Gardeners, I'll begin by reminding you about the next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society, taking place Thursday May 15 at 7:00 PM in the Sunshine Room at SIGN on North Street. Our special guest speakers will be Joyce and Ed Smith, both members of the Horticultural Society and very proficient and knowledgeable gardeners, and they will be speaking to us about "Straw Bale Gardening". I know it will be a very interesting and informative presentation, so plan to attend!
When we hear about extreme flooding or landslides in various areas of the country, do you ever wonder what happens to the trees? Log on to www.treecanada.ca and find out more about a great organization called Tree Canada. Tree Canada began in 1992 as the "National Community Tree Foundation", with the goal to "maintain a healthy environment through sustaining urban and rural forests." They offer tree-related programs that are dedicated to the principles of stewardship, partnership and innovation. Their objectives include "To assist in the advocacy and development of urban forest programs in Canada; to demonstrate to Canadians the value of trees in the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; to increase the awareness amongst Canadian corporations, individuals and non-governmental organizations of the environmental benefits of trees and of the need to support Tree Canada to ensure the maintenance and protection of Canadian trees; and to take a proactive role in the development of government policies related to urban forests and the sequestration of CO2 at the national, provincial, and municipal levels."
In 1997, Tree Canada began a program called "ReLeaf", and this program helped to replant trees that were lost during the flooding in Saguenay, Quebec. Later, in 1998, another program helped replant trees that were lost during the huge Ice Storm in the East.
And here's something interesting that I read on their website: "By 2000, an urban forest diversification program had begun in Saskatchewan, a music CD called "Trees" was in production, and merchandise including Tree Seed Kits and Green Tree Sleeves were being sold." The natural disasters that came to Canada in 2003, such as Hurricane Juan in Nova Scotia, massive wildfires in British Columbia, and infestations by Asian Long-Horned Beetles and Emerald Ash Borers in Ontario gave Tree Canada more opportunities to step forward and help replace trees.
Skip ahead to 2007: Tree Canada celebrates their 15th year, and plants their 75 millionth tree, very symbolically in Ottawa. In 2009 they had their first international tree project in Armenia.
In 2011, they began "National Tree Day', which is held the first Wednesday of September; and by 2012, their website says that "We've planted 80 million trees and continue to grow and inspire Canadians to plant, care for and maintain trees across the country."
The Tree Canada website is very easy to navigate, and very informative. We all know how important trees are to help provide clean air; it's great to see that there is an organization that makes it their mission to promote and educate about the values of trees. I know many of you have a special affinity for growing trees, so you will want to check this out.
Have you toured your yard today? I go out every day, just as Toby and I used to do, and check out what's new in the garden. Can't wait till we can be working out there! Have a good week!
