Crews dashing through the snow to bring big spruce to Carl Zehr Square

This year’s big spruce didn’t come from a Christmas tree farm, it was donated by a family in the Doon area.

Gary Henning, supervisor of forestry with the City of Kitchener, said crews go out to eight or nine households who want to donate a tree, preferably in their front yard, and rank them. This year, there were about 18 to 20 potential candidates, but they landed on one from the Doon neighbourhood.

On the tree moving day, arborists and city officials bring a crane and put it on a flatbed truck. From there, crews try to bring the tree through the city where it disrupts the least amount of traffic.

The light rail transit lines also need to be avoided, Henning said.

“We’re looking for nice blue spruce,” he told CityNews in an interview. “Luckily, there’s enough in Kitchener that lots of people want to donate them when they get too big for their front yards.”

The 30-foot-tall spruce is sitting in front of city hall on Thursday, and crews also set up one in Gaukel Block.

It’s quite the fanfare day, Henning said, with many people excited to see the tree being hauled from one part of the city to where it will sit throughout the holidays.

“It’s a pretty big day, and the crews really like it, and the residents are really proud to donate it, and they bring their families down to city hall and Gaukel Street to take a look at the trees when they’re set up,” he said.

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