So you have decided that it makes sense to plant a windbreak on your farm or rural property. Maybe you read about the benefits in a farm Newspaper or talked to other farmers who recommended it. Maybe you felt the effects of the dry spring this year and noticed that when the wind picked up, your precious soil was blowing and swirling around. Or, now that we have had all this rain in the last few weeks, maybe you have seen fields where the planted trees helped slow some of the water flowing off the field, preventing gully erosion.
You know that the trees are not going to solve all of your problems, but when you looked around this spring you saw places where it makes sense to get some trees planted. You’re busy and not sure where to start. What do you do?
A good place to start is the Township of Mapleton’s website. You can click on the “Trees for Mapleton” link where you will find information about grants and videos about planting and maintaining windbreaks.
You will also see on the webpage that landowners can contact a forestry specialist at GRCA to get one-on-one assistance with their tree planting project.
Mark Funk is a forestry specialist who has been helping landowners in Mapleton and he can be reached at 1-866-900-4722 or mfunk@grandriver.ca.
Perhaps you have heard from other farmers and landowners that Mark is a great help and he listens to what you are thinking about doing and provides some options for you. He can draw up a plan for your farm and get you started. He will figure out which funding option is best for you. There are many of them out there, such as the County’s Rural Water Quality program, Trees Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program, Maple Leaves Forever, Green Legacy trees, and if you are not a farmer, the Mapleton Rural Non-Farm program. All of these are programs that reduce the costs of trees.
Funk even does a lot of the paper work for you! Seriously, if you are interested in trees, Mark Funk is the guy to call for an on-farm visit. He can advise on what you might need to do to prepare for those trees and how to get off to the right start.
Submitted by Liz Samis, Trees for Mapleton committee
