Forests and the Environment

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 295-365

Most of us understand intellectually that we are connected to each other and our fate is tied to our planet. But now that we have the means and knowledge to effect change: we have to act. 

We have already found many of the answers we need from the natural world. The process of changing the Earth back into a place that can support us is well underway. Progress is being made and there is reason to be optimistic.

The more we do: the more the Earth will help rebuild and regenerate itself. What is needed is a concerted effort. This isn’t a challenge that just a few countries or world leaders can fix on their own: it is going to take all of us, acting in large, and small.

Widespread But Deadly Eco-Myths

• Ecosystems always recover  This myth is fairly common, and I hear it uttered out-loud essentially every time I mention that we are currently seeing an extinction rate roughly 1000x the normal background rate. The fact of the matter is that an ecosystem, like all systems, tries to remain in its current state; resisting change (we call this resilience). But, this only works until a certain point.
• Ecosystems react to change and damage linearly: an ounce of pollution equals an ounce of damage. ecosystems work in terms of stable states (so tipping points) and not linearly in regard to change. 
• Humans have this under control: the governments and companies will fix it. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be much further from the truth. In a huge governmental multi-department meta-analysis „Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services: Technical Input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment. Cooperative Report to the 2013 National Climate Assessment,” it is admitted that managers, planners, and politicians are not coordinating or seeking counsel from scientists or experts
• No matter how many other species die: it won’t affect us. This is the adult version of the “I’m not listening, I’m not listening” defense we see small children use when confronted with unfriendly information. Pretending that humans are “above” and independent of nature is part of the reason we are facing such serious problems right now, and part of the reason humans are failing to react to the emergency. Far from being “immune” from the mass extinction taking place around us, we are actually highly dependent on the ecosystems we live in. Costanza et 2014 al’s meta-analysis found that we are losing approximately $4-$20 trillion a year in ecosystem services (so services that we would otherwise have to provide ourselves: clean air, water etc). Even before a full biosphere collapse, we are losing more value every year than what proponents of the “move to Mars” theory propose could actually let us stabilize our biosphere.

We have never faced a crisis this big, that we have never had better ideas to solve. This is our only home. We can choose today to make a world of difference.”

Annual Community Tree Planting Weekend in Ontario Canada

Forests Ontario planted nearly three million trees in 2013, with the ultimate goal of supporting the planting of 10 million trees per year.

The community that plants together, grows together! The annual Community Planting Weekend takes place during the first weekend of May. It brings together families, community members and volunteers to take part in a half-day tree planting activity, promoting local engagement and environmental awareness.

This family-friendly event offers participants the chance to directly support their community in a local reforestation project and learn about the benefits of trees, shade and green urban spaces.

The events are held rain or shine and participants are asked to bring a shovel, gardening gloves and a lot of energy! Trees Ontario and its partners supply the rest - the trees, forestry specialists, mulch and snacks. Appropriate outdoor clothing, sturdy shoes (steel toe if possible), a hat and sunscreen are recommended.

7th Annual Community Tree Planting Weekend: Saturday, May 2nd, 2015

For more information please contact the office at 1-877-646-1193.

Heritage Tree Initiative in Ontario

What is a Heritage Tree?

• A notable specimen because of its size, form, shape, beauty, age, colour, rarity, genetic constitution or other distinctive features;
• A living relic that displays evidence of cultural modification by Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal people, including strips of bark or knot-gree wood removed, test hole cut to determine soundness, furrows cut to collect pitch or sap, or blazes to mark a trail;

• A prominent community landmark;
• A specimen associated with a historic person, place, event or period;
• A representative of a crop grown by ancestors and their successors that is at risk of disappearing from cultivation;
• A tree associated with local folklore, myths, legends, or traditions.

What is the Heritage Tree Program?

• The Heritage Tree Program identifies and records the location of heritage trees as well as details such as age, size, appearance and most importantly their cultural and historical significance. The stories and photos of recognized trees are then featured on the Forests Ontario website.
• In addition, the identification of these trees enables Forests Ontario and community-minded organizations to locate potential native seed sources. Collecting these seeds will ensure the succession planting of legacy trees for future generations to enjoy.
• Anyone is invited to nominate a tree for Heritage Tree recognition, whether it is located on their own property, a friend or family member's property or in a public space.

Links

http://www.exposingtruth.com/morgan-freeman-understands-whats-going/#ixzz3Rez9505H 

http://www.exposingtruth.com/educating-8-eco-myths/#ixzz3Rf0226lh 

http://www.forestsontario.ca/index.php/green_leaders

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Mosquito Repellent Trees - Neem Tree and other Medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 294-365

Neem is the “village pharmacy.” Every part of the plant has bioactive compounds that can be used in medicine and agriculture. It is a fast growing tree that can provide  shelter, food, medicine, and crop protection. We are just beginning to learn of the benefits that this tree offers.

