Krista Jones
About Krista Jones
Posts by Krista Jones:
Are We Doing Tree Planting Right?
August 11, 2022
“It’s fairly easy to plant a tree when purchasing products or donating to tree-planting programs. But when done poorly, tree-planting can hinder biodiversity and harm the planet. When does tree-planting becoming green-washing? What’s the relationship between land, species, and technology when it comes to global tree-planting?”
Click here to watch the segment in which Nam Kiwanuka speaks with Derrick Emsley, CEO of 10Tree and Sean Thomas, Professor at the Toronto Institute of Forest Conservation about the challenges surrounding current planting and the conflict between how planting and conservation of our current canopy could make all the difference.
Ottawa’s pledge to plant two billion trees is proving difficult to execute
MATTHEW MCCLEARN PUBLISHED AUGUST 7, 2022 UPDATED AUGUST 12, 2022
“Standing atop an old landfill, Francis Allard is in his element.”
Mr. Allard is co-founder of Ramo, whose business is planting willows and poplars to help remediate landfills, mines and marginal land. At the Ste-Sophie Landfill north of Montreal, the company is growing willows to treat leachate from areas of the facility that were closed decades ago. Ramo harvests the trees every few years, weaving them into a variety of products, including fences and noise barriers. It’s also establishing a plantation in northern Quebec to supply soil amendments for reclamation at nearby mines.
But Mr. Allard’s mood darkens back at Ramo’s new $7-million willow nursery nearby. Half of it was paid for using funding from the federal government’s 2 Billion Trees program (2BT for short). An early believer in the program, Mr. Allard scaled up Ramo’s capacity to meet the anticipated surge in demand.”
Click here to continue reading about Ottawa’s plan and whether the numbers will add up in the end.
These arborists explain how to save your trees from breaking in the next big storm
Aastha Shetty · CBC News · Posted: Aug 11, 2022 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: August 11
“A powerful storm in Elora, Ont. recently left a large number of trees bent and broken, bringing down some that were more than 100-years-old. A number of those trees also came dangerously close to falling on nearby homes.
Local arborists say there was a way to prevent that — tree maintenance.
“Look at what else you invest in on your property, whether it’s roofing or electrical … We’re encouraging people to look at it that way,” said Toni Ellis, executive director of Tree Trust, a program that helps preserve mature trees in Elora.”
Click here to read the full article about how important tree maintenance is to keeping our mature trees health and strong – storms come in all different shapes and forms!
Tour the Trees of Fergus & Elora
Are you looking for something fun to do outside this weekend?
Neighbourwoods has created an online Tour the Trees interactive map! Ride along the beautiful Cataract Trailway to each of the trees on the map (all between Fergus and Elora). Hear the stories behind each tree, meet some of the key players in Fergus/Elora history, and learn a little bit more about the beautiful tree species we have in our community. It even has videos, featuring local actors and historians.
Click here to view the Tour the Trees Story Map!
The Tour the Trees event took place in 2018 when Neighbourwoods, with help from the Canadian Tree Fund, put on a 10km bike ride, visiting 10 trees (and one rock). The ride was led by local bike-adventurer and enthusiast Rick Goodfellow, who has biked all around the world. The event culminated with a tree planting in Bissell Park, Elora.
We hope you get out and enjoy the beautiful summer weather, and learn about some trees!
Earth Day 2022
Tree Trust — a unique charity that sustains legacy trees — celebrated the preservation of one more beautiful tree in our community on Earth Day, April 22.
Thanks to generous support from Giddy Funeral Home, one glorious Silver Maple at the St. Mary Immaculate and St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Elora was given professional arboriculture care by Baum Tree Care and Full Circle Tree Care.
The occasion was marked with a special ceremony featuring Tree Trust sponsor Scott Giddy, Warden and Mayor Kelly Linton, and arborist Phil Guenter. Young, enthusiastic singers from the EarlyOn program at the Community Resource Centre gave a cheery rendition of “If you’re Happy and you Know it.”
The cost of treating the majestic Silver Maple was covered by Graham A. Giddy Funeral Homes. “I am delighted to announce that we have signed on as a Tree Trust sponsor,” said Scott Giddy, Funeral Director. “We plan to contribute at least $2,500 for the next five years to the cause.”
“Seeing the children sing reminds me why we need to be better stewards of the planet,” says Wellington Centre Mayor Kelly Linton. “Tree Trust gives us a way to take action — both planting and caring for trees that are so vital to a healthy world.”
Tree Trust Executive Director Toni Ellis pointed out the environmental importance of our biggest trees, which do the work of close to 300 saplings: “They store carbon, provide habitat, slow storm water and, “in a place like this, give shade, solace and respite. “ Toni also explained that the giant silver maple is estimated to be well over 100 years old and is storing close to 12 tonnes of carbon in its trunk, branches and roots.
The celebration concluded with arborists climbing sky high to remove deadwood and reduce the canopy, a fascinating aerial show of skill and artistry that many stayed to watch.
