Ever Red cut down the entire tree line next to Dr. Margaret Ann Armour School just before the school year began. Council is now being asked to approve it after the fact.

This vital green space sat directly on the boundary between the school grounds and the future high-density EVER District commercial and residential site. The trees stood partly on private land and partly on school park land.

The Impact

Wildlife displaced: Birds and other wildlife that depended on the canopy lost their homes with no warning, right before winter. Large nests that birds reused every season were destroyed. Since the removal, we have found dead birds nearby, and the birds that remain are fighting over what territory is left.

Lost play space: Kids lost a natural buffer and a familiar place to play.

Safety concerns: Parents are worried about the loss of any physical boundary between a busy schoolyard and an active construction zone.

What We Know So Far

The City's own plan said to preserve these trees. The City's planning report says a strip along the east side of the school site was originally designated to preserve a tree stand. Council is now being asked to remove that designation because the trees were "in poor condition" and "will be removed." They were already gone.

We can't see the assessment. The City says the trees were assessed on February 26, 2026, in the middle of winter, when deciduous trees have no leaves. The assessment is not public, and we have filed an Access to Information request. We also have Google Street View imagery from every year since 2015 showing this tree line leafed and green.

The school wasn't told. The school has told us that no one there, including the principal, knew about the removal or its timing.

The numbers don't match. The report puts the school land lost at about 1.25 hectares. The bylaw's own text changes the school and park figure from 14.5 hectares to 6.32. Depending on which number you read, the loss is about 1.25 hectares or more than eight.

Wildlife isn't mentioned. The words "wildlife," "habitat," and "nest" do not appear in the report.

Students are paying for it. Grade 9 students at the school have held a bake sale to raise money to re-build the treeline. They should not have to.

The Hearing

City Council holds a public hearing on Bylaws 21646 and 21647 on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. EVER RED has multiple developments planned across Edmonton, and approving this sets a precedent for clearing first and amending plans afterwards.

What We Are Demanding

1. Defer the bylaws until the tree assessment is made public.
2. Have Administration confirm, on the record, which school-site figures are correct.
3. Require a vegetated buffer between the school and the development, and native replanting paid for by the developer.
4. Require a wildlife and habitat review, and an environmental impact assessment before any further clearing on EVER RED projects.

Sign the petition to demand accountability and protect our local green spaces.

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