Tree Hugging
I get a free email publication about nature each week which
covers different topics. Here is what it said this week:
The National Tree Trust (NTT) is a national non-profit
organization, founded in 1990 under the America the
Beautiful Act. Their mission is to get people involved in
their communities and their environment through tree
planting.
Through the Community Tree Planting program, they provide
free seedlings to groups in all 50 U.S. states. The
country is divided into seven regions and they provide
regionally appropriate species to those regions. Most of
the trees offered are native species
Most people would think this tree planting program is
good idea, but i think it is marginal. Did you feel empowered
by this message or did it give you the feeling that planting
trees requires a supporting organization. Is the only problem lack
of trees or attitudes about trees?
Well.. i think planting trees is sometimes a good idea, and even better
is a new attitude about trees. Anyone can plant trees and all it
takes is some observation, and time. They don't need
an organization or a large warehouse of non-diverse trees.
The process is easy. First, find a seed and then decide whether
to plant it in a container or sew it in the ground. At this point
most of the work is done. We have taken the first step.
Of course, some seeds have germination requirements and collecting
seeds can be restricted. Still, i think in most cases we can ignore
both of these problems. Just do it.
Trees produce more seeds than we can count and if one doesn't germinate
it doesn't matter. In the vast majority of cases just sticking the
seed in soil is enough. The part about restricted gathering of seed
is another non-problem. There are laws about removing seeds from
parks and forest land. This applies to a few rare plants, but for
most trees these laws are ridiculous. The best thing we can do is
harvest a few seeds and plant them.
Trees in our back yard or trees seeds that end up on our dinner
table are another good source. A trip through the kitchen can
usually produce a few trees. Apples are one of my favorite.
>From a diversity standpoint empowered individuals planting trees
is a good idea. One argument against this is the spread of non
native trees and introduction of invasive trees. This is not
usually a big issue with the seeds we find around us. These
trees are already here. The advantage of utilizing seeds rather
than propagated nursery plants is far more important than all
the worries about introducing non-natives. This use of seed is
tied into diversity and allows trees to adapt.
So, plant an apple seed and produce a unique tree. It will be
diverse and not the same as its parent.
Here is the subscription info. for anyone interested in
the back yard nature newsletter:
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jeff
