You may recently have been seeing or feeling the effects of Mother Nature, either through elm seeds or pollen, but good news is on the way — the situation will soon improve.
Elm seeds have been falling from the sky and littering streets, lawns, cars and sidewalks.
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Crispin Wood, forestry manager for the City of Edmonton, said there are a couple reasons for this year’s high seed crop.
“One being stress. This is a stress response,” he said.
“Trees that are under a degree of stress will produce more seed in order to ensure their genetic survival rate.”
Wood said the second reason for the proliferation of the elm seeds is the climate.
“What happened was we didn’t have any frost conditions to kill off the flowers. The flowers came out later in the season and then we had dry conditions, which allowed the pollen to remain in the air longer, so we ended up with extremely good conditions for seed production.”
Wood said the plethora of elm seeds is no reason to be alarmed — he said the trees can survive the harshest conditions.
“These trees will start to leaf out and you will see the trees come back to life, if you will,” he said, adding that there are approximately 70,000 elm trees across the city.
Those who are concerned about the elm trees are asked to monitor them, Wood said, and call 311 if they become increasingly concerned.
Reprieve for allergy sufferers
Lilly Byrtus, regional coordinator for the Allergy Asthma Information Association, said it has been a tough year for those suffering from spring time pollen.
Symptoms for pollen allergies range from itchy eyes to stuffy and runny noses, to lots of sneezing, she said.
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Byrtus credits a higher-than-normal concentration of springtime pollen for the allergy woes.
“The recorded number was that it was three times higher this year for the month of May, than it has been for the past several years,” she said.
“We went from a long winter to a very hot and dry season. The trees — being as smart as they are — they’re a little bit worried they’re not going to be able to reproduce as well as they should. They pump out a lot more pollen – it is a survival instinct for the trees.”
The recent rain means pollen is no longer airborne and creates a bit of a reprieve for allergy sufferers.
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“It’s not going to get as bad as it was from now on. The trees… they’re through the worst pollen emitting season. The majority of the problem time should be over,” Byrtus said, though she said some people may feel the effects of grass pollen.
The association has the following tips for those sensitive to tree pollen:
- Avoid early morning walks or morning gardening sessions – wait until the afternoon or evening when trees pollinate less
- Avoid being outside when it is dry, dusty and windy – the best days to be outside are when the air is damp and it has rained
- Keep the windows closed until pollen settles
- See a doctor