The use of evergreen trees for street plantings would be an opportunity to replicate the past evergreen-forested slopes of Silver Valley – Maple Ridge.
Why are evergreen trees important?
Acting as an enormous “carbon sink”, trees soak up carbon dioxide from the air, producing life-giving oxygen in return. In fact, a medium-sized tree generates the same amount of oxygen, as each one of us needs to breathe.
In a tree, ‘breathing’ takes place inn the leaf. Chlorophyll (the substance causing the green colour) absorbs the CO2 and uses it along with water to dissolve minerals taken up through the roots. After the chemical reaction is completed, the leaf releases oxygen and water vapor through its pores.
Because evergreen trees are not dormant during the winter months, they release oxygen 12 months of the year, so it would be wise to chose evergreen trees for street side plantings.
Suggestions for evergreen street trees
Serbian Spruce
Skyrocket Juniper
Alternatives include: Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’, ‘Green Arrow’, Weeping Alaskan Cedar, Picea omorika.
Alternatives include: Picea glauca ‘Pendula’, Weeping White Spruce (leader does not always stay straight), Cedrus deodara ‘Kashmir’ (broader than the selections above at maturity), Blue Haven Juniper
Leyland Cyprus: As recommended in the District of Mission – Tree Retention Bylaw.
There seems to be some choices!
A combination of deciduous and coniferous may also work in all development areas.
I think that the District of Maple Ridge should consider some of the evergreen trees as alternatives in our community.
As the size of our community increases, things that were deemed safe in the past are having an increasingly harmful effect on Maple Ridge, the environment, and, potentially, the people who live here. For example, pesticides, commonly used for commercial and personal purposes are showing up, with increasing frequency, in area streams and waterways. These chemicals are disrupting ecosystems, contaminating wildlife, and
Maple Ridge resident Maria Raynolds works with CEED, raising awareness about the harm that pesticides can cause and campaigning for the reduction of pesticide use for cosmetic purposes. Recently, Maria spoke to Maple Ridge Council about this subject, and she gave me permission to reprint her presentation on Growing Our Community. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s an interesting article up on the Vancouver Sun website discussing a recent study by UBC professor Michael Brauer. Brauer led a research team that investigated the short-term effects of wood burning stoves on air particulate levels in specific areas in and around Greater Vancouver.
Last winter, Brauer and his research assistants sampled air quality levels on 20 clear evenings (between 9pm and 2am). They found that, in certain areas, particulate levels were dangerously high — some places registered levels significantly higher than a 2010 target set by the federal government. High income residential areas close to the ocean showed little effect while inland areas like Surrey, Richmond, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows exhibited higher particulate counts. While Brauer declined to release the specific locations where high particulate levels were recorded, it was observed that levels were higher for a number of reasons. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been meaning to make this post for a while but, as per usual, it’s been shunted off while other obligations pop up.
Anyways, we’ve been using coffee grounds from Starbucks in our garden for the past while. The grounds are free — all you need to do is to go into your local outlet and ask for a bag or two. Most outlets remove the filters from their grounds but some don’t; regardless, you get some decent compost material that adds texture and acidity to your soil. Also, word is that certain creatures dislike the grounds immensely (slugs, ants, any others?) so if your garden is under siege, this method could be a nice alternative to slug bait…
For those of you who aren’t into recycling coffee grounds you have at least one other option: asking for ‘expired’ greens from your local grocery. This material is great for compost, small animals, or biodiesel (I think).
