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Manitoba News Release: First-in-Canada Legislation to be Introduced that would Protect, Recognize Manitoba's Heritage Trees: Mackintosh View Full Story Minimize

Posted: April 30, 2013 |

April 29, 2013

FIRST-IN-CANADA LEGISLATION TO BE INTRODUCED THAT WOULD PROTECT, RECOGNIZE MANITOBA'S HERITAGE TREES: MACKINTOSH
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Manitobans Invited to Nominate Trees Of Environmental, Cultural, Historic Importance

The province will introduce first-in-Canada legislation that would create a provincial heritage tree program in partnership with the Manitoba Forestry to recognize and protect trees that have environmental, cultural, social and historic importance to all Manitobans, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today. April 29, 2013

FIRST-IN-CANADA LEGISLATION TO BE INTRODUCED THAT WOULD PROTECT, RECOGNIZE MANITOBA'S HERITAGE TREES: MACKINTOSH
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Manitobans Invited to Nominate Trees Of Environmental, Cultural, Historic Importance

The province will introduce first-in-Canada legislation that would create a provincial heritage tree program in partnership with the Manitoba Forestry to recognize and protect trees that have environmental, cultural, social and historic importance to all Manitobans, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.

"All trees are an important part of our communities, but some are exceptional and irreplaceable, and deserve stronger protection," said Mackintosh. "This new initiative will allow Manitobans to nominate a tree or group of trees so future generations can also enjoy their beauty and importance."

The program would be created by amendments to the Forest Health Protection Act including additional protection measures for designated heritage trees located on Crown land to prevent their removal for reasons other than health or safety. In addition to the new proposed protection, the department would develop an online and physical plaque program and seek private sponsor funding opportunities for designated trees.

The new legislation would establish a committee to develop criteria, review applications and make recommendations on trees that could be designated as heritage trees. The new program would be managed in co-operation with the Manitoba Forestry Association.

"Whether natural or planted, there are many exceptional trees in the province that stand out in the landscape," said Patricia Pohrebniuk, executive director of the Manitoba Forestry Association. "We are pleased to work with the province to build on our ongoing heritage trees program and encourage Manitobans to become more aware of and interested in trees."

All potentially significant trees could be considered for nomination. The designation process would consider any landowner concerns before a tree receives heritage tree status.

The minister noted the program would provide protection of significant trees on Crown land and also would promote the protection of trees on municipal or private land through bylaws or caveats the landowners choose to put in place.

"Whether in urban or rural areas, we must all work together to protect our forests and trees for the future," said Mackintosh. "This program will engage Manitobans and encourage them to look at forests in new ways."

The minister noted the introduction of the legislation meets a commitment to create a heritage tree program made in TomorrowNow - Manitoba's Green Plan, the province's eight-year strategic plan for protecting the environment while ensuring a prosperous and environmentally conscious economy.

For more information on TomorrowNow, visit: www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/tomorrownowgreenplan/.

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We're Hiring! View Full Story Minimize

Posted: March 01, 2013 |

We're looking for applications to fill two full time term positions as Interpreters at the Sandilands Forest Discovery Centre located near Hadashville, Manitoba.

Interpreters will prepare and present programs and interpretive hikesfor the general public and schools dealing with forest ecology, forest management and conservation.

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Elmwood Artist Branches into Forestry in her Exhibit View Full Story Minimize

Posted: January 09, 2013 |

As appeared in The Hearld - Wednesday January 9, 2013.

Elmwood Artist Branches into Forestry in her Exhibit
by: Dan Falloon

Elizabeth Delgatty is helping bring a bit of the forest to the city.

The Glenelm resident’s new art show Trees, Trees, Trees! Paintings of Peaceful Places was slated to open at the Wayne Arthur Gallery at 186 Provencher Boulevard on Jan. 2 and will continue until Jan. 22. The show, which Delgatty said is her first themed exhibit, will feature nearly 40 of her pieces, all of which were created during the last four years. As appeared in The Hearld - Wednesday January 9, 2013.

Elmwood Artist Branches into Forestry in her Exhibit
by: Dan Falloon

Elizabeth Delgatty is helping bring a bit of the forest to the city.

