Thousands of trees will be planted later this year at the Rosenthal Nature Park northwest of Mitchell.

Ken Fosty is a Certified Arborist and Forestry Specialist with Tree Canada. He says at the end of September, they will bring in a crew of tree planters to plant 10,000 white spruce seedlings throughout the park area. He notes the seedlings will be planted in the open area on the west side of the park. A lot of the seedlings will be underplanted throughout the Trembling aspen and poplar woodlot. 

"That woodlot is very nice in the summertime, but in the wintertime when all the leaves are gone, there isn't much shade or shelter or habitat for wildlife," explains Fosty. "So, we will be underplanting a lot of spruce trees."

Fosty says the spruce trees will provide more thermal cover, shelter, shade, beauty and habitat for wildlife.

"All those good things that trees provide in addition to clean air," he says. 

According to Fosty, it will take their crew only one day to plant the 10,000 seedlings. These seedlings stand about 12 inches tall, which includes a little root plug that is about five inches long. Fosty explains white spruce is Manitoba's provincial tree. 

Spruce seedling (Tree Canada)

He notes in the first couple of years there will not be much growth as all of the energy will go into root development. But once the seedlings catch, they will grow by about 12 inches per year. These trees can live to be 120 years old.

Fosty says the seedlings will be planted into the existing vegetation in order to have no impact on the environment. There will be no tilling or herbicide use with the planting process. He notes the white spruce tree is very versatile and has a good chance of surviving rodents and deer. 

"The nice thing about planting white spruce is that the deer don't eat spruce trees," he adds.

Further to that, he says spruce trees do well in both shaded and open areas and also grow well among weeds. He notes they expect 85 per cent of the seedlings will survive. 

Tree Canada is a non-profit charitable organization that is committed to planting trees for future generations to enjoy. Fosty says at Tree Canada they are always looking for locations to plant trees. He notes in addition to the Rosenthal Nature Park, this year they are also planting seedlings at Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation and the Rural Municipality of Stanley.

Fosty says they prefer open areas, especially on municipal land, for planting trees. Open areas could include hay fields or reclaimed transfer stations. He notes the seedlings are free and so is the labour. Tree Canada is able to offer the trees free of charge thanks to sponsors.