The Rizomatik Way

 The beetle pictured below is only 5-7 mm in length. It's not even as long as its scientific name. It is sometimes called a picnic beetle. But what this beetle can carry is no picnic for oak trees. This little fellow is the villain in my new article for the Toronto Field Naturalists website. Dig Deeper Into This Topic with my article published on the Toronto Field Naturalists website:  https://torontofieldnaturalists.org/could-toronto-oaks-become-yet-another-endangered-tree/

  England's city of Derby clearly recognizes the need for the urban forest. So much so that they recently installed a temporary one. A temporary urban forest?? Why not a permanent one? Fortunately it appears that after this  installation, which will provide space for outdoor dining and events, while also raising awareness of climate change, is over, the trees will be replanted in a park elsewhere in the city.  Dig Deeper Into This Topic: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-62022900

 In Salt Lake City they are finding the summers hotter than ever.  But where the city's trees grow can make a big difference. Amy May is executive director of TreeUtah. She says some neighborhoods have more trees and don't feel the heat so much. "Trees improve air and water quality, lead to better mental health, lower energy consumption and reduce heat." Tree cover on the east side of Salt Lake City is much denser than on the city's west side.  Liberty Park is one of many shaded urban oases to the east of the I-15 dividing line. May urges increasing the urban forest canopy in neglected parts of town to give disadvantaged residents the same buffer against summer heat as more affluent neighborhoods. READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE:   https://www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2022-06-14/building-an-urban-forest-should-ease-the-inequities-of-salt-lake-citys-heat-island-effect

You can find out at treecitiesoftheworld.org! Tree Cities of The World is an organization devoted to recognizing global leaders in the development of an urban forest. It's a rather exclusive group. Only 138 communities world wide have been so recognized. But they are located in over 20 countries, from Canada to New Zealand, from Argentina to Uganda. Canada, one of the better represented nations, has 18 tree cities at the moment, including Toronto, Victoria and Guelph. How can your city become known for its respect for trees? Reporting for the Toronto Star, Laura Broadly writes, "To become a Tree City, a community must meet five core standards that illustrate a commitment to caring for its trees and forests. These standards include establishing responsibility, setting rules, knowing what you have, allocating resources and celebrating achievements." Dig Deeper Into This Topic: https://treecitiesoftheworld.org/ https://www.thestar.com/local-richmond-hill/news/2021/03/11/r...

I've got to hand it to Queen Elizabeth for including her Green Canopy program to the Platinum Jubilee celebration events. Hurrah! What a wonderful nod to the importance of tree canopy for the world and as a significant aspect of human history. A great thing for the UK too, shoring up London's already ambitious canopy management program. It was even better to learn that Toronto is participating in the program, here known as the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. Mayor John Tory claims the city has already planted 70 large trees in Rowntree Mills Park, one for each year of Elizabeth's reign. The last one planted in an official ceremony was a black oak, recently designated as Toronto's 'Official Tree.' Photo of Rowntree Mills Park by Miles Hearn Now esteemed naturalist, Miles Hearn, has referred to Rowntree Mills as 'Toronto's Saddest Park.' Apparently he was referring only to the scarcity of human patrons, however, for his article goes on to extol the divers...

Tree health. It's something we don't often think much about do we? We're concerned about planting more trees. But what happens if those newly planted trees don’t survive? It could be from lack of water. Or it could be because of an attack by some disease or insect pest. England has just announced the establishment of the new Forest Research Holt Laboratory, designed to apply modern research tools to combat all the ills that may plague the country’s trees. The lab they say will be a part of an equally new Centre for Forest Protection. Now most countries with a forest industry will have had plant pathology labs established decades ago. In Canada for instance, research on the Spruce Budworm goes back at least to the 1950s. So maybe the UK announcement indicates not so much a novel idea as a global awakening to the importance of protecting trees everywhere on the planet. Whatever the rationale, more power to them! READ IT ALL HERE: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/m...

Do you know what are the biggest trees in your town, your county, your province or state? If you live in Vermont there's a way to find out. This state has the Vermont Big Tree Program. Residents are invited to submit their candidate for addition to the state's Big Tree Database. They can go to an online calculator and insert information on their tree's circumference, height and crown spread. How many more such programs can be found around the world? If you know of any, please leave a note below. https://www.addisonindependent.com/2022/05/12/help-wanted-identifying-vermonts-biggest-trees/

The city of Las Vegas has become concerned about the urban heat island effect. I've been there in the summer, and boy is it hot. Bicyclists have to carry water to spray themselves frequently to cool down. It's well known that urban trees bring down the temperatures in summer.  Las Vegas tree. Photo by Ellen Ross, CCL It's not just the shade they cast. Tree transpiration has a cooling effect on the surrounding air mass. So Las Vegas has announced plans to plant 60,000 trees to make the city more livable. READ MORE =>   https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/05/11/city-las-vegas-plans-plant-60000-trees-combat-urban-heat-island-effect/