The Glenelm resident’s new art show Trees, Trees, Trees! Paintings of Peaceful Places was slated to open at the Wayne Arthur Gallery at 186 Provencher Boulevard on Jan. 2 and will continue until Jan. 22. The show, which Delgatty said is her first themed exhibit, will feature nearly 40 of her pieces, all of which were created during the last four years.

Trees have been an inspiration for Delgatty ever since she was a child.

"I love trees," said Delgatty, adding she sees trees as representing strength, personality, and calmness. "I try to capture the sound of the wind and the chirps of the birds."

Delgatty used several different types of paints to help create representations of trees, including watercolour, acrylic, pastel and encaustic (coloured beeswax). She explained using watercolour is useful to paint trees that are more translucent to give the sense of the sun passing through the leaves, while using encaustic paint helps give trees a burlier feel, adding texture to the work.

She has painted trees from all over the continent, having recently explored the forests of B.C. for a month. Other trees featured in the show were painted around Manitoba and in Minnesota.

"I paint any kind of trees," she said. "I paint whatever strikes me."
Delgatty taught at several schools in the River East Transcona School Division until retiring in 2003. She taught science at the high school level and a broad-base curriculum to elementary students. She didn’t begin taking art classes until she retired from teaching.

"Painting was something I always wanted to do," she said. "But I was working 12 to 14 hours a day."

Delgatty, who grew up surrounded by trees in Flin Flon and at her family’s summer home at Big Island Lake, is using the show to help out the environment. A portion of proceeds from it will be donated to the Manitoba Forestry Association.

She plans to help the association’s education programs which include discovery centres and in-classroom presentations. She was inspired to bring students to nature when a new student from Africa mistakenly thought the class would go to a field for its field trip instead of a museum. Delgatty said the class later planned an excursion to Oak Hammock Marsh, which the student basked in.

"Students these days need to get into the country," Delgatty said. "Some of them, all they know is the concrete of the city."

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Time for Christmas Trees! View Full Story Minimize

Posted: December 06, 2012 |

The holidays are fast approaching. The pressure is on. Christmas is two weeks away. Now, where are you going to go to find your perfect Christmas tree this year? At a Choose & Cut Christmas Tree Farm of course! It’s a great way to kick off the holidays. Make a trip to the country to personally choose your very own Manitoba grown Christmas tree.

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2013 Seedling & Potted Stock Sales Now Open! View Full Story Minimize

Posted: October 22, 2012 |

Order your seedlings & potted stock for spring 2013 today! All monies raised through this annual fundraiser support the Manitoba Forestry Association & our educational programming. Order your seedlings & potted stock for spring 2013 today! All monies raised through this annual fundraiser support the Manitoba Forestry Association & our educational programming. Orders will be received on a first-come, first-served basis between October 22, 2012 and April 12, 2013. Distribution of trees will take place at Sandilands Forest Discovery Centre on May 10 & 11, 2013. Shipping & Winnipeg office pick up options are available. Visit our seedling sales page to find out more!

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Amazing Tree Quest View Full Story Minimize

Posted: August 22, 2012 |

Nominate Your Tree Today! Do you know of an amazing tree.

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Planting Their Own Personal Forest View Full Story Minimize

Posted: September 12, 2011 |

As appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press Septebmer 2, 2011.

Planting their own personal forest
Thousands of trees seeded over the decades
By: Bill Redekop

VIRDEN -- He started out planting a windbreak. He wound up with 320 acres of forest on flat prairie.

Carlyle McDougall is Manitoba's The Man Who Planted Trees, after the famous story by French writer Jean Giono, made into an Oscar-winning animated short film narrated by Christopher Plummer.

"I just like trees and you need to have something to do," said the modest McDougall, a 76-year-old retired veterinarian.

The Oscar-winning story is about a humble shepherd who single-handedly reforests a barren valley in Provence, France.

Similarly, McDougall acted on his own without the local conservation district or a well-known organization like the Nature Conservancy.

As appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press Septebmer 2, 2011.

Planting their own personal forest
Thousands of trees seeded over the decades
By: Bill Redekop

VIRDEN -- He started out planting a windbreak. He wound up with 320 acres of forest on flat prairie.

