I have mentioned before that I like Hemlock groves. I know not everyone might recognize one tree from another some days, but I am partial to hemlocks, and to those places where they grow. They just seem to be magical places. Very green and with life everywhere. The type of place where you can see how people might have come up with fairy stories long ago.
I have also mentioned that hemlocks have a problem at present, and it has been a bit confusing trying to figure out what, if anything can be done.
The hemlocks in this area are being infested with the hemlock wooly adelgid, a little invasive bug that seems intent on killing hemlock trees. The hemlock wooly adelgid has been munching it’s way up through the province for a few years now, and like many invasive species, no one was quite sure what to do with it.
There was some information online, but it didn’t always apply for here. I looked upper possible treatments and came up with an idea for soaking the ground around the few hemlocks on my property early in the spring with pesticide, so the trees would suck up the pesticide and pass it along to the bugs. Sounds like it might be an idea. Except the chemical they were recommending is no longer available in Canada.
But then I found out that the Medway Community Forest Cooperative have methods and are looking for people to help.
The Medway Community Forest Cooperative are organizing strike force teams to go into the woods and vaccinate the trees, for lack of a better term. There are two methods. One involving giving a tree a shot, sort of. The other involving spraying the bark. There are other things involved, but they’ll teach you about that.
There was one training session last Saturday and another coming up this coming Saturday in Caledonia. Hopefully there will be further sessions coming up.
So if you have some spare time, and are partial to hemlocks, check out the program. You can get further information https://www.medwaycommunityforest.com/ .