Names

Botanists know it as Azadirachta indica, the generic name coming from Persian words meaning “free” or “noble tree” and the species name being Latin for “Indian”.

Description

The neem tree is one of the most versatile of India’s plants. Valued for centuries throughout tropical Asia for its multitude of medicinal and other uses.

The umbrella-shaped neem, a member of the mahogany family (Meliaceae), grows to about 50 feet tall. It is generally evergreen, though in some areas it may be briefly deciduous. Its foot-long leaves are divided into 8 to 18 toothed leaflets which measure 1 to 4 inches long by 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches wide. Fragrant white flowers about 1/2 inch broad in branching groups crowd in the leaf axils. The thin-fleshed, egg-shaped yellow fruits measure about 3/4 inch long and contain a single seed.

Distribution

 It is planted as a street tree in Haiti and is also cultivated in Guatemala, Cuba, and Nicaragua. It grows in Hawaii and Florida but rarely flowers in the latter state. 

Uses

The young, tender branches have been widely used in India and other countries as “chewing sticks” to keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy. 

Commercial toothpastes containing neem extracts are now available in India, Europe, and the United States. Limited clinical trials have shown neem toothpaste to be a potential treatment for gingivitis. 

Neem branches are also placed in stored grain to repel insects.

The bitter leaves and flowers are eaten as a potherb, and the fruit is also edible.

Organic farmers use it in bio-pesticides, as it is naturally-derived and potent. Aphids, mealy bugs, mites, thrips, cabbage worms and any number of insects.

Neem flowers are generally used in cooking to improve digestive health. This also used to treat excessive phlegm and intestinal worms. Some preparations dried flowers been powdered and used. Generally the dried flowers are roasted in ghee and used in the dishes.

The flowering season of the Neem tree falls on Jan to May (Spring season), but only once in a year. During that time one can pick the flowers and dry them in sun 

Medicinal Uses

 In Indian folk medicine, the leaves are prescribed for many ailments,

•  including intestinal parasites, 
• swollen glands, 
• bruises, 
• sprains, and 
• malaria. 
• Leaf extracts have been shown to have antiviral activity 
• and delay blood clotting (confirming their efficacy as traditional snakebite treatments), and 
• the leaf essential oil has strong antibacterial and 
• antifungal ­activity. Research on neem’s potential against malaria is now under way in Africa.
• The fruit has been used to treat urinary disorders and 
• hemorrhoids
•  Like the leaf oil, the seed oil has been shown to be antifungal and antiseptic, and it may also be contraceptive. 
• An attractive characteristic of neem insecticides is their very low toxicity to humans, plants, and other animals including certain beneficial insects. 
• Neem has a curative effect on chronic skin conditions that have not been successfully helped through conventional medical treatments. 
• Acne, 
• dry skin,
•  dandruff, 
• psoriasis, 
• eczema,
•  herpes, 
• shingles, 
• andringworm have all been shown to respond to natural creams salves or lotions made with neem.
• Cancer. Remember that many of the conventional anticancer drugs are derived from plants. The benefits of neem have been extensively and scientifically studied. The components extracted from the seeds, leaves, flowers and fruits of the neem tree have been used in traditional medicine for the cure of multiple diseases including cancer for centuries. These extracts show chemo preventive and anti-tumor effects in different types of cancer. Two bioactive components in neem, azadirachtin and nimbolide, have been studied extensively.

History

Neem’s Sanskrit name “Nimba” is a derivative of the phrase “Nimbati svasthyamdadati“, which means “to give good health”. Its medicinal use dates back to the Vedic periods in India, around 4,000 BCE. 

Through various traditions in various regions, it became useful for treating a great many ailments, such as leprosy, heat rash, wounds, ulcers and chicken pox. It was used widely and diversely in agriculture. 

It is still prescribed in the ancient practices of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, systems of medicine which are still practiced and taught today.

Receipt for  alternative to bug spray.

You can give it a try at home, for an environmentally sound alternative to bug spray.

Ingredients

• 3 large handfuls of neem leaves
• 1 kilo of pure shea butter
• 1 bar of soap
• 1 litre of water

Recipe

Boil the neem leaves in the water until the water turns green. Strain out the leaves. Grate the soap into fine pieces and add to the hot liquid, stirring until dissolved. Add in the shea butter a little at a time, and stir until incorporated. Let cool, and store in an airtight container.