Carlyle McDougall is Manitoba's The Man Who Planted Trees, after the famous story by French writer Jean Giono, made into an Oscar-winning animated short film narrated by Christopher Plummer.

"I just like trees and you need to have something to do," said the modest McDougall, a 76-year-old retired veterinarian.

The Oscar-winning story is about a humble shepherd who single-handedly reforests a barren valley in Provence, France.

Similarly, McDougall acted on his own without the local conservation district or a well-known organization like the Nature Conservancy.

Carlyle and wife Irma, 74, purchased their home on 320 acres just west of Virden in the early 1980s. More practical owners might have leased out the land for grain production and sat back collecting the rent.

But within a year, McDougall started planting trees to serve as a windbreak. Except it wasn't just a row of trees, like a regular shelterbelt, but a forest. He planted his first forest on a flat, sandy parcel of prairie that had never seen trees before.

To grow a forest, you don't just scatter seeds on the ground like lawn seed. He and wife Irma planted four-inch high seedlings. Weeds would kill the trees. So they had to weed and water the seedlings for up to four years.

They planted a mix of blue spruce, scotch pine, willow, maple, lilac and chokecherry --what the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration provides for shelterbelts. Carlyle likes to wrap lilac bushes around the perimeter of his forests to block the wind down low. Today, their first planting is a forest so dense that the sunlight can't penetrate it.

The McDougalls just kept going after that, continuing to expand their forest. The entire 320 acres aren't trees but a mix of prairie and forest.

Carlyle hasn't kept count of how many trees he's planted. But judging by the 1,000 oaks, ash and lilacs in his last planting, he has probably planted somewhere in the range of 15,000 trees over the past three decades. The McDougalls also have apple and cherry orchards.

"My goodness, that's amazing," said Patricia Pohrebniuk, executive director of the Manitoba Forestery Association. She also marveled at all the work the McDougalls would have done to get so many trees established. Irma said Carlyle did most of it.

"My husband is a very amazing man," said Irma. "I don't know anyone else who planted trees like this just because he likes to see things grow."

Pohrebniuk hadn't heard of such a large forest being grown in Manitoba but noted that rural people will plant trees for woodlots or to extend bluffs for wildlife. There are numerous benefits to trees including food and shelter for wildlife, protection from wind and soil erosion, oxygen production and sequestering of carbon, as well esthetic reasons, Pohrebniuk said.

Carlyle was a veterinarian in the Virden area for 42 years. Planting forests fit with his profession of helping animals. His forests are all connected, providing a "wildlife corridor" perhaps four kilometres in length.

That has increased wildlife sightings on their property. "There was a badger there the other night that our dog was trying to pick a fight with," said Irma.

They have different forest mixes. One forest is mostly poplar trees. "It was my son's idea. They can be harvested for firewood or possibly lumber in 20 years," Carlyle said. The McDougalls have a fireplace used extensively for heating in winter, as well as a wood-fired hot tub.

Their last planting was of oak trees. "There's not another oak tree on the place but we started a planting three years ago," Irma said.

"We didn't have a plan," added Carlyle. "It just sort of evolved.

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Manitoba Team Wins the 2011 Canon Envirothon View Full Story Minimize

Posted: August 02, 2011 |

A five-member team of high school students from Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, in Swan River, Manitoba, beat out more than 50 other teams to win the 2011 Canon Envirothon, a week-long North American environmental education competition.

Team members Eddie Shao, Breanna Anderson, Matthew Forbes, Nyla Burnside and Teagan Markin delivered a solid final Orals Presentation that capped off a top five Trails Test Finish. They were assisted in their efforts by advisors Shawn Stankewich and Rick Wowchuk. A five-member team of high school students from Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, in Swan River, Manitoba, beat out more than 50 other teams to win the 2011 Canon Envirothon, a week-long North American environmental education competition sponsored by Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging. The winning team was announced on Thursday, July 28th, during closing ceremonies at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Team members Eddie Shao, Breanna Anderson, Matthew Forbes, Nyla Burnside and Teagan Markin delivered a solid final Orals Presentation that capped off a top five Trails Test Finish. They were assisted in their efforts by advisors Shawn Stankewich and Rick Wowchuk. The team placed first in the Estuaries Category of the Trail Test and was fourth overall after the preliminary Orals Competition. They sealed their victory with an impressive final Orals Presentation that went very well for them as “They executed with brilliance” according to advisor Shawn Stankewich. Team members each receive a $5000.00 scholarship to the school of their choice.

