Happy Arbor Day!

Arbor Day is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past while Arbor Day proposes for the future. J. Sterling Morton

Arbor Day was started in Nebraska in 1872, when J. Sterling Morton, president of the State Agriculture Board, was successful in getting the state legislature to declare April 10th Arbor Day, a day where Nebraskans were encouraged to plant trees. It is estimated that one million trees were planted on that first Arbor Day!

Morton became passionate about planting trees after moving to Nebraska in 1854 -- a state that did not have a lot of trees! By 1885, the state made Arbor Day an official holiday to be held on April 22nd, J. Sterling Morton's birthday. Today, all 50 states celebrate Arbor Day, as do many countries around the world.

In Illinois, Arbor Day is held the last Friday in April every year, placing the holiday on April 30th this year. Illinois was the 8th state to make Arbor Day a state holiday in 1949.

The celebration has expanded from the planting of trees to include education about the need to care for trees throughout the year. The holiday has long appealed to educators who recognized the learning opportunity that the occassion provided for students of all ages.

As awareness of the impact of carbon dioxide levels on the global climate grows, the role of tree planting seems to become more vital. Why? Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Trees store carbon in their roots and their wood.

In addition to all the other wonderful things trees do for us - clean the air, increase property values, reduce stormwater runoff, provide natural beauty, give shade on a hot summer day, provide a strong branch for a child's swing, etc, etc - trees are also an important part of sequestering carbon. Sequestering carbon and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change.

So plant a tree already!!

Driving (me) Insane

Did you ever think about the amount of space in our communities that is devoted to parking? A lot. Next time you go to the store, note the size of the parking lot. Guaranteed, it is huge.

Americans are obsessed with our cars. We drive to work. Drive to the store for a gallon of milk. Drive to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. Drive to the pizza place to pick up a pie for dinner. Drive, Drive, Drive.

In McHenry County, the average person has a commute of greater than half an hour each way, each day, and the vast majority of those people drive. They drive alone in their cars to and from their jobs five days a week.

My husband and I are very average in that way. His commute is about 35 minutes each way, and mine is about 25. I manage to carpool once in a while with a co-worker, but not nearly as often as I should.

All this driving has consequences to the environment, generating carbon dioxide and other exhaust chemicals that contribute to air pollution. The reliance on the car has impacts on our health too. We don't walk as much as we should -- when was the last time you walked to the store? the library? to visit a friend? Are you carrying a few extra pounds? Do you drive to the gym for a work out?

But the rest of the world is very different.

My friend Kathy Bergan Schmidt sent me this article from the Milwaukee newspaper. The author lives in Spain, where he and his family DO NOT OWN A CAR. Get this, they walk. Walk to the store. Walk to the movies. Walk to visit friends. Their property taxes are also a fraction of what ours are.

I bring this up because the McHenry County board is reviewing a new land use plan for the county, and the draft that was given them by their planning commission proposes that tens of thousands of new residents move to areas that are currently farmland, and are far removed from jobs, schools and shopping. This type of development is commonly known as sprawl.

Studies by American Farmland Trust and others have shown that sprawl is expensive for communities. It is more expensive to provide services like school buses, fire protection, road maintenance, etc. to all those scattered homes. So, taxes increase to cover the costs -- taxes increase for everyone, not just the folks who live in sprawlville.

And the crazy thing is that there are rumors that some board members think that even more sprawl should be permitted.

Let's think about this:

more sprawl = more cars on the road

more sprawl = less walking, more driving

more sprawl = higher property taxes

Any questions?

Lots of good news for local oaks

Project Quercus is all about preserving and regenerating the oak woods of the county. And, as we have been saying for a couple of years, the only way we are going to have oaks as a significant part of the local landscape 100 years from now is if individuals, local governments and local businesses all step up to do what they can.

Just this week, we had two perfect examples of how the community can step up -- and, frankly, how some in the community want to step up and help.

