Replant.ca Environmental

Replant.ca Environmental is a Canadian organization whose vision is to help our global environment through planting trees. We build demonstration forests that are accessible to the public. We also plant in public parks, and we build carbon capture plantations that help mitigate climate change. Our operations are funded by NGO's, corporations, and numerous small donations from global citizens who know that their individual actions will help make a difference.

Monday, November 15, 2021

Carbon Capture Project for Tentree, 2021

Our organization did some tree planting work in southeastern New Brunswick this past September (2021). This was one of the carbon capture plantation projects that we designed for Tentree International.

You've probably heard of Tentree Clothing. If not, here's a link to their story:

www.businessinsider.com/tentree-sustainable-clothing-review

This particular site was a mid-sized project, where we planted slightly over 60,000 trees. On this particular site, we planted sixteen distinct species. That mix included conifers, oaks, birches, sugar maples, butter nut, and more.

One nice characteristic about this site is that it's really easy to find, if you'd like to explore one of Tentree's projects. Tens of thousands of people drive within a hundred feet of this site every day, as they travel on the TransCanada highway through southeastern New Brunswick. If you're on the TCH travelling from Moncton to Nova Scotia, you'll see this site on the right/south side of the highway, approximately four kilometers before the exit onto Walker Road (exit 500) close to Sackville. The border between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is just a ten minute drive down the highway. Here's a more detailed map, courtesy of Google Earth:

The work that Tentree has been doing has been exhaustive. To date, they've helped to fund the planting of more than sixty-six million trees in a number of countries around the world. And they have a very inspiring goal ... to plant ONE BILLION trees by 2030. That will be an tremendous achievement. Replant.ca Environmental is incredibly excited to be a small part of that massive plan.

Tentree is very scientific about their approach to all of this planting. They're diligent about ensuring that the planting projects are audited and verifiable. Some of their technology is cutting edge, such as drone mapping software that provides photographic documentation of the sites. They work with a block-chain based project called Veritree, which was designed to verify the legitimacy of global reforestation projects. Anyone who is interested in blockchain or auditing or GIS work should check out the Veritree website:

www.veritree.com

Here are a few photos of our crew at work on this site in September. Special thanks to Kalen Emsley and Tom Miller from Tentree for coming to visit this site to map out and verify the planting, and for doing the photography work that they shared with us.

As a side note, we returned to this site six weeks after this project was finished so we couldo plant a large number of acorns and chestnuts. Seeds/nuts are not trees, and these were not counted in the tree totals! This was just an experiment to see if we could have an additional impact upon a portion of the site by doing some late fall planting of some nuts that we had gathered, since we've been experimenting for the past couple years with growing various hardwood seedlings of our own. Here's a photo of Dee, planting some of the acorns and chestnuts:

Our goal for this exercise was academic. We do not want to stop planting young trees in the future. Rather, we're interested in learning more about germination rates for these species in various types of soils in real-world conditions.

The impact that Tentree is having on our global community is profound. We're very proud to be one of their many global reforestation partners.

You can see more photos of our 2021 tree planting work in our public 2021 Planting Photos folder on Dropbox.

Thanks for reading!

- Jonathan Clark

www.replant-environmental.ca

Replant.ca Environmental is a Canadian company that plants trees for carbon capture and builds community forests. We also plant trees in national, provincial, and municipal public parks to mitigate damage from wildfires, storms, insects, and forest diseases. We operate thanks to numerous small contributions from the general public, in addition to larger project sponsorships from businesses and corporations around the world. If you'd like to learn how to show your support, visit our donations page. Even if you aren't able to make a contribution, we very much appreciate when people are able to share our posts or our website link on social media, to help spread the word about the work that we're doing!

To learn more about the various species that we plant, visit the conifers page or the deciduous (hardwoods) page on our website. Thanks so much for your interest!

Incidentally, our organization is often seeking additional land for our carbon capture projects. Please visit this link if you might know of a recently-harvested property that we could rebuild into a permanent legacy forest.