Teams are made up of five students that previously won their state or provincial competition and came together to compete in categories including aquatics, ecology, forestry, soil and land use, and wildlife. Each year an additional topic is included that is based upon a current environmental issue. For 2011, the topic was salt and freshwater estuaries.

Since 1997, Canon U.S.A. has been the title sponsor of this annual competition. The Canon Envirothon is the culmination of a series of competitions that began during the past school year and involved more than 500,000 high school students throughout North America.

The Manitoba Forestry Association, along with many partners has, for the past 15 years, organized and conducted the Manitoba Envirothon. This year’s event was held at Camp Morton and Gimli for 24 teams from across the Province – narrowed down from the over 50 teams who participated in Regional play downs. This is the third year in a row that a team from Swan River has won the Provincial event.

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Launch of the Amazing Tree Quest View Full Story Minimize

Posted: June 21, 2011 |

View article from the South East Journal on the launch of the Amazing Tree Quest in Emerson with Rivers West.

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Man on mall lot knows Christmas treesHe grows them, sells them and dispenses free wisdom on how to make them present-able View Full Story Minimize

Posted: December 16, 2010 |

As Appears in the Winnipeg Free Press on December 15, 2010.

Man on mall lot knows Christmas trees. He grows them, sells them and dispenses free wisdom on how to make them present-able.
by: Lindor Reynolds

Growing and selling the perfect Christmas tree is a matter of careful planning and layering, says veteran tree farmer Ray Bonneville.

You've got your long johns, your pants, your ski pants... it's just a matter of dressing for long hours spent on a concrete lot in -30-degree weather.

OK, so that's how you survive the sales portion of the process. Growing, nurturing and supplying the trees is a little more complicated.

"It's all in the pruning technique," says Bonneville, who has 160 acres near Steinbach. "You've got to clip them back and shape them every year for full, dense trees."

The industry average is an eight-year-old Christmas tree, but Bonneville says his can be 18 to 22 years-old.

As Appears in the Winnipeg Free Press on December 15, 2010.

Man on mall lot knows Christmas trees. He grows them, sells them and dispenses free wisdom on how to make them present-able.
by: Lindor Reynolds

Growing and selling the perfect Christmas tree is a matter of careful planning and layering, says veteran tree farmer Ray Bonneville.

You've got your long johns, your pants, your ski pants... it's just a matter of dressing for long hours spent on a concrete lot in -30-degree weather.

OK, so that's how you survive the sales portion of the process. Growing, nurturing and supplying the trees is a little more complicated.

"It's all in the pruning technique," says Bonneville, who has 160 acres near Steinbach. "You've got to clip them back and shape them every year for full, dense trees."

The industry average is an eight-year-old Christmas tree, but Bonneville says his can be 18 to 22 years-old.

He leans forward and confides an industry secret: Most Christmas trees are spray-painted, he says, hastening to add his are not.

"That's how you get that nice, even green," he says. "Imported trees are cut so early in the season that they're dry. When the needles fall off, you'll see they're green on one side and brown on the other."

Sometimes they're sprayed while they still in the ground, he says. It's easier that way. It costs about $3 to paint a tree, money that's earned back from consumers searching for the storybook tree.
BR> Say it ain't so, Santa!

The majority of Christmas trees sold in Manitoba are imported, says Cliff Freund, president of the Manitoba Christmas Tree Growers Association. An estimated five per cent are local. Most of the others come from Quebec or the Maritimes.

Bonneville grows his own, and has for 25 years. His first tree took 12 years to mature. This isn't a business for the impatient.

He sells between 200 to 500 trees at his Grant Park mall lot. He's not getting rich, but he's happy waiting inside his tiny, insulated shack, complete with 1980s-style ghetto blaster, small heater and many bottles of Pepsi.

He's out the door like a shot when a customer arrives.

If you're buying a tree from Bonneville, you're also buying a lecture on fresh trees, a thorough explanation of the different types of trees (in his case, Scotch, red, and white pine), and even some insider tips on making your tree last almost forever.

