By Kate Proctor

One of the things I have always loved about spring is the infinite number of shades of green. From the first timid hint as you run your eyes over the edges of the bush, to the lushness we see now, shades of green tell the story of the seasons. Shades of green can be a diagnostic tool and a method of distinguishing plants from one another. They are also just downright beautiful. 
Trees and tree planting have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Before I was born, my Dad was planting trees on the farm – replacing places where deforestation had happened with what are now healthy woodlots. My Mom is also a tree planter. Our yard regularly had new trees and shrubs over the years including peach, apple, cherry, plum, red currants, blackberries, oak, silver, sugar, and red maples, ash, black walnut, mountain ash… you get the idea. 
Because I live in the house where I grew up, every morning I look out at a red maple that I have some affection for because it was planted the year I started kindergarten – we actually grew up together. While we have been around for over half a century (!!!) and in spite of being pruned and going through years that were tough and years where the sun and rain suited us perfectly,  we are both still strong and healthy, slowly adding to our rings. If I look out a different window, I see a windbreak that I helped plant over 30 years ago. The spruce and cedar now tower above my head in an imperfect, but still effective, barrier to the winds. 
When I was 17, I participated in the Junior Ranger program. It meant travelling north to the Chapleau district where I was paid $15 a day, plus room and board, to work for the summer doing various forestry-related jobs. We worked at thinning poplars from tree stands planted in harvested areas using a tool called a Sandvik. We cleared canoe and hiking trails. We peeled logs for a sauna that we never got to use. And we planted trees. Lots and lots of trees in areas where harvesting was completed. My son, now a forester himself in the Thunder Bay district, revisited the area to assess tree stands, 30 years later. He is on the leading edge of reseeding jack pines with drones in harvested areas. At at a cost of  over $1,000 per kilogram, finding more efficient ways to distribute those precious seeds is vital. 
We recently started a fairly major project with the help of Shannon Millar and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) (https://mvca.on.ca/) to reforest three areas of former pasture. Last spring, Saugeen Conservation Authority staff planted 8,800 new seedlings, including 80 per cent conifers, 10 per cent hardwood, and 10 per cent shrubs on 13 acres. Species included White Pine, White Spruce, White Cedar, Tamarack, Sugar Maple, Silver Maple, Bur Oak, Sycamore, Hackberry, Swamp White Oak, Black Willow, Ninebark, Red-osier Dogwood, Elderberry, Smooth Arrowwood, and Pussy Willows. 
Last summer, a duck pond was created in a low spot that never completely got dry in the summer. It had previously served a purpose as a settling area for runoff from surrounding fields, protecting the areas downstream including Lake Huron, and will continue to do so. Working with Ducks Unlimited (DU) and MVCA, planting in this area happened this spring. The wetland is 1.2 acres, with an additional 2.2 acres of seedlings, and 4.2 acres of larger stock trees planted.  Over 1,500 trees were planted in these areas, including many of the species planted in the other areas, as well as Tulip Trees, Staghorn Sumac, Freeman Maple, Sandbar Willow, Trembling Aspen, and Highbush Cranberry. 
As I have relearned this spring, planting is just the first step. This spring I have been working away at releasing our baby trees from the orchard grass and thistles that tower over my head. With the assistance of my other son, who now farms with me, and my sister – we have  painstakingly been finding all of those trees planted last spring in order to mow and give them a better chance. 
While this year's rainy spring has caused lots of anguish for farmers trying to get our planting done, it has been great for the baby trees. Planted in the middle of a hot dry spell last spring, I wondered how many would survive. I am happy to report that many that I thought were dead a month after planting are looking great. Some have added over 10 inches of fresh green growth. 
You may be thinking… why all the tree planting? Over 60 years ago my dad planted trees for some of the same reasons we are planting now – to have useful trees rather than allow the areas to grow up with weeds, and to improve water quality. At that time, the local townships were also hoping to develop lands to be recreational areas and the Junior Farmers group helped plant some of those trees. Today, that area is still used by many people who access the river to fish and boat and enjoy time in nature.
Healthy trees can help to reduce both wind and water erosion, stabilize stream banks, and improve water quality. This is important to us as the Maitland River runs through our farm and on to Lake Huron. Having a variety of trees on our property increases biodiversity, and provides birds and wildlife with habitat and corridors to travel. Trees and natural spaces are also important for humans – providing recreational spaces and improving mental health (https://forestsontario.ca/en/program/50-million-tree-program). Reading about the life of Edmund Zavitz and his tireless effort to replace deserts in Ontario with forests is both inspiring and worrying as it highlights the importance of forest cover to life as we know it (Two Billion Trees and Counting, John Bacher, 2011). 
If you are interested in tree planting on your own property, there are programs that can help. Contact your local conservation authority and look into other programs such as Forests Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program (https://forests ontario.ca/ en/program/50-million-tree-program).  ◊