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Creek Restoration Tree Planting in the Elephant Hill Fire, British Columbia

Our organization performed some creek restoration work in central British Columbia this past August (2021). The work was done in an area in central British Columbia, in the Kamloops region, in an area that had burned during the Elephant Fire in 2017.

The Elephant Fire was an enormous wildfire that occurred in central BC in 2017. By the time it was finished, it burned 191,865 hectares. For our readers that understand acres, that's just shy of half a million acres.

To put that into perspective, the average amount of ground in BC burned by wildfires each year between 2010 and 2016 was less than the size of this single fire. Stanley Park in Vancouver is 405 hectares, so this fire was the size of 473 Stanley Parks. New York City's Central Park is 341 hectares, so this fire was the size of 562 Central Parks.

Here's a graphic (courtesy of NASA) that shows the location of our project. This satellite imagery was taken on August 22nd, 2017, while the fire was still active. Note that North is not quite vertically oriented to the top of the map:

And for those of you who are unfamiliar with Clinton or Cache Creek, they're in south central BC (alongside Highway 97), as can be seen in this graphic from Google Earth:

Various governments, NGO's, and corporations have been working hard for the past few years to help reforest this wildfire. That work will continue for a few more years, due to the sheer size of the burn. Tens of millions of trees will have eventually been planted by all of the various entities combined.

A lot of the work done to date has been concentrated on land parcels that were already established within the provincial forestry GIS system. Some of these areas were never-harvested Old Growth Management Areas, and some were previously-harvested forestry cutblocks. However, because the Forest and Range Practices Act of British Columbia prohibits logging alongside creeks and within stream buffers, the areas that have been replanted to date often exclude those important strips. Unfortunately, the wildfire did not respect the same boundaries. We now have a situation where a lot of forest creeks and streams now have no tree coverage, which is bad because these watershed features are the most important parts of local ecosystems.

Our goal for 2021 was to target some of those creek buffers, to help restore the vegetation belt. The areas that we worked in [to date] were almost exclusively pure conifer stands before the fire, so even though we planted thousands of trees on this project, we limited this phase of the project purely to conifers. Although we love to plant deciduous species on many of our projects, we also need to mimic nature, which informed the final prescription. The conifers will also provide better shade opportunities in the late winter and early spring, moderating the severity of the spring freshet. In future phases, however, our goal is to include cottonwoods, trembling aspen, birch, and rocky mountain maples. And luckily, these species are all starting to regenerate naturally too, which is very helpful to the local watersheds.

What is especially unfortunate is that as large as this fire was, it was only the third-largest fire in British Columbia in 2017. The Hanceville Fire and the Plateau fire were both significantly larger.

If you'd like to learn more about the Elephant Hill fire, here are several media articles:

thenarwhal.ca/bc-forest-fires-restoration-secwepemc

www.coastmountainnews.com/news/rancher-helps-find-cattle-in-elephant-hill-fire

wildfiretoday.com/2017/07/31/elephant-hill-fire-in-british-columbia-grows-to-194000-acres

www.coastmountainnews.com/news/2017-elephant-hill-wildfire-most-likely-cause-by-smoking-materials

www.kamloopsthisweek.com/local-news/foi-documents-offer-closer-look-at-cause-of-elephant-hill-wildfire-4445360

You can see more photos of our 2021 tree planting work in our public 2021 Planting Photos folder on Dropbox.

Thanks for reading!

- Jonathan Clark

www.replant-environmental.ca

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Tree Planting Project at Five Islands Provincial Park, Nova Scotia

Our organization did some more tree planting work at the Five Islands Provincial Park this past September (of 2021). This work was funded by the Trees For Life organization. You can learn more about them from their website: www.treeforlife.ca

This provincial park is located in north central Nova Scotia, on the north side of the Minas Basin. This is on the south side of the arm that connects most of mainland Nova Scotia with New Brunswick. The town of Truro is about an hour to the east. Here's an overview graphic of eastern Canada, courtesy of Google Earth, which shows the location of this park:

This project was put together to initiate afforestation on some open areas, and to repair some of the extensive damage done by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. This storm battered central Nova Scotia quite strongly, and was the costliest storm in history when it came to damages to the provincial power grid.