"Some people mix the water with sugar," he says, leaning close. "You want 7Up. The first night, it's straight 7Up. Every other day, you mix half water and half 7Up. You'll be amazed."

We're using generic pop at home. I suspect results may vary.

He smiles when he acknowledges he's part of the magic of Christmas for many children.

"They're cute," he says. "Most of them, anyway."

So why are Christmas trees so expensive? And how do you avoid carting home a flat and frozen Charlie Brown tree?

"The cheapest tree available is spruce," he says. "They start dropping their needles right away."

He likes the white pine. The scent reminds him of "spicy aftershave."

The red pine are the most expensive because they're rare. He charges $65 for an eight-foot Scotch pine, $5 a foot more for white pine. He points out (again) that it takes years to grow one.

If you're buying a tree in a net, it's tricky to tell what you're getting. Bonneville advises looking at the clusters of branches. Are there a lot or a few? If the tree is frozen flat, you can figure out its shape and see if there are any gaping holes.

And what if you bring home a tree only an elf could love?

"Decorations," says Bonneville. "That's where you put the big decorations."

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Cottonwood vies to be among province's largest trees View Full Story Minimize

Posted: August 27, 2010 |

As appears in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 27, 2010.

Cottonwood vies to be among province's largest trees
by: Bill Redekop

NEAR STE. ADOLPHE -- It's the Odin of trees, the shiver-me-timbers of timber, a tree worthy of Sgt. Joyce Kilmer's famous line, "I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree."

Or at least as big. The soaring cottonwood on Kathleen Richardson's yard along the Red River south of Winnipeg is one-third the height of the Richardson Building.

"Majestic," uttered Ken Fosty, official tree measurer for the Manitoba Forestry Association, as he approached it. Fosty has been travelling the province in search of Manitoba's largest trees. He has measured 50 so far this year. The Free Press accompanied Fosty as he took official measurements of the Richardson tree.

The first measurement is the dbh, or "diameter at breast height." Fosty measures the circumference with a tape measure that divides circumference by pi to find the diameter (the length across.) The Richardson cottonwood measured 230 centimetres, or seven-and-a-half feet across (about the length of a sheet of plywood).

Next is height and here the Richardson cottonwood excels. It's as straight and tall as an elite athlete. Fosty peers through an instrument called a hypsometer that informs him the cottonwood is 39 metres tall. As appears in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 27, 2010.

Cottonwood vies to be among province's largest trees
by: Bill Redekop

NEAR STE. ADOLPHE -- It's the Odin of trees, the shiver-me-timbers of timber, a tree worthy of Sgt. Joyce Kilmer's famous line, "I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree."

Or at least as big. The soaring cottonwood on Kathleen Richardson's yard along the Red River south of Winnipeg is one-third the height of the Richardson Building.

"Majestic," uttered Ken Fosty, official tree measurer for the Manitoba Forestry Association, as he approached it. Fosty has been travelling the province in search of Manitoba's largest trees. He has measured 50 so far this year. The Free Press accompanied Fosty as he took official measurements of the Richardson tree.

The first measurement is the dbh, or "diameter at breast height." Fosty measures the circumference with a tape measure that divides circumference by pi to find the diameter (the length across.) The Richardson cottonwood measured 230 centimetres, or seven-and-a-half feet across (about the length of a sheet of plywood).

Next is height and here the Richardson cottonwood excels. It's as straight and tall as an elite athlete. Fosty peers through an instrument called a hypsometer that informs him the cottonwood is 39 metres tall.

(By now, Kathleen Richardson's name will have aroused curiosity. She is not the famous benefactor of the local arts scene. This Kathleen has the same name, lives next door to the Richardson family farm, has a husband who works for the Richardson family, but the families are not related. It's confusing.)

Lastly, Fosty and Richardson measure the crown. This is simply done by unrolling a tape measure diagonally on the ground to measure the tree's widest reaches. The crown measured 33.8 metres.

The cottonwood's age could be determined with a special borer that extracts a core sample for counting tree rings. But the cottonwood is just too large. "We don't have anything big enough to hit the pith (centre)," said Fosty.

