If you have ever asked yourself about how important it is to have trees in the environment, or had a niggling sense of guilt when you turn on your air conditioner, then this article will be a great read for you. As gardeners, somehow we have a natural tendency to appreciate the beauty of nature but we often forget about some of the other important aspects of the trees in our landscapes.
It does not matter where you plant trees in your community or your landscape as they all help to fight climate change. Plants are such wonderful things as they have the ability to harness light energy from the sun and create useable energy through the process of photosynthesis. It is also true that through photosynthesis, trees will absorb pollutant particulates and carbon dioxide and then store the carbon and emit or release pure oxygen.
If you plant deciduous trees on the south and west sides of your home they will help keep your home cooler in summer and still allow the sun to warm your home during our cooler months. The added bonus of making your landscape more beautiful will also save you up to 30 per cent of the energy used to both heat and cool your home. Another thought is utilizing trees or shrubs to shade your air conditioners so the unit will stay cooler and work more efficiently than an air conditioner in full sun.
Well-treed neighbourhoods are not only more beautiful, but are cooler than those communities without street trees. Parked cars will stay cooler which also can reduce emissions from the fuel tanks and engines.
If you think about it, every time we use energy we are responsible for producing greenhouse gases. Driving our cars, heating and cooling our homes, turning on a light, operating farm machinery are just a few of the ways we contribute to climate change every day of our lives. Shand Greenhouse was built in 1991 adjacent to the Shand Power Station. The goal was to aid in offsetting the environmental impacts of generating electricity for Saskatchewan communities.
Shand Greenhouse is investing in our environment by producing native plants and then distributing these seedlings free of charge to schools, communities, not for profit organizations, service clubs and individuals for conservation and wildlife habitat projects. You can tour Shand Greenhouse anytime between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, however visiting from June to October or from February to May you can see the greenhouse in full production. They grow approximately 500,000 trees, shrubs and native plants using waste heat generated by Shand Power Station.
It is their hope that planting, protecting and maintaining trees and shrubs will help to sequester carbon dioxide, enhance the beauty of an area, improve wildlife habitat by providing shelter and food, reduce soil and wind erosion and reclaim marginal or disturbed tracts of land.
There are some eligibility criteria for you to qualify for free trees. Please go to the website for complete information but here is a summary that might help you to determine your eligibility. All shelterbelt, wildlife habitat and reclamation projects planted on holdings no less than 10 acres are eligible as long as the seedlings are not for profit or gain, they are not intended for yard or commercial landscaping purposes and the project is environmentally sound.
For more information please contact Shand Greenhouse at Box 280 Estevan, SK S4A 2A3 and check out the eligibility requirements at http://www.saskpower.com/wp-content/uploads/seedling_application_eligibility_requirements.pdf.
- Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture and can be reached at 306-931-GROW(4769); by email at [email protected] or at saskhort.com.
