Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Timmins Daily Press pictures Muddy Mark



That is it for this years Earth Day, which really is Earth Week.

Millson Forestry Service supplied almost 4000 tree seedlings in 4 different locations here in Northern Ontario.

More tree seedlings will be available this year during Arbour Day, presented by Wintergreen Fund for Conservation.

Now is spring. I want to hear about your sightings. I like to hear about unusual bird sightings, turtles and now I guess I really want to hear about your cougar sightings. When you contact me I keep records on the Timmins Naturalists Observations page.

Don't forget we still need to find some more trees for the Timmins Honour Roll of Trees.


Monday, April 26, 2010

Timmins Honda on Earth Day !!

Honda was a good Earth Day Partner

Muddy Mark and Forester Moe. gave out tree seedlings at Timmins Honda as part of Earth Day celebrations.

Ryan gave Muddy the once over on how the car was environmentally friendly.

What I really like about the car is as you take your foot off the gas, no say throttle, the car slows and actually charges the car batteries.

The car is called an insight.


The other great thing that Honda does is they do not have brochures. You have to go on line. Instead of giving a brochure they give you a wildflower seed packet with the web address on it.

I am all for the web, paperless.

Earth Day 2010 Timmins Honda


Timmins Honda, CTV and Millson Forestry Service partnered to bring Earth Day 2010 to Timmins.


It was wonderful to be home for Earth Day. Forester Monique and I spent the day with Gary from CTV at Timmins Honda.


We gave away white spruce tree seedlings to everyone that came in to ask for one. It is always wonderful to hear the stories people have of trees. Trees that were planted when they were little, trees that they watched grow over time, trees that fell on the house, trees that the husband cut with the lawn mower. They are all good.


It is not all fun and games at the Earth Day events. The boss came by to make sure Muddy and Forester Moe. were working hard. Muddy is the orange wild daylily between two pretty flowers.



Muddy Mark has many of his own stories about trees. Once you get him talking about trees it is hard to get him to stop.

A special guess dropped by.
Jeff and Foster.Foster is the brother of Roll'n. I do not think they know that or care. Jeff and I met by chance while on a walk.
Same age, same kind and rescued by Lisa. Jeff tells me the name of the dog was originally Negerski.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Earth Day Electric Ride - Tesla

Rainbow Concrete Green Everyday, a real commitment from the top down!


Muddy Mark was educated at Rainbow Concrete. Rainbow is doing so many different things for the environment, and much of it is driven by the owner Boris. Still keeping an on on Boris is his mother. She dropped by to get a picture with the son and Muddy Mark.

My understanding is Rainbow Concrete got it's name from being able to produce many different colours of bricks.

"Rainbow Concrete Industries Limited, a family ownedbusiness, was founded in 1953 and originally supplied concrete blocks to the Sudbury area. For over four decades we have been developing a complete line of environmentally friendly concrete products which we supply and distribute throughout Northern Ontario and beyond."

Most impressive is the fact that they have been using BioDiesel in all of their trucks since 2008.

They also inflate all tires with nitrogen, reducing fuel consumption and tire wear.

Rainbow Concrete promotes healthy food concepts to lessen the footprint on the earth. Organic foods grown naturally is just another aspect to help Mother Earth.

Source-Energy Pipe system provides heating and cooling for buildings, with an energy efficiency ranging from 400% to 500%.

Really cool is the totally electric car Boris drives. It is called a Tesla. It can really move and when you take your foot off the throttle it actually slows down and charges the battery. What a fantastic car. The smallest foot print for an automobile I would guess.









Sudbury Earth Day Event at Rainbow Concrete


Fantastic Earth Day Event at Rainbow Concrete in Sudbury!!

Monique and I left Timmins at 6:30am for Sudbury. We arrived at Rainbow Concrete a little before 10am.

There were people there waiting for their free tree seedling. Some had come earlier and had come back to make sure they did not miss out. Trees really are important to many more people then just Muddy Mark.


We set up in the front of the main office complex. It was a little windy, so we had to make sure everything was well anchored as we constructed the backdrop and display items.

Boris was a gracious host and was on hand to make sure we were able to serve his customers. There was a very steady steam of people all day. We had to leave extra trees, knowing people would still be coming even after we left. I am sure people came the next day to see if there were tree seedling left.

CTV was also on hand to ensure maximum exposure of the event. Muddy thinks it makes him look good when he is seen between two pretty ladies.


CBC radio also came by to talk with Muddy Mark about his emporium items he had brought with him. Burl pedestal, hollow tree truck planter and hollow birch bark.

Stewart was also a great help. He and Forester Moe worked hard to keep up with providing tree seedlings to the steady stream of fellow Earth Day tree planters, while Muddy just talked trees. Once you get Muddy Mark talking about trees it is hard to get him back to work!

Rainbow Concrete, CTV and Millson Forestry Service provided many trees to help the people of Sudbury participate in Earth Day and help green the environment one tree at a time.


Hope they invite us back again next year!


