Planting a tree is a hopeful act, and trees that are planted today could live for hundreds of years. In this presentation Michael Henry will explore what it means to be hopeful in an era of climate change, deforestation and invasive species, based on his three decades in the conservation movement and his encounters with trees that have lived for 400 years or more. The presentation will include photos and stories of these ancient trees as well as tips for recognizing old trees, which can be harder than you’d think.
Michael Henry is a forest ecologist and author of the books Ontario’s old-growth forests, and Old-growth forest walks: 26 hikes in Ontario’s Greenbelt (in press). He leads the Algonquin old-growth forest project, which has found unprotected forest over 400 years old in Alqonquin Park. He’s also working to expand provincial parks in Temagami and the Spanish Forest, and to raise awareness about solutions to invasive species.