Damages within the park were not as bad as in some of Nova Scotia's other provincial parks. However, since there were open areas in the park from previous insect damage, this park was a prime candidate for the planting of some new seedlings. When we offered to assist with this work, the park staff were very happy to accommodate.

The park foresters estimated that a series of openings along the sides of Camping Area B would be amenable to the addition of seedlings. We decided that this project would be approached in multiple phases. We would start by planting several thousand trees in the fall of 2020, and follow that up with a larger phase of planting in the fall of 2021.

Our first phase of work in 2020 got off to a great start, and was initially funded by public donations. However, the project really began to have a major impact in 2021 with the support of the Trees For Life organization. The support that we received from them funded the planting of 12,490 more trees in 2021!

The following graphic shows approximately where new seedlings have been added so far. Some of the seedlings were planted in open areas where trees were lost to the hurricane, and others were scattered as an underplant under various sections of existing partial canopy:

To date, our species mix for this project has included a total of seven species. We had five types of conifers (mostly red spruce, eastern white pine, and eastern hemlock, plus a handful of eastern larch and black spruce). We also had four species of deciduous hardwoods (sugar maple, red oak, mountain ash, and yellow birch).

Here are a few photos of our team in action in 2021:

The second phase of planting on this project went very smoothly. We're looking forward to returning next year to wrap up the final phase of the restoration work. This project is getting very close to completion now, and the addition of a few more hardwood seedlings will finish this project in 2022.

We'd like to thank the staff at the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry for helping organize this project, and again to the Trees For Life organization for making this work possible.

You can see more photos of our 2021 tree planting work in our public 2021 Planting Photos folder on Dropbox.

If you'd like to learn more about the Five Island Provincial Park, visit their web page:

parks.novascotia.ca/park/five-islands

Thanks for reading!

- Jonathan Clark

www.replant-environmental.ca

Monday, October 25, 2021

Tree Planting Project in Blomidon Provincial Park, Nova Scotia

Our organization did some more tree planting work in Blomidon Provincial Park this past September (2021). This work was funded by the Trees For Life organization. You can learn more about them from their website at: www.treesforlife.ca

This provincial park is located slightly west of central Nova Scotia, in a very picturesque part of the province. It overlooks the waters of the Minas Basin, which is part of the Bay of Fundy. The park is located just north of Canning, and just 20km from the town of Wolfville (home to Acadia University). It overlooks the highest tides in the world. Here's an overview graphic showing the location of the park:

This project was initiated in 2020 to repair some of the extensive damage done by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Dorian hit central Nova Scotia on September 7th, 2019. Eighty percent of the residents of the province lost power, and in the aftermath, Dorian turned out to be tied for being the strongest hurricane in recorded history to have ever hit Atlantic Canada. The destruction was widespread.

Damage within Blomidon Park was extensive. The park staff did an excellent job of cleaning up the mess, but the open spaces that resulted invited some further restoration work. We discussed our desire to assist with this work, and the park staff were very happy to accommodate.

The park foresters estimated that approximately five acres (two hectares) of the core camping area within the park had been hit the hardest. In addition, there was another five acre section in front of the camping area that had been cleaned out several years earlier (due to an insect problem) and that area could also use more trees. Beyond that, there were some other isolated areas that would also benefit from reforestation work. We decided that this project would be approached in multiple phases. We would start by planting several thousand seedlings in the fall of 2020, and follow that up with a second larger phase in the fall of 2021.