Monday, April 19, 2010

Earth Day North Bay - Free Tree Seedlings


Celebrate Earth Day!

Get your free Tree Seedling.

Muddy Mark and Forester Moe from Millson Forestry Service, will be in North Bay Wednesday April 21 at North Bay Toyota handing out free white pine tree seedlings as part of Earth Day Celebrations.

We will be there from 10am -4pm. Get your picture taken with Muddy Mark and I will post it here.

Got to love google maps street view. Take a look.

You can also look at the map on how to get there right here.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Making of Muddy Mark

Mark walks in the forest most days. On one such walk a school group tagged along to learn more about the forest. Mark wears big high rubber boots and enjoys walking through the mud.

The kids would call "wait up Muddy Mark".

When the group returned to safe dry roadside they had seen seedlings, rocks, orchids, birds, squirrels, burls and mud.

A typical little boy who loved to ware his rubber boots as much as possible, camping was the norm for Muddy most summers. This sparked his interest of the forest.

At 10 he joined the Boy Scouts to expand his exposure and knowledge of the forest.

He helped his father fix cages and feed birds at the Roy Ivor Bird Sanctuary and this triggered his love of birds.

Muddy’s family was recycling before the term curbside was ever invented and he participated in the inaugural Pollution Probe litter pick as well as many more that would follow.

His first job was at The Camp of the Woodland Trails as a park warden. The next three summers he spent learning and educating campers. He developed a skill for photography and has had a camera close at hand ever since.

He spent three more summers at Sheridan Tree Nursery, doing everything from trimming, transplanting, digging and transporting seedlings.

He saw some of Canada with Katimavik. He got a much closer look at more of Canada when he hitch-hiked the scenic route from Vancouver British Columbia to Fortune Newfoundland via Dawson City, Yukon and Tok, Alaska.

Eventually he went to school in Sault Ste. Marie and studied forestry.

The Ministry of Natural Resources in Timmins saw his potential while he worked for them as a student. When he was finished school he was hired on to work with the Science and Technical Unit, the Fire Unit, the District office and Ontario Parks.

He bought a house, married a gal who would put up with him and started a family.

He enjoys his free time to be able to put more time into his community endeavors. These included the Timmins Naturalists, the Wintergreen Fund for Conservation, participating in a Local Citizens Committee and the Porcupine Watchful Eye, creating the Timmins Honour Roll of Trees, coaching for the Timmins Soccer Association, Timmins Select Basketball and the Timmins Minor Hockey League, he was a board member for the Timmins Public Library, lead the tree plants for local Scouts Canada and was chairman for the Public Liaison Committee for the Waste Management plan.

He left the MNR and did a two year stint with a mining company in their environmental program and photographed and documented species as he went about his work.

When gold lost it’s shine he went looking for a new employer so he could continue to support his growing family.

His wife told him to get a job and that’s when he met with Sue and Dave Millson to discuss possible employment options. They had worked together on tree plant projects when Muddy Mark was with the MNR. Muddy has been with Millson Forestry Service now for over 10 years.

At Millson Forestry Service it is Earth Day everyday. Muddy has been involved with many different aspects of trees. Seeding the next generation of forests in containers. Growing by watering, weeding and watching the seedlings. Site preparation to prepare a site for tree planting. Tree planting as part of the regeneration of crown forests and the reclamation of mining properties. Forest tending to ensure the health and vitality of the new forest. Road building, harvesting and product transportation completes the forest management cycle.

Muddy enjoys talking to private land owners that want to ensure the best use of their forested land. He is involved with mining companies that want to add trees as part of their progressive reclamation efforts.

He takes pictures, he gets dirty, he loves to walk in the forest with his best dog pal, Roll’n. He always loves to talk about trees!

He likes to GPS his finds and take digital pictures to share on his blog, Oxygen Grows On Trees . Oh and he does get work done too!

What do you remember? Leave a comment.

Earth Day Sudbury - Free Tree Seedlings


Celebrate Earth Day!

Get your free Tree Seedling.

Muddy Mark and Forester Moe from Millson Forestry Service, will be in Sudbury Tuesday April 20 at Rainbow Concrete handing out free white spruce tree seedlings as part of Earth Day Celebrations.

We will be there from 10am -4pm. Get your picture taken with Muddy Mark and I will post it here.

Come get a tree and help with the regreening efforts of Sudbury!

Got to love google maps street view. Take a look.

You can also look at the map on how to get there right here.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Sault Ste Marie Earth Day Event

Millson Forestry Service, CTV and The Country Way partnered to bring Earth Day to Sault Ste Marie on April 13th, 2010. A little early since Earth Day is April 22, but a great event was taking place for us to join.

The Country Way put on the first, hopefully annual event, Green & Healthy Living Expo.
It was held at the Water Tower Inn. It had many great displays, information booths and guest speakers.


Our display centered around the "Making of Muddy Mark" "Plant a Tree NOW" and "Oxygen Grows On Trees". It is wonderful to have pretty booth mates, since everyone gets to see too much of Muddy Marks face and his orange coveralls.



