Category Archives: Climate

Volunteers planting a tree

This Earth Day, Be a Tree Hero

Posted on April 22, 2018 by Daniel Brown

Tress are one of the best resources we have for fighting climate change. They help us manage the unavoidable effects of a warming world and help us avoid the unmanageable.

Trees

As we continue to see more dangerous heat waves, trees provide shade and cool relief. As storms grow stronger and more frequent, trees break the wind, soak up tremendous amounts of stormwater, and reduce erosion. Trees also slow climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon in the trees and soil, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

The value of trees goes far beyond fighting climate change. They provide habitat and food for wildlife. They improve air quality by filtering pollutants. Neighborhoods with more trees experience less crime. They make communities more pleasant, and they increase the value of nearby homes. People go to great lengths to keep living and working near beautiful trees and forests, helping build neighborhood connections as people continue to live near each other for longer.

Whether you live in your own home or rent an apartment, you can be a steward of trees. Here’s how:

Volunteers Planting a Tree

Plant Trees

Whenever you can, plant native trees that grow to be large and store carbon faster. Sweetgum, tulip poplar, oaks, and maples are good examples. If you own your own home and yard, plant trees especially on the west and southwest sides of your home where they can provide shade during the hottest time of day. If you live in an urban area, see what neighborhood groups plant trees and give them a hand.

Adopt Trees

Trees provide greater benefits as they mature and grow, so it’s important to help young trees survive through the first 3-5 years.

Especially during prolonged dry periods, help keep trees healthy by giving them a bucket of water in the evening. Living trees store carbon for a long time, but dead rotting wood releases carbon back into the atmosphere. Therefore, start with longer-lived trees, which hold their carbon longer, and native species, which are well adapted to local conditions.

Reduce Fossil Fuel Use in Tree Maintenance

If you’re already the proud owner or steward of trees, care for them with old-fashioned elbow grease. Gas-powered leaf blowers, mowers, and wood chippers, release carbon dioxide and pollutants, that offset some of the benefits provided by trees.

A Gift to Future Generations

Much of New England has been blessed with the foresight of our grandparents and their grandparents before them to re-establish trees and protect the landscape in perpetuity. We too can continue that New England tradition, and ensure that our grandchildren know the joy of playing beneath sprawling branches on a healthy planet.

Ground Truthing the Groundhog

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Daniel Brown

On February 2 at Drumlin Farm, the official groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ms. G, looks for her shadow. This year, Ms. G saw her shadow, which, according to the folklore, means we’re in for 6 more weeks of winter.

But any skepticism you have about her methodology is justified. It turns out groundhogs aren’t any better than coin flips at predicting weather.

If Ms. G looked at winter temperature trends over the last 30 years, she might want to reconsider her forecast. If we define the onset of spring by the “first leaf” date of a number of different plants, spring has been arriving earlier and earlier across the United States, and more than 5 days earlier across most of Massachusetts.

First leaf dates are one indicator of many. Late winter and spring temperatures are rising. Many birds are migrating sooner, and some mammals are shedding their winter coats earlier. Long-time gardeners in Massachusetts consistently tell stories of being able to grow things they once couldn’t. All these changes could disrupt the ecological balance that has been in place for hundreds or thousands of years.

We can help alleviate some of the stresses plants, wildlife, and pollinators will face due to changes in climate by protecting natural spaces in our own communities, and by planting native, flowering plants in our gardens.

For what it’s worth, the expert “groundhogs” at the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center are projecting a slightly warmer and potentially wetter February-March-April than normal. We’ll have to see which forecast holds true.