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Having planted some trees myself as a teenager (under the supervision of my grandfather, a forest warden), I can tell you it is very rewarding to do so[1]. It i

by sdfjkl 12y ago

Having planted some trees myself as a teenager (under the supervision of my grandfather, a forest warden), I can tell you it is very rewarding to do so[1]. It is also a lot of work. The young pines we planted (bought from a tree nursery) needed protection from deer, who like to munch on them while they're small, from boars who destroy the bark by rubbing their itching hide against it, and from bark beetles who decimate entire forests if left unchecked. From humans they were protected legally. [1] Here's a series of shots of an apple tree growing up: https://plus.google.com/photos/114301087219148980063/albums/5914915717001137681 https://plus.google.com/photos/114301087219148980063/albums/...

bane 12y ago
Interestingly, I took part in an environmental project when I was in High School to thin out a deeply overgrown area of conifers that had been planted 20 years prior as part of a tree planting initiative to reclaim some undeveloped farm land that belonged to the county and was next to a school. We had to cut down about 10% of the trees and haul out half of the felled trees, chosen at random, and introduce a half dozen clearings about a 1/4 acre each. The intention was to thin it out so that wildlife could move around more easily in it and become a small wildlife sanctuary. Apparently it worked as the site is now a dedicated bird sanctuary. But I do wish we could have transplanted the trees rather than just cut them down.
- ensignavenger 12y ago
  Transplanting a tree that has been growing for 20 years would generally require a substantial amount of digging!
  - wglb 12y ago
    And a non-zero risk of loss after replanting.
- sdfjkl 12y ago
  That's another thing my grandfather taught me - taking care of a forest means cutting down some trees. Although they were never chosen at random, but carefully selected, marked for their intended destination (furniture, planks or firewood) and then hauled away for sale.

by sdfjkl 12y ago

bane 12y ago

Interestingly, I took part in an environmental project when I was in High School to thin out a deeply overgrown area of conifers that had been planted 20 years prior as part of a tree planting initiative to reclaim some undeveloped farm land that belonged to the county and was next to a school. We had to cut down about 10% of the trees and haul out half of the felled trees, chosen at random, and introduce a half dozen clearings about a 1/4 acre each. The intention was to thin it out so that wildlife could move around more easily in it and become a small wildlife sanctuary. Apparently it worked as the site is now a dedicated bird sanctuary. But I do wish we could have transplanted the trees rather than just cut them down.

ensignavenger 12y ago
Transplanting a tree that has been growing for 20 years would generally require a substantial amount of digging!
- wglb 12y ago
  And a non-zero risk of loss after replanting.
sdfjkl 12y ago
That's another thing my grandfather taught me - taking care of a forest means cutting down some trees. Although they were never chosen at random, but carefully selected, marked for their intended destination (furniture, planks or firewood) and then hauled away for sale.