This is a great product to use to protect the children from malaria.

Neem as an Insecticide

Neem is classified as an “anti-feedant”, which means that pest insects refuse to eat anything covered with it. This effectively reduces populations that infest your garden; your crops are these insects primary food of choice.

Neem also works by disrupting insects’ hormone balance, instead of being a simple poison that kills them through toxicity. The soft-bodied insects it is most effective against (such as whitefly and aphids), come into contact with neem and the chemical impulses which tell them to eat, mate, fly or molt are not received. 

This disrupts their population to the extent that it quickly fails. The fact that it does no harm to predatory insects leaves pests more susceptible to predation. The fact that it is non-toxic and safe for application means that it can be used as needed without worrying about residual toxic effects, like most pesticides.

Reforestation with Neem Tree

Propagation:

The most common propagation method is to grow neem trees from seed.

There have been trials using cuttings, suckers, roots and tissue culture, and it all works, but planting seed is by far the easiest and the most common method.

As long as the seed is fresh it germinates readily in about a week.

I have never tried to raise seeds in pots, I just put them straight into the ground and they do fine anywhere. However, I see no problem with raising them in pots. Any standard mix, supplemented with a balanced fertilizer, should do.

Neem trees develop a very deep and strong tap root. 

Leaving them in pots or polythene bags for too long will lead to stunted and distorted roots, and it is also very easy to damage roots when the tree is planted out. So if you start them in pots, get them out in the garden as soon as they are big enough.

Growth And Life Span

Neem trees grow slowly during their first year, but they reach maturity fast. You can expect to harvest your first neem fruit after three to five years. It takes about ten years for a neem tree to get to full production. After that it will produce 30 to 50 kg of fruit a year. A neem tree can be expected to live 150 to 200 years.

Sunlight: The more, the better. Especially young neem trees cannot handle shade.

Soil you can grow neem trees in just about any soil.

Huarango Trees Prosopis limensis good for Diabet

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 294-365

Common names

• Algarroba
• American Carob
• Huarango
• Kiawe
• Mesquite

The Plant

Huarango trees are literally life saving. Their pods can be used as fodder for livestock, ground into flour for human consumption, sweetened into molasses, or even fermented into beer. 

The light yellow flowers are a haven for bees, and the tree itself helps capture seasonal floodwaters on their way from the Andes to the Pacific, supporting humans, animals, and plan.

 Huarango trees capture moisture from fog in winter, and their exceptionally long 

roots (sometimes over 50 m) are able to tap deep groundwater, making life 

possible in the desert.  Sadly Huarango forest is on the edge of extinction: a 

situation reflected by its national classification as threatened and by the regional 

government by-law making all Huarango deforestation illegal .

The fruit of mesquite is basically a pod or legume, which grows up to a length of anything between 16 inches and 30 inches and its width is a little more than 1.5 cm, while its thickness is about 8 mm. Usually, the weight of one mesquite pod is roughly 12 grams and it encloses three main segments - the external shell, the seeds and the pulp. All these are contained in a hard shell that is difficult to open. Each pod contains about 25 seeds on average. All the components or parts of the mesquite fruit are used. According to estimation, on average, one mesquite tree produces approximately 40 kg fruit every year. Generally, 70 trees grow in one hectare of field.

The Huarango is the primary producer, providing invaluable ecosystem services

 including soil fertility, desalination, climate improvement and a key 

refuge foranimals in desert areas e.g. rare birds such as the slender-billed 

finch (Xenospinus concolor). The importance of conserving this resource is widely 

recognised in Peru 

The Huarango trees of Ica produce two crops of pods per year: a large one in April and smaller one in October. The production is prolific: a tree 20-70 years old can produce 50-150 kg of pods per year depending on the pollination and seasonal conditions. 

The sweet yellow pods (known as huaranga) are so nutritious they are considered a 'complete' food, containing high levels of carbohydrate and protein as well as vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, folic acid and minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron). 

They have been used for human food for at least 7,000 years, and in pre-Columbian times sometimes provided an estimated 50% of the diet for local populations.

In the dry forests of Northern Peru the pods of the Algarrobo tree (Prosopis juliflora andProsopis pallida), which are similar to the Huarango (Prosopis limensis), are still used to make a variety of products. 

Medicinal Uses

 When ground into flour and used in baking, no sugar is necessary. Studies of similar mesquite flour being used in the US suggest that it is excellent for diabetics and people sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations. 

Its sweetness is a result of fructose, which does not require insulin to be metabolized. 

