#Tree Tweet on Christmas

My submission to #treetweet

Jian Ghomeshi on CBC Q set this up.

I can't figure out how many pictures were posted but it is lots.

Hope you can participate next year.

My Twitter

CBC Q

#treetweet page on Twitter.

Canadian Tree Tours

Only in Toronto -Coming to Timmins?

I think we have had our tour longer, first tree in the tour added in 2008.

We do not have a specific trail, but we do have a fancy map. The Timmins tour is more based on large trees in the Timmins Area.

Visit the Timmins Honour Roll of Trees. click here

Or go straight to the map. click here

Oxygen Grows On Trees

Cecropia Moth Visit today

Cecropia Moth

Came to visit at work today. map

Images of the Cecropia Moth

U of Gueph

Butterflies and Months of North America

Nature Deficit Disorder - have you been touched?

Are you Suffering?

Have you hugged a tree this week?

While driving into the forest the other day a story on CBC radio suggested we suffer from nature deficit disorder. We are are doing well as a species being taken out of the forests. They cited a study that proved young people did better if they were exposed to pine trees. I was driving past a Jack pine plantation with the window open at the time. Lucky me.

We are losing touch with nature, but more important we are losing contact. The smells and fell of the forest is important to human growth. The smell from the pines triggers something in our brains that just makes us more in-touch with our surroundings.

You need to plant a tree close to you, one every year. Why not plant a bonsai, then you can have a tree in your living space year-round. It is not hard. You can order a tree from Millson Forestry Service store in Timmins.

Nature Deficit Disorder links

Nature Canada - blog entry from 2008 describing the disorder
Best Health - What is nature deficit disorder?
PhD in Parenting - Cures for Nature Deficit Disorder? Help for our Planet?
Canadian Living - Quiz: Is your family suffering from nature deficit disorder?
Human Well Being and the Natural World - Just some facts
Canadian Institute of Forestry - Summer Outdoor Camps:  The best remedy for nature deficit disorder
Child and Nature Alliance - Get outside!!
Evergreen.ca -  they need contact with nature
Psychology Today - Exploring the natural world's psychological effects on human beings.
Education.com - The Critical Role of Environmental Education for your Child’s Future
An Interview with Robert Bateman - increasingly popular term among educators

Frogs are Green - definitely what the doctor ordered.

National Environment Week - Take the Nature-Deficit Disorder Survey Here

Trees we see plenty. It is green grass we do not get to see or smell for many months. So every year we grow our own grass in the house. A different container every year. When the kids were smaller we grow a big tray of grass to hide easter eggs in. It is wonderful to smell the grass after a trim with scissors. Looks like my grass is due for a trim this weekend.

Oxygen Grows On Trees

Earth Day 2011 Planning Started

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Muddy Mark and Forester Moe 
Talking Earth Day 2011

It looks like again we will be doing our travelling road show for Earth Day.  At Millson Forestry Service - Earth Day is everyday!

CTV came to the greenhouse to get some film to make the 2011 commercial spots. The greenhouse is an excellent spot to film with tree seedlings as a background. The green house has some seedlings, but it is mostly full of tiny sprouting tree seedlings.

We will be in Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins giving away free tree seedlings. Last year we gave away thousands of tree seedlings that increased the oxygen in Northern Ontario.  You can read more about last years events and see pictures in this blog.

You can see the Timmins Commercial go now or the Regional Commercial go now on youtube.

You can see last years PR and my other videos on my Youtube goforg channel

The 2 trees I have beside me came on the road with us last year. They will come with again. You can see behind me the greenhouse is just starting to turn green. Behind me are thousands of little tree seedlings just getting started.

Stay tuned for more information.

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Balsam Fir added to the T.H.R.T.

Balsam Fir added to the

Timmins Honour Roll of Trees

This is big for a balsam fir. I found this tree last year, but only stopped last week to measure, GPS and photograph.

Balsam fir usually do not get all that big, compared to the white and red pines. They simply do not last that long.

It is interesting that half of the trees currently on the Honour Roll are all within 1 kilometer.

Look at the map that has all the trees on it, many are grouped just 25 km down highway 144 south of highway 101.

Timmins Honour Roll of Trees

Map of all the Trees

Hiking Day in Timmins

What a great day.

Great turn out too!

Hiking Day at Hersey lake Conservation Area.

The trails offer smooth walking trails and signs to make sure you do not get lost. Distance at each sign means you can plan the distance you want to walk.

Great event, hope you can come out next year.

Biggest Balsam Poplar in Timmins Area

Balsam Poplar added to the Timmins Honour Role of Trees.

I have added a large, old Balsam poplar to the website that has all the large trees in the Timmins Area.

This tree is 210.3 cm circumference and 66.9 cm diameter measured at 1.3 meters above the ground (commonly known as breast height).

The Ontario Honour Roll of Trees is up again. Take a look. 2 trees on the Timmins list are bigger then the Ontario giant. I will need to get the height of the trees to see how they stack up points wise.

We are still looking for the biggest White birch, Black spruce, Balsam fir and Red maple. I will find a representative before the end of the summer. If you can help please let me know!

Ontario Honour Roll of Trees

Ontario Honour Roll of Trees - Updated!

For the longest time the Ontario Honour Role of trees has been a broken link. The Ontario Forestry Association has updated their site and the honour roll is once again front and center.

Take a look at the Ontario Honour Roll.

Take a look at the Timmins Honour Roll.

