Posted by C. Richard Campbell on Jun 21, 2018
Tree Planting June 15, 2018
 
Stephanie Drayer ALUS, Simcoe Rotarians Thor Olsen, Bob Stevenson and Janis Demmans, Chris VanPaassen ALUS
 
June 15, 2018
 
Simcoe, Ontario –  ALUS Norfolk receives donation from the Rotary Club of Simcoe to plant trees for each Rotary Member on a parcel of marginal farmland
 
Representatives from the Rotary Club of Simcoe came together today to present a $2,500 donation to ALUS Norfolk to help support a tree planting initiative.
 
The Rotary Club of Simcoe was established in 1925, and has a long and varied history of community and international service. Most recently, Rotarians have emphasized that protecting the environment and mitigating climate change is essential to Rotary’s goal of sustainable service.
 
“When taking office for his year of presidency, Rotary International President Ian Riseley asked that each Rotarian in the world, roughly 1.2 million, plant a tree to better our environment.” explains Hadley Jackson, President of the Rotary Club of Simcoe. “Shortly after making that request we had a speaker from ALUS Norfolk attend one of our weekly meetings and spoke to us about how they make better use of non productive farmland. One of our farmer members had a small piece of land that fit the bill. So here we are, partnering with ALUS Norfolk and Larry Kormos to plant over 100 trees on land that is too wet for any productive crop but hopefully will result in a small forest for future generations to enjoy.”
 
ALUS Norfolk received $2,500 from the Rotary Club of Simcoe to purchase a variety of Carolinian trees in order to create a picturesque, natural space that provides ecosystem services while making use of unproductive farmland.
“We are thrilled that Rotarians have recognized the significant role that ALUS plays in agriculture and the environment,” says Steph Drayer, ALUS Norfolk Program Coordinator. “ALUS Norfolk is grateful to the Club for funding the project, and Larry Kormos for providing the perfect parcel of land to plant trees.”
 
ALUS Norfolk is part of ALUS Canada, a national not-for-profit organization that supports community- developed, farmer-delivered conservation projects on agricultural lands. ALUS farmers produce ecosystem services like clean air, clean water, pollinator habitat and biodiversity, to the benefit of their local communities and all of society. www.alus.ca