Berwick Camp News

Committed to Saving our Hemlocks

Updated: November 2022

After monitoring the situation for 2-3 years, this Fall Berwick Campers took action on the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, as advised by biologist and hemlock specialist Donna Crossland. We knew that the insect was on both sides of Camp, in Greenwood and Kentville, but it had not been detected at our last check in April. Once into our treatment process, it was indeed found in both the upper and lower campground areas. At least one tree heavily infested in the Upper Campground.

We first set out to measure every hemlock on the property. Exceeding a thousand hemlocks, this was a multiple day endeavor with many volunteers. Next, we inoculated all hemlocks over 15 cms in diameter. These numbered in the 800+ range. Holes were drilled, nozzles inserted, cannisters applied and then stripped after the chemical entered the tree, and metal tags nailed to each treated tree. This will eliminate the need to measure next time as they are all recorded. Because of the healthy appearance of our grove, and the fact that hemlock devastation can take 3-4 years from this insect, we are hopeful we have treated the hemlocks in time. The chemical can take up to a year to be effective, so we will continue to monitor. We will no doubt lose some trees through infestation and missing one here and there, but we feel the majority of our majestic hemlocks will survive. This treatment will have to be repeated in 4 years.

In the Spring, we will continue treatments by spraying the less than 15 cm diameter trees. We did not see infestation on these small trees and we hope their youth is on their side.

A huge thank you to Donna Crossland our fearless leader in this large undertaking, and all the campers who showed up for our grove! As well we would like to thanks The Municipal Group of Companies including Dexter Construction, MBW Courier, EFR Disposal and their other member companies, for their VERY generous sponsorship of this costly treatment plan.