“The Arbor Day Foundation today announced the launch of its Time for Trees initiative, a commitment to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities worldwide by 2022 – the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day. The initiative will leverage trees as a simple, powerful way to preserve the necessities of life on Earth that are becoming increasingly compromised, as well as reverse the damage done by climate change.”
See Press Release 03/20/19OK. I get it. Trees are good. Trees are great. What I don’t understand is “Why only 100 million new trees?”. Why not a billion or two? I alone have planted hundreds of trees in my yard and I have a bunch in pots. If I can plant 400 trees and there are 100 million tree-planters ready, willing and eager to plant, why can’t we plant billions of trees? Clearly, some of you need to wake up. So WAKE UP!
I know some of you think it costs too much to plant a tree but you are mistaken. You can spend a few dollars on a bare-root seedling or a few tens of dollars on a potted tree from a nursery but you can also buy seeds for a fraction of a cent per seed. In my area you can buy a packet of tree seeds for a few dollars, plant them in the fall in suitable locations and have half of them grow into real trees next spring. You can also gather seeds of local trees. OK, if you have industrious mice or squirrels seeds may not work but you can do the same in your refrigerator and put the seeds into pots in the spring. I recommend a mix of trees: conifers to break the wind and provide shelter for birds and pollen for bees, oaks for the future, maples for this generation, apples, grapes, Prunus and Amelanchier for those who like to eat and poplar, caragana, lilac or willow for those who want trees sooner. Remember the bees. They need trees in the spring, and flowers all summer long to pollinate you fruit trees and vegetables. The honey bees don’t do it all. Provide nesting sites for the wild bees too. They like holes and crevices in wood and a good supply of mud and water.
Go for it! There’s no reason you can’t plant at least a few trees, small ones if you lack space, and big ones if you really care about the future.
