In vacant lots and neglected parks, residents are planting trees — lots of them, close together.”Tiny forests,” which originated in Japan, are popping up across Canada and around the world. …In total, about 600 trees and shrubs — blue beech, swamp birch, balsam fir and two species of oak among them — were planted in an area about the size of a tennis court. That works out to three trees for every square metre of land. …Todd Irvine, a Toronto arborist said in certain situations tiny forests make a lot of sense, such as in areas sorely in need of tree cover. In 15 to 20 years, however, he says “there’s going to be a significant amount of horticultural maintenance, because some of those large trees are going to be shaded out and they will begin to die. Really fast-growing trees can have structural consequences. You’ll get these really large, quite frankly, spindly trees.”
Neither plant nor animal, fungi are not only an important part of our ecosystem but can also play a large role in the fight against climate change. Here are some ways fungi help the environment and are becoming the basis for a variety of eco-friendly industries.
New research at the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest in Maple Ridge could lead to healthier forests that take more carbon out of the atmosphere, say researchers. Dr. Suzanne Simard and Dr. Dominik Roeser are leading field-based experiments looking at silviculture practices by the B.C. lumber industry in the 1960s and 1970s, and how those 60-year-old forests could now be much improved. The view back then was to grow and harvest stands of Douglas-fir, like a Saskatchewan farmer might raise fields of wheat. The result is plantations that are not as biodiverse, nor as productive as they should be, said Simard. …Selective logging and cutting-edge equipment will be used to address biodiversity and carbon deficits in industrialized conifer plantations. The project involves transitioning monoculture stands to healthier forests, with greater species diversity, and testing various retention levels and harvesting techniques.
SLOCAN VALLEY, BC — A full environmental impact assessment of the proposed Zincton all-season resort is being called for by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Sinixt Confederacy. Currently before the Mountain Resorts Branch of the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, the back country ski development proposed for the Selkirk Mountains in the Slocan Valley needs a deeper view, said Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Confederated Tribes. “This proposed project is going to be built on high quality wildlife habitat within a critical wildlife corridor between two major parks,” he said in a Feb. 8 letter to the Province. “Our preliminary internal review has raised a number of concerns, including potential impacts to blue-listed species such as wolverine and grizzly bear.” …His view was supported by the West Kootenay EcoSociety website, arguing that the entire proposed development would disrupt a wildlife corridor between two provincial parks.
As many as 150 British Columbia lumber industry companies and their workers are getting a massive shock as they begin to sell their companies, retire, and start collecting pension benefits they have been paying into for decades. Some who are already collecting benefits from the 
With six weeks until wildfire season, the Ford government is on a campaign to silence its wildland firefighters’ dire warning about the catastrophic state of the province’s fire program. Make no mistake, winter is almost over and the fire bans are coming. Fire bans are used by the province when the threat of wildfire is extreme and though the government cannot readily influence the severity of the hazard, it can, and does, control the limitation of firefighting resources. …According to an internal report from 2015, Ontario’s wildfire program is comprised primarily of students trying to pay for college, which has resulted in constant turnover and “inexperienced staff making poor decisions on the fireline.” Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Graydon Smith has reassured Ontarians that the province has a “great number of crews.” In reality, ongoing retention issues mean Ontario is actually losing fire crews, and experience, at an exponential rate every year.
Companies with certifications from organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) will stand out to those environmentally conscious consumers. Every business that wants to stand the test of time must listen to its consumers. Some trends come and go, but eco-friendly products and services are only becoming more popular. Recent research shows that 80% of consumers prioritize sustainability when spending their money. Companies with certifications from organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) will stand out to those environmentally conscious consumers. Business owners and industry experts should learn more about the FSC to better understand the benefits it could provide their companies. It may be what a brand needs to demonstrate its sustainable values and retain long-term eco-friendly consumers. …Companies can receive an FSC certification to build better rapport with their consumers and become green industry leaders. These are the primary benefits business owners enjoy after getting this certification.
PORT ANGELES — A program to boost the forest products industry in Clallam and Jefferson counties is moving ahead, with hopes of attracting new businesses and creating new jobs. Last year, the Clallam County Economic Development Council received $50,000 from the state Department of Commerce to set up its Natural Resources Innovation Center (NRIC), with the hopes of boosting a local forest products industry. Now the EDC is getting ready to stand up NRIC as a nonprofit organization to serve as a hub for forest product businesses to connect with other companies, find funding opportunities and access economic and feasibility studies. The group will be industry-led and work to find projects that are collectively beneficial for the industry and support small forest products businesses that may not be able to afford or conduct things like feasibility studies on their own.
ALBANY, New York — The mass spectrometer in Rabi Musah’s lab at the University at Albany’s chemistry building is so sensitive that it can pick up the molecular fingerprint of almost anything. It’s not uncommon, for instance, for traces of cocaine, fentanyl or other illicit substances to turn up on currency such as dollar bills, she said. …Musah and Coon aren’t looking for drugs though. ….Instead, they are looking for microscopic specks of wood from endangered trees, which have been illegally harvested. …By using the spectrometer, which identifies the atomic weight of a given molecule — and comparing that with what will be an AI-powered database of various endangered wood species — the two women hope to create a device that businesses can use to make sure they aren’t selling an endangered species. …Deployment of the wood detection system is a year to 18 months away, and eventually they hope to develop a hand-held scanner.
The diversity of life has plummeted over the past 30 years in more than a dozen tropical forest reserves in Mexico, a new study shows. Even these highly protected areas are seeing the array of plant and animal life follow a now global trend in which a few groups thrive and proliferate in human-altered landscapes where most groups decline. …The 14 studied reserves, which are part of a biodiversity hotspot that spans across Mesoamerica, have each been designated under a UNESCO program aimed at establishing a scientific basis for improving human livelihoods and safeguarding ecosystems. In and around many of the protected areas, the authors found that new roads continued to go up and trees came down between 1990 and 2020 as people cleared forest for timber or cattle grazing. The abundance of long-lived, shade-tolerant tree species declined on average across all reserves by more than 25%.
One of New Zealand’s largest forestry companies has had its certification suspended over slash damage in and around Tolaga Bay. The company, Ernslaw, is owned by a Malaysian forestry giant. The certification was from the Forest Stewardship Council, an international body that sets forestry standards. Damage to the area from the slash is from 2018, however, locals still remained concerned. Tolaga Bay farmer Mike Parker said there’s “thousands” of areas which have had slash damage. …Chair of the Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use Hekia Parata said it was an environmental disaster unfolding in plain sight. Not only has Ernslaw lost its certification from the Forest Stewardship Council but an audit was being conducted into many forests around the country. Ernslaw said it was appealing the suspension.
The Amazon rainforest could approach a tipping point, which could lead to a large-scale collapse with serious implications for the global climate system. A new Nature 