This is just one of hundreds of photos I’ve taken while chronicling the light rail’s development in Ottawa. I had to pass by Lincoln Fields station almost every day on the way to school, so I was very in tune with how the city was changing around me. Honestly it was shocking to see the aftermath of this first stage of construction: huge voids in the ground, root systems shredded, tree tops missing. They sat on the ground for months before they were taken away. In fact, it was these trees that first sparked my interest in tree roots and fallen trees. I was affected by the careless way they were dealt with. For the whole winter I passed these trees, but they’re gone now. It’s hard to remember how the landscape looked with the trees there.