Holistic Tree and Forestry

Our Scoping surveys for arborists starts today. You might know that trees are very important for bats but did you know that bat species use trees very differently depending on species and season? Arborists can sign up to attend our August course: https://buff.ly/3PIs8Zb

Natural succession?

Lots and lots of Oak Wilt showing itself this week. Monitor your oaks! Especially the Red Oaks. Signs of Oak Wilt include premature leaf fall and branches showing wilted leaves and dieback.

It's bird song season! Check out this cool interactive photo provided by the mn dnr!

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mcvmagazine/bird_songs_interactive/index.html

Minnesota Bird Songs | Minnesota Conservation Volunteer This interactive illustration will help users identify and listen to 24 birds common to Minnesota.

Please enjoy this educational video we put together about a project we worked on a couple weeks ago.

https://youtu.be/SPSHfXpuYQs

Hilloway Park Red Pine Thinning A stand of overstocked Red Pine were thinned and processed onsite in December of 2021.

Got a lot done in 2021

Ecosystem Based Adaptation, - by, John D. Liu, FULL VIDEO, The Great Work Of Our Time In this presentation, John D. Liu describes and shows video of his long formative journey starting with the revitalization of the Loess Plateau in China. Joh...

Looking for ways to help your trees and shrubs through the drought?

A woody mulch layer 1.5-2 inches thick can help conserve soil moisture. Any thicker and it can soak up light rains and prevent them from reaching the soil. Be generous with the expanse of the mulch as roots can go far and wide.

This might be the time to install a greywater system to take advantage of what water is available.

Avoid pruning of live tissue on stressed trees and shrubs until the dormant season.

A few handy notes about apple pruning...

Apple Tree pruning tips Not a comprehensive apple pruning video but some notes on reiterating mature apple tree crowns.

When you're feeling lighthearted about doing your chores...

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Tree architecture - A valuable new tool to inform (veteran) tree management (Joye, 2019).pdf

Stop obsessing over the perfect lawn (op-ed) I am dog sitting for a friend and on our morning walk to Cherry Lawn Park in Darien, I was alarmed by the number of bright yellow pesticide application signs on lawns, displayed proudly as if they were something beautiful, like the lovely daffodils that dotted the landscape around them. In the past,...

The wheel bug, Arilus cristatus, in the family Reduviidae (assassin bugs), is widely distributed across the eastern United States, feeding on caterpillars and soft-bodied insects - yum!
Check it: https://youtu.be/6bfUpaaEKcQ

More here: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/wheel_bug.htm

Wheelbug stalks caterpillar After sizing up its prey, the wheel bug strikes with astonishing speed.

Protecting the 'sponge': Preserving forests in Mississippi headwaters boosts water quality Experts say forests play a critical role in protecting the water quality of the Mississippi and the lakes and rivers in its watershed.

Happy acorn season! We're preparing to plant a whole boatload Quercus macrocarpa (bur oak) seeds this fall and watching this video really gets the mood going.

Acorn germinating underground to oak seedling time lapse. Filmed over 8 month Acorn to Oak seedling time lapse. Filmed over 8 months Filmed by Neil Bromhall Jays bury acorns as a food reserve over the winter period. Some Jays forget wh...

Something to think about.

8 Edible Flowers That Fit Permaculture Plot Flowering plants that don’t produce a fruit or vegetable can seem a bit of a luxury in the permaculture garden. Sure, they may look beautiful, but unless they are performing a function in a guild (such as daffodils suppressing grass around an apple tree), this single function can look a little und...

"Every decision takes into account more than just ourselves"