He estimates the Richardson cottonwood is 140 years old. He said it could easily live another 100 years. "These cottonwoods are long-lived and majestic and no disease affects them. They don't have a Dutch elm disease or a spruce bud worm," Fosty said.

This cottonwood is also male, meaning it doesn't shed snowballs of cotton-wrapped seed every summer.

Fosty is not only measuring for largest tree. He's also looking for largest trees according to types and trees noteworthy in other ways, including heritage. He recently measured a tree in The Pas believed to be the northernmost scrub oak. He is revising MFA's book, Heritage Trees of Manitoba, published in 1987.

The challengers for largest tree are coming from Morden where the cottonwoods grow gigantic. Morden has a longer growing season and very fertile soils.

The cottonwood in Morden's Confederation Park was thought to be Manitoba's largest tree, after a lightning strike burned down the previous title holder.

But two larger cottonwoods in the Morden area have emerged. One located beside Dead Horse Creek has a dbh of 245 cm, and another 236 cm.

That would make them one-two and the Richardson cottonwood third because the forestry sector bases "largest" solely on dbh.

Kathleen was pleased to learn the dimensions of her cottonwood but wondered if there shouldn't be an aggregate figure that combines dbh, height and crown. The fact the Richardson cottonwood is 15 metres higher than the Morden trees is not considered.

The shame is that few people can see her cottonwood. The only way for the public to view it is from the river. It is just north of where the Seine River Diversion meets the Red, on the west side.

People with an exceptional tree should contact the MFA at www.thinktrees.org and click on "heritage trees."

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Education remains a top proirity for Discovery Centre View Full Story Minimize

Posted: August 25, 2010 |

As appeared in the The Clipper Weekly on August 9, 2010.

Education remains a top proirity for Discovery Centre
by: Dana Trapp

If a day exploring the great outdoors is part of your summer vacation plans, the Sandilands Forest Discovery Centre - located near Hadashville - is definitely worth a visit.

Operated by the Manitoba Forestry Association, a non-profit organization whose mandate is to teach Manitobans about the importance of trees and forest conservation, the Discovery Centre was established in 1957 when the land was granted to the Manitoba Forestry Association by the provincial government for the purpose of conducting education programming about forest conservation.

According to Michaelea Knispel of the Manitoba Forestry Association, the Centre remains true to its original vision of providing an outdoor teaching facility where young and old can learn about the importance of the forest ecosystem.

“The Sandilands is a little bit of a hidden gem in Eastern Manitoba. Visitors to the centre can hike our three trails, cross the Whitemouth River on our swinging suspension bridge, tour the historic CPR Tree Planting Rail Car dating back to the 1950’s, visit the Dawson Cabin which is Manitoba’s first Ranger station, or just stop in for a picnic,” said Knispel. As appeared in the The Clipper Weekly on August 9, 2010.

Education remains a top proirity for Discovery Centre
by: Dana Trapp

If a day exploring the great outdoors is part of your summer vacation plans, the Sandilands Forest Discovery Centre - located near Hadashville - is definitely worth a visit.

Operated by the Manitoba Forestry Association, a non-profit organization whose mandate is to teach Manitobans about the importance of trees and forest conservation, the Discovery Centre was established in 1957 when the land was granted to the Manitoba Forestry Association by the provincial government for the purpose of conducting education programming about forest conservation.

According to Michaelea Knispel of the Manitoba Forestry Association, the Centre remains true to its original vision of providing an outdoor teaching facility where young and old can learn about the importance of the forest ecosystem.

“The Sandilands is a little bit of a hidden gem in Eastern Manitoba. Visitors to the centre can hike our three trails, cross the Whitemouth River on our swinging suspension bridge, tour the historic CPR Tree Planting Rail Car dating back to the 1950’s, visit the Dawson Cabin which is Manitoba’s first Ranger station, or just stop in for a picnic,” said Knispel.

“This year we are offering a variety of interpretive programs on weekends including guided hikes, family program and games on a variety of topics such as bears, heritage, insects, non-timber forest products among many others.”

During the months of May and June, the Centre offers programming for school groups and in July and August they are open to the public. The centre is open from July 2 to August 26, Thursdays to Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and admission is free.

The Sandilands Forest Discovery Centre is located near the town of Hadashville, 2.5km south of the #1 and #11 junction.

