I'm sure you can't tell from this picture, but Martyn just got done planting 400 trees on our small 1.3 acre parcel of river front.We learned about the CREPS program from farm friends , and signed up last year. Visit this link to see if you have a similar program in your area. There are also other programs you might qualify for.
Planting native trees on the river front will not only help establish the original native habitat, it will improve the long term health of the Yamhill river by providing shade and help erosion on the bank. The river's inhabitants as well as nesting birds will benefit. And we as land locked livers will see the trees and grow and benefit from their beauty.How can you go wrong by planting trees, and getting 75% back in materials and labor from the government. They even give us a small yearly rent for the next 15 years of the contract. It's exciting, and feels nice. I hope to add some birdhouses next year [they also help pay for those].
Trees have always been such important creatures in my daily life. As a loner by nature, I often prefer the company of a tree to that of a person. I need a lot of space to listen to all the things going on in my head, and though I enjoy and appreciate people in my life, trees are such good, impartial listeners, without agendas or baggage. The leaves they drop are not litter, but rather food for worms and dirt. I've never met a tree I didn't like.