On Earth Day, April 22nd, Infinity Day Spa in Crystal Lake, and Ohana Farms near Marengo teamed up with TLC to plant 20 white oak saplings at Ryders Woods Conservation Area in Woodstock. That's Robin Tessmann from Infinity - the awesome spa owner who closed her business for a few hours so her staff could come out to plant the trees. They did it as a promotion for their customers, so each tree was dedicated to someone. Ohana donated the 2-year old, bare-root trees, TLC brought the shovels, buckets and flags, and the City of Woodstock supplied the mulch. There are a lot of big, old white oaks in the park, but no young trees, so it will be nice to see some young 'uns growing there too! The NW Herald did an article about it but forgot to mention TLC...

The second example also happened on Earth Day, when OWC (Other World Computing) made a donation to TLC to support the planting of 20 oaks at Westwood Conservation Area on Saturday May 16th! Thanks to OWC employee Kayleen Ivers for asking TLC about this, and for working with us to make it happen.

There is a nice story about it on OWC's blog which is read by their customers across the country: http://blog.macsales.com/. OWC built a new office and warehouse last year, meeting all of the environmental and energy efficiency standards necessary to achieve LEED Platinum certification through the US Green Building Council. That's a really big deal in the construction world.

Their heating and cooling is geothermal, they are planning to install a wind turbine system to generate electricity, the building is super insulated, the grounds include native plantings, AND they are making investments in the community where they are located to support sustainability here too.

TLC is happy to be a part of these local businesses' efforts to "green" the community!!

Burn Season is upon us!

March is typically the start of "prescribed burn" or "ecological burn" season for natural land managers. Fire is the easiest way to manage many natural lands, as it clears out accumulated vegetation and keeps invasive brush and weeds in check.

Unlike native plants, non-native species tend to have shallow root systems that are more vulnerable to the effects of fire. Native plants can easily withstand even an intense burn on the surface, because their roots stretch down 5-15 feet.

I have heard questions raised about whether ecological burns contribute to global warming by releasing carbon into the atmosphere. While there is a carbon release during the burn, the fact is that natural areas sequester (store) much more carbon in the soil through their deep and dense root systems than what is released during a burn.

As much as 90% of a prairie plant's biomass (roots, stems and leaves taken together) is stored under the soil surface in the root system! So, while there may be a short-lived boost in carbon released during a burn, over the course for the following year season when the plants are growing and continuing to build their root system, a much greater amount will be stored in the soil.

Unfortunately, in the unincorporated areas of McHenry County, the decision has been made that while natural area managers can burn prairies and wetlands in March, they cannot burn any accumulated brush piles until open burning season in April & May if the brush piles are within 500' of a residential dwelling.

Pace it off, and you will see that 500' is quite a distance! In my Harvard neihborhood, 500' would be more than two blocks away! This ruling by the Planning & Development department will hamper management of these natural areas. In addition to an IEPA burn permit, the county now requires a county burn permit (which must be applied for at least 10 days prior to the burn), and if there are brush piles on the property, the burn plan must include provisions for protecting the brush piles from burning while the area around them burns.

As more developments are proposed to have natural lands within them, the use of ecological burns is likely to become more common, not less. It is customary during the management of natural lands to cut invasive brush in the winter, and then burn the area in the spring (usually as early as March, but no later than mid April because desireable plants are often growing by then). The accumulated brush piles are typically burned down during the ecological burn. This just makes sense.

I think it is a ridiculous rule! As you can see from the photo at top, burning a meadow in the spring can generate a lot of smoke, just as burning a brush pile can. How is it okay to burn the wetland in March, but not the associated piles of brush in the wetland? Both are part of ecological management of a natural area!

Also, consider this, when TLC conducts an ecological burn of a natural area: we have a permit from IEPA and the county; we notify the local fire department and dispatch; we take steps to notify neighbors; we have at least 6 people to participate in the burn, including at least one experienced burn leader; we only burn if the weather conditions are appropriate (wind, humidity, etc); and we have safety equipment including rakes, shovels and backpack water sprayers to manage any problems.

When your neighbor decides to burn his pile of landscape waste in April, he may only bring along a case of beer. But that's okay in McHenry County, since it is open burning season!