Hello all,
Exciting times ahead here at the Farm. The key word is trees. Tomorrow we’ll start clearing parts of our forested area from invasive blackberries and will make room for mostly edible native plants. Together they will establish a thriving understory that will increase biodiversity and also the flavours of our plates.
It’s to no surprise that all of my 5 picks this week are centered around forests and trees. Enjoy the read.
- A year ago, this story sort of fueled my motivation to plant more trees. Felix Finkbeiner is 19—and Plant-for-the-Planet, the environmental group he founded, together with the UN’s Billion Tree campaign, has planted more than 14 billion trees in more than 130 nations. If we put our mind to it, we all can contribute to that count. Follow our blog and we’ll update you on our tree count here at Pinsch of Soil Farm.
- “The Hidden Life of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben is a book that I read and changed the way I now look at trees. I highly recommend it. It actually did make me realize how much of a living being a tree is all about. From roots to leaves, from city dwellers to forest families…there’s so much to learn. This link here provides a nice summary of the book.
- Governments have realized the important role trees and forests have when it comes to meeting climate goals, and sequestering carbon in forests. The BC government announced in February 2017, that it would spend millions to plant just as many trees in the province. The Chinese government recently announced its plans to plant new forests covering an area of 84,000 square kilometers, roughly the size of Ireland, in 2018.
- Thinking abut global warming, Oliver Kellhammer of Cortes Island, BC, started a “future proof forest“project. He does so by planting trees that would have thrived here in the Pacific North West millions of years ago, when conditions were much hotter. As temperatures continue to climb, those trees mLight shining thight be ideally suited to thrive here again in the next century. Read the article here.
- What more forest can do for people, is well known and practiced in Korea and Japan. Seeing forests as a natural anti-depressant, Korea has increased the number of so called “healing forests” to be established in the country. Whether it is slowing down your blood pressure or freeing your focus for life from all the distractions. A walk through a forest can help and the project is already bringing more Koreans into forests than before. Read the full article here.
