Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Doing Our Bit for the Planet

#1

Doing our bit is a phrase that was coined in Britain during WW2 where the community worked together to help the war effort.

If you have been on this Forum for a while you’ll know I have a passion for mature natural woodlands. For me there is nothing more breath-taking than to walk through a forest in the fall when the trees show off their majestic display as the leaves turn to red and gold.

During the fall of 2022 I collected some Horse Chestnut Seeds about 20 ( we call them conkers in the UK) and potted them up with a mixture of soil and dead leaves. I left them on a concrete slab behind my garden shed and forgot all about them. This was just before I attended hospital and had to have emergency surgery. Last summer whilst still recovering from surgery I was surprised to find that most of the conkers I’d sewn had sprouted. Still not fully fit I just left them to overwinter.

Yesterday I checked on them and I am delighted to report 17 of them are still growing strong. So today I got up early and planted seven of them in a large circle in some featureless parkland close to my home. In remembrance of @Dave_Long who shared my passion for trees.

I am hoping these seven trees grow to maturity as they will provide an exciting place for children to play and a great place for the local dog population to take a leak.

I have yet to find a place to plant the other ten saplings. Earlier this month I planted thirty rooted cuttings which will in time form an evergreen hedge.

Do any of you guy’s do gardening? I’d love to hear what you are doing for the planet. Collecting and planting tree seeds is such a rewarding experience and costs nothing.

This fall would you consider collecting some tree seeds and planting them in a circle in remembrance of a friend?

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#2

We love to garden, but we have to cut down trees to do it. We live at the edge of a village. If I started walking due east, I would not get out of the woods for well over 100 miles. So we cut down trees as part of the woodland management efforts, to insure a healthy forest for generations to come.
The Great Northern Rain Forest is a massive ecosystem, truly a sight to behold.
And it’s full of bears!

The%20Woods
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#3

That’s understandable @BanJoe. That said I would still sneak in and plant a few Walnut, Hazelnut and fruit trees. We Brits have cut down almost all our ancient woodlands since King Henry the VIII began building wooden ships. It hasn’t really stopped although these days most of our woodlands are monocultured plantations. Efforts are gradually being made by small eco groups to re-wild small pockets of land. But the sad lesson is when it’s gone it’s gone. I will be lucky if I live to see these saplings grow. But that’s not my goal, I did it so others generations that follow can enjoy.

Being that you live on the doorstep of The Great Northern Rain Forest perhaps you could collect some seeds this fall and share them with folks from other areas where there is a shortage of trees.

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#4

I’m not sure who I would share them with. I hate to think of the red tape involved in shipping “potential invasive species” to you!
Most of the places that lack trees lack the climate to grow our deciduous trees.
We tried raising a prehistoric Wollemi Pine, but after it sprouted the struggle got to be too much & it perished.
http://wollemipine.com/

#5

You’d be amazed where trees will grow. There is a solitary tree growing out of a rock near the roadside in Glencoe.

I am not suggesting you export seeds, that would encounter a few problems. Although that said there are folks over here propagating giant sequoia and we do have some growing on the west coast of Scotland which were planted back in the 1800s.

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