We brought white spruce tree seedlings to hand out to the participants. Everyone that wanted a tree seedling got one, and yes a couple got more then one.

We brought bigger seedlings too. Everyone wanted them. It is important to plant trees, even small trees, because little trees will grow to be big trees. One of the comments on our display "The best time to plant a tree is 100 years ago, the second best time is now". How true that is.




This event is just one event we are attending for Earth day. There are more.

Come see us in Sudbury on April 20th at Rainbow Concrete Industries Ltd.
Come see us in North Bay on April 21st at North Bay Toyota
We will back in Timmins on Earth Day April 22nd at Timmins Honda.

We will be handing out White spruce in Timmins and Sudbury and White pine in North Bay.


Many people talked to us about all the trees they have planted and how wonderful it was to have us and the trees as part of the Healthy Living Expo.


Muddy had some family drop by too.

Brother and sister in-law. My lovely niece and the father in-law.






What is the ediquette for petting a pig.

What is the etiquette for petting a pig.

Driving home from Sault Ste. Marie we made a little detour to look at some beautiful red pine plantations. The Kirkwood Forest. The Kirkwood forest measures about 50,000 acres. The largest White pine in the province use to stand here, but it fell 3 or 4 years ago.

The little detour turned into a very very longcut. 100km and 3 hours later we were back on track. I figured it would come back to the highway, map? ask for directions? not lost, just don't know where I are going.

Back to the pig. This pig was standing along the side of the road just waiting for someone to come by and pay some attention to it. We stopped the truck and got out to pet the little creature.

It snorted and grunted while it wagged its tail.

The nose was covered in - let's say it was - mud!

Where was the pig : map
Where the hell were we : map
Where is the biggest White pine suppose to be? : map




Saturday, April 10, 2010

Trees are the Answer

From text of a presentation by Patrick Moore on forestry and the environment.

You can read more about Patrick Moore and his environmental and forestry views. Patrick was one of the first people that made up Greenpeace.

He has moved away from Greenpeace and much of the disinformation that comes from them with regards to forestry. You can read more on his website called Greenspirit.

You can find the entire text here.

"I soon discovered that trees are just large plants that have evolved the ability to grow long wooden stems. They didn't do that so we could cut them up into lumber and grind them into pulp; they actually had only one purpose in mind and that was to get their needles or leaves higher up above the other plants where the tree could then monopolize the Sun’s energy for photosynthesis. When foresters create openings or clearcuts when they harvest trees, one of the reasons for doing it is so the new trees growing back can be in full sunlight. Trees are basically plants that want to be in the sun. If trees wanted to be in the shade they would have been shrubs instead, they would not have spent so much time and energy growing long wooden stems."

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Poster for Earth Day



Oxygen Grows On Tress !!

Oxygen G.O.T.

Tree Seedlings free.

Earth Day celebrates 40 years.

The best time to plant a tree is 100 years ago.
The second best time to plant a tree is today.


Muddy Mark in the News

Something different for me. Live tv. Someone talks in your ear from Sudbury while I stare into the camera. A very quick interview about Earth Day activities.

Roll'n lay on the carpet watching while the process unfolds.

Come get a tree seedling from me!

Sault Ste Marie - April 13
Sudbury - April 20
North Bay - April 21
Timmins - April 22


Sunday, April 4, 2010

Muddy Mark goes a little commercial

Muddy Mark has partnered with CTV and Millson Forestry service to bring trees seedlings to Earth Day.

Over the next couple of weeks the Earth Day events, and activities leading up to Earth Day will be updated here.

For me every day is Earth Day, just some days I do more for the Earth then others.




You can comment here, YouTube or Facebook

Long Weekend Observations

This weekend again finds me on Ste Joe's Island, near Sault Ste Marie. It has been a very warm and wonderful weekend so far.

My first little 12 km walk on Saturday morning I came across these little flowers I figured they were Lilac, but the smell is not right and they were a little way in the bush from any property. The branch looks like willow, it is a woody stock. Correct me if I am wrong. Maybe the strong Lilac smell was not present yet so early in the morning.

This morning I went for a little bit longer walk. I traveled along the snow machine trail. In past years on easter weekend I have walked on the snow on the snow machine trails, but not this year. The snow is long gone from the trials in this area. intersection map


I reached the top part of the loop I was walking and should have turned for home. My side kick Roll'n was not looking tired at all so instead of turning for home we continued toward the sound of the sand hill cranes.

Another km and I knew we were getting very close. The noise was just on the other side of some alder swamp. A little further up and a path opened into a field. Stepping into the open I could clearly see the cranes.


I wondered if Roll'n might want to go chase them, but he was much more interested in the trails of deer and rabbits he had been following. Birds do not interest him any more. Even grouse do not get chased anymore - they just fly away.

These are my first sandhill cranes I see on the ground this year.



I try the video setting on the little camera to see how the sound will come out. Sounds pretty good.