Plant blindness
The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article on August 14, 2018 about plant identification skills. It stated that the USA has a growing case of ‘plant blindness‘- a term used by botanists to describe the inability to identify basic plants. It’s a short article worth reading. If you visit the website above you can take a quiz consisting of five plants.
Wild zone work
I recently participated in a project where we had to thin out a wild zone. Two tree species were to stay (Thuja and Salix) and two were to go (Alnus and Populus). So out came the chainsaws and work began. But I did notice some hesitation among the workers. And then it hit me. They weren’t freaked out by chainsaws the way I was; they weren’t exactly sure which trees stayed and which had to go. I thought it was hilarious but the clients wouldn’t find it funny if the wrong tree species went missing.
So there you have it. Plant identification skills are important as this project illustrates. Cedars and willows stay; alders and cottonwoods go. It was very clear.
Alder (Alnus)
Cottonwood (Populus)
E-book project
In the field I would often get asked about basic strata complex plants and then it occurred to me that I could put the most common strata plants into one file. And so I did and I self-published it on Amazon. Now the workers have no excuse. I simply point them to my e-book.
Machines
The work was completed on schedule because we had good chainsaws with new chains and Stihl combi set-up with engines and attachments. We also had a few jerry cans and we didn’t forget bar oil.
Safety helmets and chainsaw pants with gloves and goggles are mandatory.
Stop by Foreshore Equipment if you need machines or service help before your next project.