The first phase of the project was completed successfully in the fall of 2020, thanks to public donations. However, the project really began to have a major impact in 2021 thanks to the support from the Trees For Life organization. The support that we received from them this year funded the planting of 8,487 more trees in 2021. Amazing.

During the planning phase in 2020, we were given some maps outlining the approximate area that the foresters recommended we focus upon. For context, here is one of those maps:

This photo shows two areas highlighted in red. The section on the left is the older area that was damaged by insects. Some trees had been planted in that area several years ago, but the coverage was sporadic and there was certainly room for more. The section circled in red on the right side of that photo shows the main camping area, prior to the devastation by the hurricane.

To date, our teams have planted a total of eight species in the park. We've planted five types of conifers so far: Red spruce, white spruce, eastern larch, white pine, and a handful of black spruce. We've also planted three species of deciduous hardwoods: red oak, sugar maple, and yellow birch. Some of these trees were planted in open ground where the previous mature trees had been completely destroyed and removed. Other seedlings were planted in partial understory adjacent to camp sites, which again had suffered some wind damage. These young understory trees will help to ensure the long-term health of the stand surrounding the camp sites. Incidentally, we'll be adding additional hardwood species to the project in the future.

In addition to prioritizing the camping areas, we've also planted part of the area that was damaged by insects several years ago. That area has started to regenerate partially. Some of the trees in that area had been planted, and others are the result of natural regeneration. The trees and brush in this area were quite patchy. In some parts, the trees were looking quite healthy and were taller than we were.

Here's a graphic showing all of the areas that we've worked in to date:

Here are a few photos of the team in action in the park:

The second phase of planting on this project went very smoothly. We're looking forward to returning next fall to wrap up the final phase of the restoration work. The project is getting close to completion now, and the addition of several more hardwood species will finish this project in 2022.

If you'd like to learn more about Blomidon Provincial Park, visit their website:

parks.novascotia.ca/park/blomidon

Thanks for reading!

Jonathan Clark

www.replant-environmental.ca

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Tree Planting Project in Caribou Provincial Park, Nova Scotia

Our organization did some more tree planting work in Caribou-Munroes Island Provincial Park this past September (of 2021). This work was funded by the Trees For Life organization. You can learn more about them from their website at: www.treesforlife.ca

This provincial park is located on the north shore of Nova Scotia, near Pictou. Here's an overview graphic of eastern Canada, courtesy of Google Earth, which shows the location of the park:

This project was put together to repair some of the extensive damage that happened in the park in 2019 due to Hurricane Dorian.

Here's an aerial photo of the park, taken before the hurricane:

The hurricane hit on September 7th, 2019. Here's another aerial photo, taken after the hurricane:

Damage within the park was extensive. The park staff did an excellent job of cleaning up the mess, but the open spaces then invited some restoration work.

In 2020, we discussed our desire to assist with this work, and the park staff were very happy to accommodate. The park foresters estimated that approximately fifteen acres (six hectares) of the core camping area within the park had been hit the hardest, with lesser damages elsewhere. We decided that this project would be approached in multiple phases. We would plant several thousand trees in the fall of 2020, and follow that up with a second larger phase of planting in the fall of 2021.

We commenced our work that fall (2020), initially funded by public donations. We certainly got off to a good start that year, planting almost five thousand seedlings. However, we knew that more trees still needed to be added, and the project really began to have a major impact in 2021 with the support of the Trees For Life organization. The support that we received from them funded the planting of 9,458 more trees in 2021!!

Our species mix to date for this project has included a total of ten species. We've planted four types of conifers (red spruce, eastern white pine, eastern larch, and a handful of black spruce seedlings). We've also planted six species of deciduous hardwoods to date (white birch, yellow birch, sugar maple, red maple, mountain ash, and red oak). When we return in 2022, we hope to have a few additional hardwood species that were not available to us in 2020 or 2021. Our plan is to sprinkle those trees throughout the already-planted areas, to enhance the diversity.

