Trees that heal Maple, Hawthorne and Elm

By Liliana Usvat

Blog 226-365


Maple – A leaf wound wash or poultice is used to relieve sore eyes and soreness of the breasts for nursing mothers and pregnant women. Bark tea is used to treat kidney infections, the common cold and bronchitis.

Most maples are trees growing to 10–45 m (33–148 ft) height. 


Hawthorne – Leaf tea is brewed as a “cardiac tonic” but extended use is known to cause a drop in blood pressure. It is recommended to use it for just two weeks and then take a week off before starting the treatment again.


Hawthorn is an excellent small tree with a widespreading plant form. It has 2-3" clusters of white flowers in spring. Fruit are a bright red, 3/4" pome. They are produced in masses and provide excellent color in late summer and early fall. Foliage is dark green and very glossy. Typical plants of the species have many sharp, 3" long thorns. The tree provides a distinct horizontal accent in the landscape

hawthorn fruit and flowers have medicinal properties useful as a treatment for chronic heart failure.  "Hawthorn extract may be used as an oral treatment for chronic heart failure" although the trials did not all measure the same outcomes and several did not designate what conventional treatments the patients also received. Data obtained for meta-analysis was found "suggestive" of a benefit from hawthorn extract when used in combination with conventional treatments.

Hawthorn wood is dense and rot-resistant, and was used for fenceposts and other applications where a moist environment would be encountered. Hawthorn trees are noted as having magical properties in many Neolithic and medieval cultures. Superstitious people today still cling to a belief in faeries and other supernatural beings said to live in close association with the genus

Elm – Bark salve and poultices are used to treat gunshot wounds, chilblain, and on the abdomen to draw out fever. Bark tea is very high in calcium and helps increase the healing of injured bones, heal sore throats, soothe urinary and bowel issues, and to thwart diarrhea.
Elms take many decades to grow to maturity, and as the introduction of these disease-resistant cultivars is relatively recent, their long-term performance and ultimate size and form cannot be predicted with certainty.

The Romans, and more recently the Italians, used to plant elms in vineyards as supports for vines. Lopped at three metres, the elms' quick growth, twiggy lateral branches, light shade and root-suckering made them ideal trees for this purpose.

Elm bark, cut into strips and boiled, sustained much of the rural population of Norway during the great famine of 1812. The seeds are particularly nutritious, comprising 45% crude protein, and less than 7% fibre by dry mass.

Extreme Reforestation Spain

By Liliana Usvat

Blog 225-365

I started this Blog because of a trip in Spain. We drove for hours and the mountains had no vegetation. So I decided that If I can make a small difference with my opinions and research in reforestation it will be worth to try.

I figure it that massive logging was the cause of decline of Roman Empire. The land lost the soil that could maintain life. But there are 2000 years since the decline of the Roman Empire and something should have been done in all those years. The climate is so hot in Spain that last year we walk on 45 degree Celsius. And this is not normal and it can be prevented with minimum effort. But it should be some effort.

In meantime I found out about permaculture a new concept of food forest implemented and developed on different continents that I consider a blessing for the society if it is applied.

So let's see what is happening in the reforestation sector in Spain in these days.

It is so easy to destroy the environment and the forests let's see how hard is to replant in Spain.

This is so  countries such Canada Romania, Brazil, Madagascar to pay attention, what happens  when large amount of forests are destroyed.

Reforestation Projects Spain

•  The Green Deserts trees planted February 2012 at Sant Boi de Llobregat Barcelona Spain

    

They have made terasses with a crane and planted in the solid rocks

They hope that within 5 years this area will be covered with trees without having used irrigation

Solid rocks challenge the trees

• Los Desiertos Verdes trees that were planted in 2011 at Sant Boi de Llobregat Barcelona Spain

• The Green Deserts trees that were planted in 2011 at San Mateo de Gallego Zaragossa Spain
•  Los Desiertos Verdes trees that survived one year after using the Groasis Waterboxx at San Mateo de Gallego Zaragossa Spain

A combination of a Pine (Pinus nigra)  with a bush Kermes Oak (Quercus coccifera)

This is not a fertile soil but a bunch of small rocks and stones

• Los Desiertos Verdes successful reforestation of a garbage dump at Fuensaldana Province of Valladolid Spain

Valladolid makes wasted land productive again without using energy for pumps and scarce water for irrigation

 

The water boxes produce their own water they never have to be filled after planting

• Controlling the results of Riofriste de Aliste plantings in the North of Spain

Riofrio plants over 2000 productive trees. This area was completely burned several years ago no tree survived

 

Well growing Chestnut one month old on May 28 - 2012

•  The Green Deserts successful reforestation of mine dumps from Grupo Cupa at Riofriste de Aliste Spain

Above the slate mines were growing trees the objective of Live+ Project is to restore this.
Every 5 minutes a giant truck passes loaded with rocks.
The saplings have to re-establish and re-cover the eroded area. What are the odds that this would happen.