On August 14-15, the Centre will be hosting Heritage Days which includes a tour of the historic Tree Planting Train Car that was used once as a travelling theatre helping to teach young and old about the importance of trees. Following the tour, visitors can enjoy fresh baked bannock.

On August 21-22 visitors can learn about the non-timber forest products including wild edibles, teas, art materials and more.

For more information you may contact the Centre directly at 204-426-5374 or call the Manitoba Forestry Association office at 204-453-3182. Their web-site is www.thinktrees.org.

Tribute to Fallen Giant View Full Story Minimize

Posted: August 10, 2010 |

As appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 7, 2010.

Tribute to a fallen giant
by: Michael Allen

The John Bruce Park Plains Cottonwood was the largest known tree in Winnipeg. But, this spring, the giant finally split apart and had to be removed.

The cottonwood held its own by the banks of the Seine River for nearly 130 years, as far as I can determine. Native plains cottonwood trees are fast-growing, but this cottonwood was middle-aged for a tree of this size. (Many large oaks, elms and ashes growing near the city's rivers can be well over 200 years in age.) As appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 7, 2010.

Tribute to a fallen giant
by: Michael Allen

The John Bruce Park Plains Cottonwood was the largest known tree in Winnipeg. But, this spring, the giant finally split apart and had to be removed.

The cottonwood held its own by the banks of the Seine River for nearly 130 years, as far as I can determine. Native plains cottonwood trees are fast-growing, but this cottonwood was middle-aged for a tree of this size. (Many large oaks, elms and ashes growing near the city's rivers can be well over 200 years in age.)

This massive cottonwood was located just north of the Seine River bridge crossing at the end of the John Bruce Road section that starts at St. Anne's Road. It was truly a heritage tree, and I was fortunate to have measured it in 2008. The photo of the tree dates to the same year.

The tree consisted of three trunks that naturally split from the main trunk about 50 cm (20 in.) above ground. At its base, the tree measured about four metres (13 ft.) in diameter or 12.6 m (40.8 ft.) in circumference. Each trunk, at about 1.4 m (4.5 ft.) above ground, was a minimum of one metre (39 in.) in diameter with the largest at 1.2 m (47 in.).

This giant soared to a height of 32 m (105 ft.). The widest part of its crown spread east to west was 36 m (118 ft.), and 29 m (104 ft.) from north to south.

All that remains of the tree are the three giant stumps pulled apart at their junction with each other.

Winnipeg has many very large plains cottonwoods along its rivers. The largest cluster of old cottonwoods by far are those extending along the west side of the Red River in the vicinity of McBeth Park in West Kildonan.

Trees Winnipeg (formerly the Coalition to Save the Elms) and the Manitoba Forestry Association have embarked on a program to update the heritage-tree inventory in Winnipeg and Manitoba. For more information about heritage-tree programs, go to:

Trees Winnipeg website at http://www.savetheelms.mb.ca/ or call 832-7188; Manitoba Forestry Association website at http://www.thinktrees.org/Contact.aspx or call 453-3182.

These websites are still under development but, if you know of any significant tree or groves, you can call these organizations to nominate these trees.

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Tree-growing program slow to take root View Full Story Minimize

Posted: August 10, 2010 |

As appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 6, 2010.

Tree-growing program slow to take root
Weather woes, startup problems blamed for delays
By: Lindsey Wiebe

It's not just farmland that's suffered under the summer downpours -- hundreds of thousands of trees meant to be sucking up carbon dioxide by now haven't yet taken root, due in part to weather woes.

The province's Trees for Tomorrow program kicked off in 2008 and aimed to see a million trees planted per year over five years, given away for free to landowners.

Those trees were supposed to suck 13,600 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere annually to help meet the province's Beyond Kyoto pledge, equivalent to pulling 69,000 vehicles off the road over half a century.

But start-up challenges and two years of soggy planting seasons put the program hundreds of thousands of trees behind the target, and changing demand for trees has led officials to revise planned emissions reductions.

"We had hoped to catch up this year and had sufficient areas and trees lined up, but again the weather didn't co-operate," said Glenn Peterson, manager of forest health and renewal for Manitoba Conservation's forestry branch.

