Thursday, May 28, 2009

Chicago Gateway Green

100 Trees
On April 25th, nearly 150 volunteers, led by Gateway Green planted 100 trees on two empty lots at 25th & Lowe. Mayor Daley spoke at the event of the importance of greening the city.
View a video of the planting day.


Breakfast with the Mayor
This year's Chicago Gateway Green 'Breakfast with the Mayor' celebrated 10 years of greening Chicago's roadways and the launch of their Tree Partnership Program.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Agricultural Aromatherapy


Lavender Oil As Natural Herbicide?
According to the International Journal of Environment and Health, research suggests that essential oils from lavender could be used as a natural herbicide as an effective alternative to toxic chemicals.

Global Reforestation

The World Resources Institute (WRI), working as part of the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR), has released a map outlining current worldwide forest cover. Forests once covered almost twice the area they do today and only one-fifth of the world’s original forest cover remains in large, unspoiled tracts.
Reforestation of degraded forests and safeguarding intact forests benefits our planet in many ways, including reduction of climate change.
Read the article

What we are doing:
Project Quercus
Conservation Easement
News Room

Monday, May 11, 2009

Here’s what you’ve been waiting for...


... A Tree Owner’s Manual, an excellent summary of tree care. Afterall, what’s the point of planting a tree if it doesn’t live?

Get your copy quickly and pass the word. Download the manual here:

http://na.fs.fed.us/pubs/detail.cfm?id=9573

Local nurseries know northern Illinois best

Just because a plant is hardy to your area doesn't insure that it will survive and thrive. Trees grown locally have been acclimated to your specific region. Trees brought in from a warmer climate could struggle with colder temperatures and differences in soil conditions.
Read Bruce Spangenberg's article in the Northwest Herald
Links

Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois
Chicagoland Grows

Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Value of Trees

The benefits of trees in a community is widely known within forestry and tree-planting groups, but tough economic times could end the funding for urban forestry programs. A piece by John Rosenow,The benefits of Arbor Day last all year round, explains why this could be more costly in the end:

"In cities, trees serve as green infrastructure, providing immense value from a modest investment. Trees help clean the air and water, mitigate storm-water runoff, increase property values, and conserve energy – all the while improving the quality of life for residents. The fact is, trees are rare components of a city’s infrastructure that actually increase in value and service over time.
As municipal budgets become stretched, cutting corners on infrastructure expense such as tree planting and pruning may seem attractive on the surface. But the reality is cutting investments in these areas cost dearly over time.
History shows that when civic and national leaders make planting and caring for trees a high priority, it strengthens and adds value to the entire community."

Read the whole article:
The benefits of Arbor Day last all year round by John Rosenow

Foliage Field Guides for Cellphones


A team of researchers has developed electronic field guide software for iPhones and other portable devices that identifies tree species based on the shape of their leaves. The software compares a photo to a library of leaf images.

Read the article here

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Forests Provide Climate Change Help

Temperate forests in eastern North America are soaking up greenhouse gases and are storing only part of their potential, according to an article published in 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.' The study compared the carbon held in forest trees of Wisconsin, historically and present-day.
More Information:
http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refID=105795
http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refID=105794

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Transforming Carbon Waste Into Fuel

Regulating carbon dioxide emissions will probably result in the CO2 being sequestered underground. But one alternative could be to recycle the carbon by turning it into liquid hydrocarbon fuels by taking hydrogen and combining it with CO2 to make fuels that would cut the demand for crude oil. In effect, the carbon would be used twice: the first time in a power plant and the second in a car engine.

Transforming Carbon Waste Into Fuel - NYTimes.com

Biomass energy 'could be harmful'

A study found that in some cases overall emissions of biomass energy could be higher than those of fossil fuels, especially where energy crops were planted on permanent grassland. The credibility of biomass rests on tough sustainability criteria.

More information