A lot of tree-planting in the area this month

Springtime means tree-planting time. And there has been a substantial amount of that taking place in the Kincardine area this month.

For the fifth year in a row, the Penetangore Watershed Group helped Kincardine’s local environment and supported environmental education with the annual school tree plant.
 

Friday, May 8, Dan Weigand’s class from Kincardine District Secondary School planted 2,000 trees on the property of sponsoring landowners Paul and Sharon Hodgson on Highway 9. Thirty took part, helping to reforest up to two acres on the planting site is on Millarton Creek.

Trees are great for clean water and wildlife, produce oxygen and help take up pollution; in fact, a mature tree can use up about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year and produce enough oxygen for two people! Trees are also important for farmers as they can help reduce the loss of valuable topsoil by stopping wind and water loss. 

 

The Penetangore Watershed Group worked with this year’s sponsors, Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation, to not only sponsor school plants but, also through their generous support, landowners are able to pick up trees and plant them on their property. This year, up to 3,000 seedlings will find a new home in the watershed among the creeks and along fields on private land.

The 5,000 new trees planted this year will add to the almost 40,000 trees planted so far in the Penetangore watershed!

Trees will be available again to landowners in the Penetangore Watershed with the help of local sponsorship for 2016; if interested, call Mike Blake 519-396-5170.

Meanwhile, in the Pine River Watershed, the Ripley 4-H Conservation Club members, their leader and their families worked together Saturday, May 9, planting about 2,700 trees. The group thought it could do 4,000, but that didn't happen, so volunteer directors Don Farrell and Murray Jamieson finished the site planting Monday, May 11.
 

A mix of pine, spruce and white pine was planted at the site, southeast of Ripley. About 40 4-H members attended, along with leader Steve Hallam.

And Saugeen Conservation (Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority) has planted about 90,000 trees, of the 160,000 trees ordered, through the Trees Ontario 50-Million Trees Program which offers incentives to landowners who want to plant trees, says Jim Penner, manager of forestry.
 

Saugeen Conservation has been planting trees throughout the watershed since 1950, resulting in the planting of more than seven-million trees.

 

With the growing season just starting, the forestry department will be working with landowners regarding woodlot services and co-ordinating the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Programs. This is an excellent program made possible through the Province of Ontario.

Landowners who have their property classified as ‘managed forest’ pay only 25 per cent of the municipal tax rate for residential properties. Plans are approved by Certified Plan Approvers, such as the staff at Saugeen Conservation.

 

SVCA’s forestry department is also gearing up for Emerald Ash Borer treatments.

“We’ve had quite a few landowners concerned about the health of their prized ash trees," says Donna Lacey, forest technician with Saugeen Conservation. “We provide treatment services that help protect ash trees for up to two years but they have to be done between July and August.”
Treatments can cost anywhere from $100 to $700, depending on the size of the tree.

 

For more information on tree or forestry services, contact Saugeen Conservation at 519-367-3040, Ext. 233 or 231. You can also reach the forestry staff by E-mail: Jim Penner at j.penner@svca.on.ca or Donna Lacey at d.lacey@svca.on.ca.