 "Let the old trees do their work." This is the advice of Lea Sloan, a board member of the Old-Growth Forest Network. One mature tree can sequester as much carbon in a year as thousands of seedlings. So while planting trees may be important, protecting mature forests is even more so.  In line with this thinking, a welcome announcement in the Washington Post: "Biden signs order to protect US old-growth forests from wildfires." Great news, because clearly' replacing old growth forests that have been destroyed by fire or cutting will take much too long, 80-100 years, to give us any assistance with slowing down global climate change. By the way, Biden also promised to plant 1.2 billion trees. So a win-win executive order. Dig deeper into this topic: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/04/21/biden-old-growth-forest-order/ https://www.oldgrowthforest.net/

One of the challenges involved in supporting trees to realize their full potential for sequestering carbon dioxide is the large numbers of trees that are destroyed each year by forest fires. These days in North America, lumber operations are usually run responsibly with planting operations to restore forests after the harvest is taken. But most forest fires occur on public lands with inadequate means to replant after devastation. So we need to learn how to plant trees faster and cheaper than is possible with conventional methods. This is the kind of situation where one wants to look at what new technologies may have to contribute. That's just what an enterprising group of Canadians are doing. Lets get around, they are saying, the back-breaking on foot labour and difficult accessibility of forest terrains by using drones. Not the giant military weapons, but the small, inexpensive and increasingly stable, remote controlled aircraft that can fly missions over difficult...

 According to the Rainforest Action Network, "Indonesia’s rainforests are one of earth’s most biologically and culturally rich landscapes." But at the same time, the survival of these forests are at risk. According to Wikipedia, "Logging and the burning of forests to clear land for cultivation has made Indonesia the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases." An Indonesian man named Medi Bastoni has made a gallant gesture to try to support reforestation efforts and reverse the trend of forest destruction. He walked backwards for 800 km to make his point in a memorable way. FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==> https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/24/backward-step-for-mankind-man-walks-800km-in-reverse-to-save-indonesias-forests

As the climate crisis grows more severe, some are suggesting the use of prefabricated structural wood components in place of concrete and steel for support in large buildings. Yes, wood structures mean the cutting of trees. But the overall climate impact may be substantially less than the immense carbon footprint of concrete and steel construction. Michael Green, an architect who is a proponent of wood construction notes that, “Roughly 11 percent of the global carbon footprint is related to what buildings are made out of.” FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/style/engineered-wood-tower-construction.html [ Photo: P. R. Burley, CCL ]

Ever plant stuff? I do. And I always dig a round hole to put the transplant it. Well, approximately round anyway. Who doesn't? Lots of people planting trees these days. And apparently some of them have been doing it wrong. Apparently when planted in a round hole there is a big chance that the roots will grow in a circular pattern and not expand out to provide a healthy support pattern. The solution to growing more resilient trees? Why plant round trees in square holes of course! READ THE WHOLE STORY ==>   https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/dec/08/james-wong-garden-plant-trees-in-square-holes-for-establishment-resilience  

  https://globalnews.ca/news/5471379/planting-trees-climate-change-theory/

  "Research is proving the effectiveness of trees and shrubs as noise abaters—research prompted by the growing awareness that excessive noise is a form of environmental pollution. The average community noise level has risen fourfold in the past 20 years with jet aircraft, the heavy vehicular traffic, and domestic power equipment contributing to the problem. It is likely to go higher if it is not checked." But how many trees does one need? It turns out the that number and types of trees and shrubs is important in creating an effective noise filter. "In some situations trees will reduce noise levels up to 50% but to be effective you need a tree barrier that is at least 50 feet deep. It also needs to be longer than you might expect, and it needs to consist of both trees and shrubs that start at ground level." And, "evergreens are favored for year-round noise screening. " For additional reading on the subject: Trees And Shrubs Can Curb Noi...

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/outrage-over-ottawa-hotel-addition-mental-health-focused-video-games-tree-planting-and-more-1.5208406/planting-1-trillion-trees-could-slow-climate-change-here-s-how-canada-could-contribute-1.5208436 NOTE: TO CLICK ON THE LINK, FIRST CLICK ON "READ MORE."

 This video shows the problem graphically, using time-lapse photos from Google Earth.

 Here's the story that first appeared in 2019:  https://www.dw.com/en/planting-1-trillion-trees-could-stop-climate-change-argues-study/a-49478494

  From Wikimedia, by James St. John, CCL Trembling aspens are subalpine trees in the mountainous terrains of western North America. The common name “trembling or quaking” refers to the shaking or fluttering of the tree’s leaves in breezes. In this species, the petiole (= “stem” leading to a leaf) is flattened. The flattened surface catches even slight air movements, resulting in the leaves “trembling” or “quaking”. This plant principally propagates by spreading out lateral root systems. Entire groves of quaking aspens can have identical DNA fingerprints - they're all “twins”, or “clones” of each other. (Adapted from Wikimedia Commons)

They took all the trees Put 'em in a tree museum And they charged the people A dollar and a half just to see 'em -Joni Mitchell, 1969