Tree enthusiast Rob Guthrie also led guests on a tree walk to inspect and learn about some of storied trees on the grounds.
Tree Talk: Nov 10, 2021, The Ignatius Old Growth Forest Project
Presented by Martin Tamlyn, manager of the Old Growth Forest Project
The Old Growth Forest is a 93-acre nature sanctuary on the north edge of Guelph. It is protected by a Conservation Easement with the Ontario Farmland Trust. The Project’s goal is to restore and protect diverse ecological communities and to assist the regeneration of retired farmland, from old-field meadow to old-growth forest.
Martin Tamlyn gave us an inspirational talk about how the project originated, what has been done to date, and what is planned for the future.
Here are some of the main points Martin outlined:
- The Old Growth Forest (OGF) is an initiative of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre, whose mission is to enhance spiritual growth through ecological engagement.
- The area that is now the OGF is on the east side of Highway 6, opposite to the Jesuit Centre. It was once clear-cut farmland.
- The area contains 17 different ecological communities, including marshes, wetlands, forests, meadows, and waterways. Each has its own restoration needs.
- The motivation to create the OGF arose from several factors:
- All inhabitants of a community (which includes far more than just us humans!) need natural areas for physical, mental, and spiritual health, in addition to the often-cited ‘ecological services’ that green spaces provide, such as clean air, flood control, pollination, etc.
- As urban areas grow, natural areas shrink and decline.
- Southern Ontario forests have been reduced to small disconnected plots.
- A tree canopy that covers 35% of the area is the goal for a healthy environment. Wellington County currently has 17% and many areas have less.
- Native trees can be tens or hundreds of times more effective in supporting insect and bird communities, than non-native trees.
- Other ecosystems require restoration as well — for example a healthy grassland supports a diversity of native plants, insects, birds, mammals, and more.
- Hence the need for more reforestation and restoration. Wellington County has adopted a Natural Heritage Strategy, to connect patches of forest and natural spaces to each other.
- The first step in restoration is to investigate what’s there, in terms of plant and animal species, then plan how to remove invasive species and increase diversity.
- Some of the innovative projects worked on to date include:
- Transformation of the Mill Pond on the east side of Highway 6, from a stagnant pond to a healthy, flowing waterway supporting a thriving community of native plants, fish, and other organisms
- Using water DNA analysis to reveal all of the species living in a body of water
- Collecting Christmas trees and using them for mulch and to shore up creek banks
- Seed collecting, involving school kids and volunteers in the process of finding, sorting, and saving native seeds for planting in future seasons
- Education is a fundamental part of the project. The program helps people understand why ecological restoration is important, not just how to do it.
- The tools and processes of restoration are designed to be accessible to school-age children and general community members. They receive training and get involved in hands-on tasks such as planting trees and removing invasive plants.
- The project encourages people to see that we are all part of nature, on the same level as all other organisms, using the concept of the circle rather than a hierarchy. It also aims to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and take a ‘wholistic’ approach to how we care for this planet.
- The project seeks ways for us to ‘be a good ancestor’ for future generations who will live on this land.
Some of the questions raised and discussed after the talk:
- What work has been done to restore the soil itself?
- Remediations include: adding mulched leaves; burying ash logs; removing non-native plants; making charcoal from the non-natives to add to the soil; adjusting plantings to put in species that can deal with poor soil.
- What is the source for the trees that are planted in the OGF?
- A large percentage are from Green Legacy; other sources are the GRCA Natural Area Restoration project (NAR), and the Rural Water Quality program. These programs are funded by the County of Wellington.
For further exploration:
- The Old Growth Forest is open for trail walking, year-round. Information and maps can be found here.
Neighbourwoods thanks our 2021-22 Tree Talk sponsor, the Elora and Salem Horticultural Society, for their support.
Tree Talks are back!
Ignatius Old Growth Forest Project
We’re so excited to announce that our tri-annual Tree Talks are back!
Date:
Wednesday, Nov 10th, 2021
Time:
7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where:
Elora Centre for the Arts, 75 Melville St, Elora
Cost: Free for members, $10.00 non-members
Speaker: MARTIN TAMLYN, Ignatius Old Growth Forest Project Manager
The Ignatius Centre’s Old Growth Forest, at the northern edge of Guelph, is a 93-acre nature sanctuary of trails,
forests, meadows, wetlands and waterways. It is protected by a Conservation Easement with the Ontario Farmland Trust. The Project’s goal is to restore and protect these diverse ecological communities and to assist the regeneration of retired farmland, from old-field meadow to old-growth forest. Through ecological restoration, we can restore
our own connection to the natural world.
About the speaker: Martin Tamlyn trained as an elementary school teacher in the UK before moving to Canada in 2000. He has spent the last 20 years developing and facilitating environmental education initiatives that promote land care, nature connection and sustainable community development. He currently manages the Old Growth Forest Project where he facilitates community-led ecological restoration programs for 500 participants annually.