The first year of the program, run with the Manitoba Forestry Association, saw just 260,000 trees planted. That's because there hadn't been time to grow the seedlings before the mid-year launch or get information out to the public, said Peterson. As appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 6, 2010.

Tree-growing program slow to take root
Weather woes, startup problems blamed for delays
By: Lindsey Wiebe

It's not just farmland that's suffered under the summer downpours -- hundreds of thousands of trees meant to be sucking up carbon dioxide by now haven't yet taken root, due in part to weather woes.

The province's Trees for Tomorrow program kicked off in 2008 and aimed to see a million trees planted per year over five years, given away for free to landowners.

Those trees were supposed to suck 13,600 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere annually to help meet the province's Beyond Kyoto pledge, equivalent to pulling 69,000 vehicles off the road over half a century.

But start-up challenges and two years of soggy planting seasons put the program hundreds of thousands of trees behind the target, and changing demand for trees has led officials to revise planned emissions reductions.

"We had hoped to catch up this year and had sufficient areas and trees lined up, but again the weather didn't co-operate," said Glenn Peterson, manager of forest health and renewal for Manitoba Conservation's forestry branch.

The first year of the program, run with the Manitoba Forestry Association, saw just 260,000 trees planted. That's because there hadn't been time to grow the seedlings before the mid-year launch or get information out to the public, said Peterson.

Last year, planting topped out at just under 800,000 trees, with a few hundred thousand trees held off due to the wet conditions. If all goes well, crews hope to have planted up to 1.4 million more trees by year's end, putting them at just under $2.5 million total for the program.

Emission reduction targets have been cut down by four per cent to 13,125 tonnes of C02. Peterson said that's due to changes in stock: Tree-takers favoured poplars over conifers and the province had expected the opposite. Conifers sequester carbon over a longer period of time than fast-growing poplars.

Public interest has been strong, said Peterson, and virtually no one has been rejected. A total of 251 applicants got trees this year and 150 more should get them this fall. Applicants include the Southwood Golf and Country Club, the Red River Floodway, Long Plain First Nation and hundreds of private landowners.

The program has seen a lot of success, but some failure, said Peterson. Crews have had to replant around 60,000 trees over 37 hectares, out of a little under 1,000 hectares planted to date.

"We also plant more trees than we need to have a full forest, knowing we're going to have some mortality," he said.

The trees have to be allowed to grow for 10 years, but after that, landowners can harvest and sell them for biofuel if they choose, said Peterson.

Different types of trees are used for different soil conditions.

On two two-kilometre stretches of weedy clay earth at the southeast corner of the floodway, 17,000 hybrid poplar seedlings planted last summer seem to be winning the war against weeds, with the help of some routine maintenance.

Tree planting makes sense, said David Suzuki Foundation science director and forest ecologist Faisal Moola, but the priority should be conserving existing forest, "avoiding emissions that happen when you destroy carbon-rich ecosystems." Tree plantations also need to be carefully managed long after planting, he said.

Cutting down a planted forest means releasing that sequestered carbon back into the atmosphere, cautioned Moola, though it's better if those trees are harvested to be burned as fuel or biomass, displacing non-renewable sources like coal.

But there are still concerns about the science of bioenergy, he said.

The pros and cons of burning trees as fuel depend on a host of factors, from how much carbon was used to establish and harvest that plantation to the amount of fertilizer used to make it grow.

"It's not as simple as what some proponents of bioenergy have claimed," said Moola. "It's not the silver bullet."

Trees for Tomorrow funding totals roughly $5.2 million. That extends to two years after planting ends, so crews can maintain trees already planted.

lindsey.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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Manitoba Team Places 12th at Canon Envirothon View Full Story Minimize

Posted: August 09, 2010 |

The team from Sawn River Regional Secondary School representing Manitoba at Canon Envirothon placed twelfth overall at this year’s competition. This is the third consecutive top 20 finish for team members Eddie Shao, Breanna Anderson, Matthew Forbes, Nyla Burnside and Teagan Markin and advisors Alex Verbo and Shawn Stankewich. The team was sponsored by the Northwest Soils Management Association. A total of 54 teams competed at this year’s Canon Envirothon event held August 1-6 at California State University in Fresno, California.