I too love this video. As mentioned in the podcast there is some doubt though whether its based upon a true story. I have no doubt that if someone did do as Elisar did and planted 100 seeds a day for his entire life that a forest would result.
I would like to tell you all about a
local hero of mine, Mr. Ferdinand LaRose. A documented case of a man who planted trees.
At the turn of the 20th century settlers clear cut the virgin hardwood forest in the current Prescott-Russell county, in Ontario, just east of Ottawa and farmed the
land. All was good for a few years, but what the settlers did nt realise was that the land they had cleared had only a thin layer of topsoil on top of sand. Well it did nt take long for the farmer's plows to destroy what top soil there was and the land was abandoned and became the Bourget desert. In 1928, Mr. LaRose, an agronomist with modest financial support of the provincial government hired some men and began planting red pine into the Bourget desert. The depression came a few years later and the provincial government gave Mr. Larose more funds so he could hire more men and provide much needed jobs to a lucky few. Over time they planted 10,000 hectares (about 25,000 acres) and those trees have grown into a majestic forest that bears his name.
Today the Larose forest is home to many many species of wildlife especially
deer and moose, fungi and rare flora whose seeds were carried in by wind and birds. Where no one lived before there is a thriving community of Bourget surrounded by trees planed by LaRose and his men. I also want to point out that the forest is actively managed according to good forestry principles. This not only continues to create local employment but the disturbances created by logging make room for naturally deposited hardwood seeds to grow. Now much of the original monoculture red pine plantations are mixed hardwood forests like what the settlers cut down long ago. Some local entrepreneurs make maple syrup from these third growth maple trees that were not planted by human hands.
Anyways I thought I'd share.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Larose
http://www.ofnc.ca/conservation/larose/laroseforest.php
1