Here's are a few photos from our work at Caribou in 2021:

The second phase of planting on this project went very smoothly. We're looking forward to returning next year to wrap up the final phase of the restoration work. The project is getting close to completion now, and the addition of a few more hardwood species will finish this project in 2022.

You can see more photos of our 2021 tree planting work in our public 2021 Planting Photos folder on Dropbox.

We'd like to thank the staff at the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry for helping organize this project, and again to the Trees For Life organization for making this work possible.

You can see more photos of our 2021 tree planting work in our public 2021 Planting Photos folder on Dropbox.

If you'd like to learn more about Caribou-Munroes Island Provincial Park, visit their website:

parks.novascotia.ca/park/caribou-munroes-island

Thanks for reading!

- Jonathan Clark

www.replant-environmental.ca

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Tree Planting Project in Victoria Park, Truro NS (2021)

Our organization did quite a bit of tree planting work in Truro's Victoria Park this past September (2021). This work was funded by the One Tree Planted organization. You can learn more about them from their website at: www.onetreeplanted.org

Truro is located in central Nova Scotia, and is often referred to as "the hub of Nova Scotia." From Truro, highways branch out in all directions to other points within the province. Truro is a small town which has an official population of only about twelve thousand people, but when you count everyone within a fifteen minute drive of the town, the number is probably closer to fifty thousand. That may not sound like much to anyone who lives elsewhere in a dense urban area. But Truro also has something else rather special. It has a municipal park, called Victoria Park. And that park is over three thousand acres in size! The people of Truro are extremely lucky to have access to such a large and beautiful park, located right inside the town limits.

But exactly how big is three thousand acres? Well, to put it into perspective, New York City's famed Central Park is less than a thousand acres. And Central Park has its own police precinct (the 22nd) which polices the 58km of pedestrian trails found there. Victoria Park doesn't have its own precinct, but it definitely has an extensive trail network.

Here's an overview graphic of eastern Canada (courtesy of Google Earth), showing the location of Victoria Park:

When we originally contacted Victoria Park in 2020 to discuss the possibility of planting some trees there, we learned that there were several areas which could definitely benefit. There were a few sections where trees had been removed after being killed by insects. Also, the former municipal landfill (now decommissioned) was relatively barren. Although some parts of the topsoil cap over the landfill had already been replanted several years ago by the Scouts and other organizations, there was still a great deal of work to be done.

We started our work within the park that year, initially funded by public donations. We got off to a very good start to the project in 2020, planting approximately fifteen thousand trees. However, the project really started to have a major impact in 2021 thanks to the strong support from One Tree Planted.

Our initial review in 2020 had indicated that there could be as many as fifty to sixty acres of open ground that were suitable for afforestation efforts. That fall, we did our initial work around the trail heads up at the top of the park, for the first phase of what would obviously need to be a multi-year project.

The support that we received from One Tree Planted allowed us to more than double our impact in 2021, planting an additional 35,000 trees!!

The shaded areas in the graphic below illustrate the ground that was covered in the fall of 2021:

To date, we've been able to plant six types of conifers (red spruce, eastern white pine, black spruce, white spruce, Jack pine, and a small number of eastern larch) plus six deciduous species (white birch, yellow birch, sugar maple, red maple, mountain ash, and red oak).

Phase Three of this project (in 2022) is intended to further increase the species diversity. We plan to do some in-fill work, adding at least six more species of hardwoods to the areas that have already been planted. In addition, we have additional areas that need to be tackled, including some work in the Gorge and other sensitive areas of the park that need to be fortified with additional young seedlings.

Here are a couple of photos from our work in 2021:

You can see more photos of our 2021 tree planting work in our public 2021 Planting Photos folder on Dropbox.

If you'd like to learn more about Truro's Victoria Park, visit their website:

www.victoriaparktruro.ca

Victoria Park is the #1 rated attraction in Truro, and has over fifteen hundred very positive reviews on Google.

Thanks for reading!

- Jonathan Clark

www.replant-environmental.ca