Dutch elm disease, while our mature red oak has been declining for several years, with more branches dying each season and increasing numbers of leaves wilting and turning brown.

The same story is playing out across our west-end neighbourhood. Everywhere I walk, I’m struck by how many mature trees have been lost or disfigured by severe weather, disease and invasive insects.

The emerald ash borer, first detected in Peterborough in 2014, has been especially devastating. Numerous beautiful white ash that once shaded our streets and backyards have now disappeared from the landscape.

What strikes me most is how quickly the transformation has occurred. Trees that only a few years ago seemed like permanent features of the neighbourhood are suddenly gone, badly damaged or struggling to survive. For someone who loves trees, it is heartbreaking.

Norway maples affected by tar spot in Rotary Park are shedding their black-spotted leaves weeks ahead of schedule. Despite their unhealthy appearance, most Norway maples should leaf out normally again next spring.

Perhaps equally unsettling is how quickly so many of us become accustomed to such losses. As mature trees disappear, the altered landscape gradually becomes the new normal — a phenomenon ecologists call a shifting baseline. With time, we may even forget just how different our streets and neighbourhoods once looked, just like we forget how much colder winters were.

This summer, another tree problem has been especially hard to ignore. Across Peterborough, countless Norway maples have been shedding black-spotted leaves, in some cases leaving lawns carpeted with foliage weeks ahead of schedule.

The disease, commonly called giant tar spot, is caused by the fungus Rhytisma........

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