The Timmins Honour Roll needs your help to be completed. If you can fill in a blank with a big tree please let me know. Maybe we even have the biggest in Ontario!!

Spring is just around the corner

Spring is just around the corner.

I am thinking about all the new life I am going to be seeing very soon. Also thinking of visiting some old friends too, namely the biggest White Pine in the area.

We have some trees on the Timmins Homour Roll of Trees, but we still need you to find us find some giants of other species.

We have

Eastern White Cedar

Eastern White Pine

Red Pine

Jack Pine

Tamarack

White Spruce

Black Ash

Aspen

Yellow Birch

We need examples of

Black Spruce

Balsam Fir

Red Maple

Balsam Poplar

White Birch

A very big Burr Oak was pointed out to me this winter during the Christmas Bird Count. I will get the diameter this spring. A big blue spruce was also pointed out to me on the front lawn of a house.

I will get a picture with the owner of the tree this spring and post it here.

keep on the look out for honour trees, and let me know when you find one!

Timmins Honour Roll of Trees

Timmins Naturalists

Forest Research Partnership in Timmins

The Forest Research Partnership has a project here in Timmins, just 24km down Pine street south.

Highlights for me include the discovery of 400 year old white cedar and bird study part of the project.

The block also has the biggest white pine in the area. (see the Honour Roll of Timmins Trees)

Three different orchids - I will have to follow up on what those three are when I am in the same place as my notes.

A wonderful yellow birch stand was discovered in the block and management techniques were used to continue the health of the stand. This is the only yellow birch managed stand in the north, since yellow birch is at the northern edge of their range.

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The project team is working to merge high-tech inventory with leading-edge forest modeling and silvicultural science with operational practice, to set the standard for the credible implementation of enhanced forest productivity. Specifically, integrated harvest-to-harvest sequences of best practices are being implemented that include components such as:

1. State of the art spatial modeling to aid in prime site selection.

2. Enhanced forest inventory to optimize operational planning, including block and road engineering.

3. Careful, high-utilization logging

4. Thorough mechanical and/or chemical site preparation

5. Timely planting or high quality stock, including the best genetics available and species matched to microsite.

6. Timely and effective vegetation management.

7. Density regulation defined by long-term crop plans.

Within each of these components, new knowledge and tools are being fully implemented to operationally test and validate their integrity.

See the newest report and past reports.

Biofuel created by a wood hog near Timmins Ontario

See the video Mulcher Wood Hog Timmins Ontario. You can take a look at how the slash left over from a harvest operation is turned into a fuel that will be burned to create electricity.

This harvest operation is what we call mechanical. Fellerbuncher fells the trees, then a grapple skidder pulls the bunches of trees roadside. Once roadside the tree is either processed or delimbed, sometimes both.

What is left behind from that process is the tops, branches and leaves. It is this biomass that is placed in the mulcher to create a material that can be fed into power plants.

The Centre for Energy is just one of the very many Canadian site on the topic, but it has a very good general overview of the bio energy sector.

The material from this block is destine for facilities operated by Northland Power. One facility is the Kirkland Lake Generating Station, the other facility is the Cochrane Generating Station.

muddy mark webpage

Spring in the Greenhouse

Just a quick post to let everyone know the temperature has been turned up and soon you will see pictures of green as the tree seeds start to sprout.

The greenhouse is washed and neat waiting for the hassle of the seeding machine pumping out tray after tray of seeded containers.

Got to love it when spring comes early, even if it is just under a huge section of plastic.

Watch for it!!


Muddys' Emporium

Christmas Trees - Real vs. Fake

What is the best for the environment? What is better in the long run?

Well, there is plenty of information out there. It all seems to confirm the best way to go is REAL!

REAL is best.

What is making a move to even more environmentally friendly is the rent a tree movement. Some bigger centers are starting to offer rent a tree. It is a live potted tree that can be rented.

Even better is the large potted tree that would be planted after christmas.

At the office we have a real tree in a big pot. It is more of a bonsai Japanese black pine, but with decorations it looks like a great christmas tree.

The City of Timmins takes the real tree one step further. Trees are collected and mulched, which makes them useful again!

Plan ahead for next year. Find a source for a real potted tree and reserve it now.

I have a spruce tree on my front lawn, now 20 years old, that spent about 6 years in a pot before being planted. It gets the lights every year outside, but for one year it was a great tree for Santa to put presents under.

Christmas Trees Growers of Ontario
The Great Debate
Statistically Speaking a US website
Rent a christmas tree

Timmins Honour Role of Trees

Published to the net.

Hope you can participate.

Timmins Honour Roll of Trees is now online.

http://www.nt.net/~gofor/HonourRoll/TimminsTreeHonourRoll.html

Another Tenacious Tree

I have many pictures of these tenacious trees. When I have a chance I will look back and find some of the "best of" tenacious trees. I would love to see examples of what you find out there.

I am just always amazed at how well a forest can regenerate itself. Sometimes trees germinate on rocks and will send roots down around the rock searching for food.
I have been learning about Yellow birch and have come to understand they regenerate by dropping seeds on old rotten stumps. The tree grows and stumps rots, in some cases the rots suspend the tree off the ground with the many roots looking like legs holding up the tree.
The next time I see a good one I will get a picture of it. Here in Timmins we are at the northern edge of the range of Yellow birch.
This balsam fir tree growing on this rock looks very healthy right now. I think the rock is too big for the little guy to make it possible for the roots to reach the ground.