ABCA director one of landowners planting trees as Earth Week nears
April 16, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ABCA director one of landowners planting trees as Earth Week nears
Windbreaks can help keep soil on the land, mark property lines, increase yields
April 16, 2010 [Exeter, ON] - More than one hundred landowners are currently planting trees in Ausable, Bayfield and Parkhill Creek watersheds as Earth Week (April 16 - 25) approaches. Many of those landowners are being assisted by staff members at the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA), who are busy planting trees by machine and hand.
One of the landowners planting trees through the ABCA’s spring tree planting program is Exeter-area cash crop farmer Dave Frayne, a councillor with the Municipality of South Huron and an ABCA director. He has just had 570 trees planted this month as a windbreak which will “stop the snow and maybe provide some habitat for birds,” he said. The planting of trees can also slow down run-off, according to Frayne, and that’s important as his property is not far from a municipal drain that flows into the Ausable River.
In some cases, funding programs can help landowners with the cost of tree planting. The Huron Clean Water Project is providing a 50 per cent grant in this case because the windbreak will reduce soil erosion from wind and water. Sediment has a negative impact on water quality. “It’s always better to keep the soil in the field to grow crops instead of losing it to the river,” said ABCA Stewardship and Conservation Land Supervisor Kate Monk.
Research in Ontario shows yield increases of 25 per cent for corn and six to eight per cent for soybeans in the area downwind of a windbreak. Soils in the area of a field sheltered by a windbreak warm up quicker and are protected from frost. While some production is lost immediately adjacent to the windbreak, crops further away will benefit.
The ABCA has worked with several farmers who are using windbreaks to mark their property boundaries and enjoy other benefits. “It’s a win-win situation. The trees improve their property and the watershed too,” Monk said.
Landowners participating in the spring tree planting program have already ordered the seedlings, which arrived last week, but Frayne said Earth Week is a good time for people to start considering future planting efforts. Landowners can begin site preparation now and think ahead to ordering trees this fall or next spring.
For more information on tree and grant programs visit abca.on.ca or phone 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610.
– 30 –
CONTACT: Kate Monk, Supervisor of Stewardship and Conservation Lands at Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA)
519-235-2610 or 1-888-286-2610
Ian Jean, Forestry and Land Stewardship Specialist
519-235-2610 or 1-888-286-2610