The pods have 11-17 percent protein, including lysine, and a healthy 25% fiber. 

It takes between 4 and 6 hours to digest, as opposed to the 1 to 2 hours it takes to digest wheat. Since the body metabolizes it more slowly, it means a more constant blood sugar level over a longer period and one does not get hungry as soon.

 It is also a good source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc among other vitamins and minerals. It is low carbohydrate, low glycemic, and low in fat. 

A long tradition of medicinal uses ranges from digestive aids to cauterization.

Other Names

The kiawe tree, as it is known in Hawaii, and the huarango tree, as it is known in Peru is the source of the best tasting mesquite beans ever. These are so very delicious.

The huarango tree, native to the coast of Peru, is known in Quechua as tacco, which  means "The Tree"—not just a tree, any tree, but "The" tree, "The One." The ultimate provider. It has also been called "The Staff of Life," or "The King of the Desert."

Reforestation

To understand the profound importance of the huarango, one must realize that Nasca is at the heart of one of the most fragile ecosystems on earth.  

Part of the Atacama-Sechura desert that extends into Chile, it is also one of the driest places on earth. There is no rainfall along the Peruvian coast, and the surface rivers that fill with runoff during the rainy season in the mountains are not enough to sustain life along the coastal valleys.

With roots reaching as deep as 60 metres underground to seek out water, lifespans beyond 1000 years and leaves that trap airborne moisture, huarango trees (Prosopis pallida) were a "keystone" species that turned otherwise arid river banks in Peru into oases flanked by fertile flood plains. They also fertilised the otherwise poor soil by dropping leaves and fixing nitrogen.

Reforestation in Peru ,-  since 2007. In this time, with the help of over 18,000 local residents we have planted over 44,000 native trees. The main aims are 1. to restore the critically endangered dry huarango forest, 2. to revive the planting and use of ancient tree species and 3. to increase environmental protection.

Is this tree the salvation of Spain and Greece mountains? It can be. Hope is not too late for reforestation using this tree.

Huarango Festival

Through an annual Huarango Festival, and the marketing of the many huarango fruit products, people of Peru are demonstrating the true value of this remarkable tree. They are also planting new huarangos in schools and in community gardens. Students at the San Juan de Bautista University have planted more than 2,000 huarangos on dunes around the city.

The Huarango Festival (now in its sixth year) is organised in April over three days to coincide with the Huarango pod harvest. This popular family event is attended by several thousand people and attracts wide local press coverage. The regional government has been supportive following its establishment by the project, declaring the festival for official inclusion in the municipal regional calendar.

History of Huarango Trees in Peru

The ancient Nazca people of Peru are famous for the lines they drew in the desert depicting strange animal forms.

A further mystery is what happened to this once great civilization, which suddenly vanished 1,500 years ago….

Now a team of archaeologists have found the demise of the Nazca society was linked in part to the fate of the Huarango  tree.

Their extensive root systems physically anchored the oases in place, and protected them from periodic floods; their huge branches deflected the wind, which can be fiercer than 100 kilometres per hour. 

Once this protection was gone, the huge flood in around 500 AD destroyed the agricultural systems with which the Nazca people had replaced the huarango, turning the terrain into desert.

Archeology

David Beresford-Jones of the University of Cambridge and Alex Chepstow-Lusty of the French Institute for Andean Studies in Lima, Peru, analysed 1.5-metre-deep profiles of pollen distribution in soil from Nazca oasis sites.

In the oldest, deepest layers, about 70 per cent of the pollen is from huarango trees. Around 1.2 metres down, pollen from crops such as maize and cotton joins that of the huarango, showing the beginnings of agricultural expansion.

And around a depth of 80 centimetres, corresponding to around 200 AD to 400 AD, the crop pollen starts to dominate, and huarango pollen rapidly diminishes, showing that most trees had been felled.

Suddenly, about 50 centimetres down – corresponding to about 500 AD – the only pollen is from plants of the Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae families, which thrive in salty water, marking the flood that doomed the Nazca. Thereafter, the salty soil could no longer support crops.

Deforestation

 In the last year alone, 80% of a huarango forest near Tunga was lost. [iv]Thirty years ago the province of Ica still had 50,000 hectares of huarango forest. Less than 1,000 remain in 2007. Of that, only 200 hectares are actually considered true forest.

Links

• http://www.kimmacquarrie.com/ancient-nazca-civilization-committed-fatal-ecological-error/
• http://greatergood.com/2014_august_41235_treesforcities/#AgdevGAcuBTjPF2K.99
• http://livegeo.www2.solvention.de/Magazine/Kew_in_Peru_-_June_08.html