 

The waterboxx planting any impossible to plant place - rocks - eroded or arid areas - without using energy for pumps and without spilling scarse water to irrigation

• 1600 to 2000 meter high Ski Resort San Isidro Province of Leon Espana

 
 Without waterboxx the saplings are destroyed because of the meters of snow  on it, that move slowly downwards during winter

A nice view of a box on approximately 1900 meters high

Extreme Reforestation

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 224 -365

Mexico


Everything start with a person. In Mexico was  Sergio De Lara.
While living in Mexico’s third-largest city, Monterrey, Sergio De Lara noticed a distinct lack of urban forestry, most pointedly during the city’s 50-degree summers.
 












What began as a small grass-roots collective digging up previously-sealed sidewalk planters grew to a corporate-sponsored non-profit NGO (going by the name Reforestación Extrema) complete with volunteer teams re-foresting parks and city streets all over.

The city was lacking 8000 trees. The organization planned to plant every week end trees.

Peru

In the Andean region of Peru, families rely solely on agriculture for food security and income generation. However, climate-related impacts such as irregular rains, hailstorms, frosts and extremes of temperatures, have made growing crops and breeding animals increasingly difficult.

Lack of knowledge of sustainable land management has led to overgrazing the destruction of native forest vegetation on the Andean mountain slopes, and further diminished livelihoods. These factors combined have resulted in extreme poverty and malnutrition.

Project location

The project will take place in six communities in the district of Yanaoca – Kasani, Pongoña, Jilayhua, Ccolliry, Hanccoyo and Hampatura – near Cusco in the Southern Andes region of Peru.

The project aims to plant around 1.2 million trees across 1,000 hectares of degraded grazing lands to mitigate environmental degradation, increase household incomes, and to sequester carbon into the landscape. This will be achieved through the establishment of nurseries in each of the participating communities, producing a range of trees including exotic pines for timber production, native species to establish conservation areas and increase biodiversity, and fruit trees to help combat malnutrition and increase family incomes

Africa

Deforestation is frequently listed as one of the more serious threats facing human kind today. Between 100,000 and 200,000 square kilometers of forest area are lost annually, contributing to the extinction of at least 17,500 species each year. Furthermore, it is estimated that deforestation is responsible for almost 30% of total global carbon dioxide emissions (1). West Africa is experiencing some of the highest numbers of forest loss. In all, Africa loses nearly 10 million acres of forest each year (1), contributing to desertification and changes in rainfall patterns.

Causes

The causes of deforestation differ from country to country and involve social and economic factors. Trees are cut and land cleared to make way for agriculture and cattle. Rising populations within and near forested area have increased the pressure on the forests for building supplies, fuel, paper products, and land to grow food. In West Africa, and Togo specifically, much deforestation is the result of wood gathering and charcoal production for cooking. 

While it is difficult for individual organizations to halt large scale logging and mining without governmental or international programs, Alaffia organization believe there are options for smaller scale programs. First, providing alternative fuel options for individuals and families can stop a large part of deforestation caused by firewood and charcoal production.

Each year since 2006, Alaffia organization donated 1,000 fruit and forages trees to farmers in central Togo. Fruit and forage trees planted in and around farmer's fields have several impacts, including reducing soil erosion, improving soil quality, providing food, fuel, and habitat.






Here another story

In the early 1970s, Dave and Grace Deppner served as volunteers in the Philippines, where they witnessed the human tragedy brought on by illegal logging and unsustainable land management systems. Working with community leaders in nearby villages, the Deppners found a way to offer hope. They revitalized degraded lands by providing farmers with tree seed, technical training, and on-site planning assistance. People responded enthusiastically,  joining in to save their homes and way of life.

After returning from their overseas assignments they continued what they had started, communicating by mail with rural community leaders, providing information, seeds, and training materials. After many years of informal operations, Trees for the Future (‘TREES’) was incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) public charity in Maryland on August 14, 1989. Over the years TREES has assisted thousands of communities in planting millions of trees in 19 countries including Ghana, which have restored life to land that was previously degraded or abandoned.