Tree fortitude
Sugar Moon Farms to hold presentation on climate change, forestry
As part of their Nature Night events, Sugar Moon Farms is hosting a panel discussion to bring awareness to changes being made among small, private woodlot owners to mitigate climate change in the forest.
A presentation on climate change adaptation is trying to change how we manage our forests in Atlantic Canada.
As part of their Nature Night events, Sugar Moon Farms is hosting a panel discussion on Saturday to bring awareness and conversation to the changes being made among small, private woodlots to mitigate climate change in the forest.
“The theme is on how we can engage woodlot owners about climate change adaptation and mitigation by shifting forestry practices towards a more continuous cover model,” said Matt Miller, organizer of the presentation and private land forester.
“We’re going to have speakers coming in to talk about the work they are doing on private woodlots, and will be discussing how carbon offsetting and new cooperative ventures can help build a more climate resilient forest over the long term.”
The presentation will serve as an information sharing session for woodlot owners and those interested in climate change adaptation and forestry in an effort to push change.
Dale Prest of Community Forests International will be discussing his work with carbon offsetting in private woodlots, while Greg Watson of the North Nova Forestry Co-operative will speak about their new cooperative wood heat venture.
“A lot of what we’ve been doing when it comes to managing our forests in Eastern Canada has been taking us down a path that’s creating a forest that isn’t necessarily well adapted to a warmer climate,” said Miller.
“In order to address that issue, we need to make some shifts in the ways we manage our land. With carbon offsetting and cooperative ventures such as North Nova’s energy project, those provide opportunities to really scale up the work done in our woods.”
Miller said forest carbon offsetting is the idea of changing the management of a forest to store more carbon, allowing for later sale of the built-up carbon as an offset in a cap-and-trade system.
Aside from the presentation, Sugar Moon Farms will be providing a blueberry pancake dinner to help raise funds for the Friends of Redtail Society, a non-profit society that works towards bringing change and spreading awareness on nature.
The dinner will start at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 5 at Sugar Moon Farms, and tickets for the dinner and presentation start at $20 for adults. Preregistration is required and can be done by visiting www. sugarmoon.ca.
“The presentation is really just a conversation on how we can expand carbon offsetting and new ventures for the benefit of not only the forest, but also rural communities in the province as a whole,” said Miller.
“That’s what I like about this speaker series running at Sugar Moon Farms is it’s really about spreading a positive message and sharing knowledge that will empower people to go out and support a positive change.”