City of Medicine Hat Urban Forestry

T2SR developed a Level of Service (LOS) model that align with the Urban Forest Management Plan.  The design enables a scalable Level of Service (LOS) for urban forestry services.

Stage 1 - Level of Service Model

T2SR was engaged to define and determine four lines of service: 1) Tree Pruning and Resilience, 2) Tree Planting, 3) Tree Protection, and 4) Tree Advocacy and Partnerships.

The Customer Level of Service represents the value and service from the perspective of the community and City Council. In comparison, Technical Levels of Service are the behind-the-scenes measures that Medicine Hat uses to measure the physical condition, demand condition and functional condition of the assets. Operational Performance Indicators measure the operating and maintenance activities. Medicine Hat operations/maintenance activities directly influence Technical Levels of Service which in turn affects the Customer Level of Service.


Stage 2 - Operational Plan

Stage 3 - UFSP Update for Public Services Committee

T2SR was engaged to prepare a formal presentation to Public Services Committee that included:  

• Background on Urban Forest Management Plan (2012)

• Review the current and future state of 15 actions and associated strategies

• Identify next steps to continue  implementing and expanding the actions and strategies 

Stage 4 - Develop Five Year Planting Plan

T2R was engaged to develop the project design and GCCC grant application for the City of Medicine Hat. The three-year project aims to plant 2,400 trees in public spaces, exceeding the total number of trees planted in the past 20 years. The project will focus on three critical areas:

  1. Succession or Replacement Planting: Addressing the life cycle of older trees within the urban canopy to ensure continuous coverage.

  2. Expanding the Forest Canopy: Enhancing green spaces in newer communities with smaller and younger trees.

  3. Enhancing Canopy and Survivability: Using advanced GIS data and tools to determine optimal tree planting sites and implementing a new post-planting tree watering program.

The project will engage grade five and six students from local school boards in a Tree Inquiry project that aligns with the current Alberta Education curriculum. Over the three years, each student will plant and maintain a 5-gallon tree, adding an additional 4,305 private trees throughout the community

T2SR utilized internal GIS data to measure the urban forest canopy and identify and prioritize eligible planting locations based on city features, density, and plant diversity requirements. The canopy coverage was 7.62% in 2023. These results will establish baseline planting targets, species diversity targets, and optimize planting locations by community and sector.


Growing Canada’s Community Canopies (GCCC) - Expanding Urban Canopies Through Park and Residential Tree Planting in the City of Medicine Hat, AB

Stage 5 - Develop Risk-Based Pruning Model and Program

T2SR developed a risk pruning matrix to individually assess each tree asset. Seven criteria were established to prioritize tree attributes and assign an overall risk rating. A portion of the inventory will be assessed annually, and the highest-risk trees will be maintained the following year.

Scott Richter, Business & Innovation Manager, Parks and Recreation e-scoric@medicinehat.ca c-403.502.8065

Dave Genio, Manager of Operations and Maintenance, Parks and Recreation

e-davgen@medicinehat.ca t-403.529.8315

Contact Information