Trees…Sustainers of the Landscape

Conservation, Landscaping
Jan 252010

by Dale Carlon, Certified Arborist

We all learned in school the values of trees; providers of shade, producers of oxygen, screeners of winds. These are all important contributions, but there are so many more ways we can use trees to enhance our environment when utilized correctly.

Everyone can recognize a tree that has been planted in the wrong place, the roots are buckling the sidewalk because the tree is too close, or fruit bearing trees littering yards with rotting fruit, the list is endless. But how often do we say “Wow, that tree is placed perfectly in that space!” The most common mistake we see are large growing trees planted in small areas, this may look good in the beginning, but years later extensive pruning and even removal may be required. To avoid this, check out mature trees of the variety you are interested in and see if they would fit the area you intend to plant fifteen years from now. Consider placing a deciduous tree on the west or northwest side of your house, providing shade to assist in cooling in the summer but in winter with leaves gone allows for a passive heating source. You can increase efficiency of air-conditioning units by placing an evergreen between the afternoon sun and the unit. We use the evergreen for this so that falling leaves will not get into the unit. Winds can make a backyard virtually unusable in the afternoon, the columnar evergreen fits this role perfectly, we can plant these close together and they put on height quickly. Using one of the Pine varieties gives interest to the landscape in winter and provides a safe haven to birds year-round. Providing a canopy of shade over your lawn and shrubs can reduce water usage significantly. Try placing a tree with fragrant flowers like Prairiefire Crabapple between the prevailing wind direction and a house window, just open the window on a spring afternoon and bring a beautiful, natural perfume into your home.

There is a great deal of information out there available to help you in choosing the right tree for your yard .On the web try communityforestry.org, a site by the Truckee Meadows Community Forestry Coalition . Also on the web is the treesaregood.com site by the International Society of Arboriculture. For a more personal connection try a visit to the University Of Nevada Cooperative Extension at 5305 Mill street which is staffed by some of the most knowledgeable people around.

So, whether you have a new yard to landscape or an existing yard that could use some “sprucing” up, (pun intended) think about using trees, the venerable and beautiful sustainers of the landscape.

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Your Local Dollar

Business, Food, Health
Jan 212010

by Meghan Collins and Amber Sallaberry

Imagine you are a one-dollar bill, crinkled in the stuffy pocket of a Reno foodie. Your short-term use for your transporter is to purchase tomatoes, who faces a decision: run to a big-box store or shop at the local grocer down the street. This is a choose-your-own-adventure story of a dollar bill spent in one of Reno’s locally owned grocers vs. that spent in a brand-name grocery chain.

OPTION 1: BIG -BOX SPECIAL!

Your shopper walks through the sliding doors to the produce section, where she notices a large pyramid of tomatoes on the left wall. Choosing tomatoes only takes an instant because they are all the same shape, size and faint smell.

As she checks out, your rumpled dollar-bill-self goes in the drawer next to a few others of its kind, and it begins the journey in our global economy. It’s a fact that only 43% of money spent in a non-local business remains in the community (www. the350project.net). Where does the rest go on this hypothetical journey?

You, the weary dollar, enter into a pool of many others of your kind. This pool is divided in many ways. The first destination is to the retailer, taking a large percent of the revenue to cover overhead. Payroll stays local, as do taxes and utilities, but there is a great deal of money that is spent afar. Sources of products, supplies, and equipment are likely to be sourced from out-of-town. These chain stores also have the buying power to purchase distributors in large quantities from far-away industrial zones, contract with overseas merchants, or to the intensive costs of transportation and packaging itself. Past the owner of the franchise, a portion of the monies heads to the corporation’s HQ for research and development on market trends (heard of green washing?), advertisement, and costs of lobbying the federal government.

National and transnational shareholders, depending on the chain, often times see a large portion of year-end profits. This is significant because those monies are not being rolled back into location where money was spent to improve it, where individuals might have a vested interest in improving the community.

OPTION 2: HAND-PICKED BASKET

One alternative path for our tomato dollar begins at the independent grocery store, taking the locally-owned food cooperative as an example. In this case, the breakdown is much simpler. Compared to the $43 above, in the local scenario $68 of $100 returns to the community through payroll, taxes, and other similar expenditures (www.the350project.net).

Shopping takes a bit longer in this case. The owner of the dollar is surprised by the tomato selection at the Co-op. Because this enterprise supports many local Nevada growers, there is a large variety to choose from: slicing tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and roma tomatoes.

The patron picks out a Cherokee purple heart heirloom and can smell its strong flavor even before cutting into it. The rumpled dollar is handed over to a worker paid a living wage for the region, and the patron’s eye catches a photo.

It depicts the farmer who grew the tomato. Next to this biography is a map of the Co-op’s ‘foodshed’ of the 95-mile radius around Reno, from which it aims to source the majority of its goods.

In the Co-op’s case, many supplies and equipment have been donated by members of the community. Some are recycled, some are handmade, and others come from other locally-owned businesses. The retail floor reflects a mentality of ‘bigger is not always better’, where products are sustainably produced and fresher, and where the space restriction might require you to get to know other ‘neighbors’ shopping alongside you.

Marketing in the case of the Co-op refers to education. Why is it important to buy local? What is the true cost of food, factoring in farm workers’ conditions and environmental aspects such as transportation and production methods? Why do individuals collaborate to form cooperatives in the first place? The list goes on…

The moral of the story is that spending the dollar locally provides more power to the region, as opposed to diluting it at a convenient franchise.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?  Visit www.greatbasinfood.coop or come and visit us at 542 Plumas St. Reno, NV 89509 (775) 324-6133

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Home Means Nevada

Conservation, Politics
Jan 182010
by Alicia Reban, President of Nevada Land Conservancy

I remember a particularly interesting conversation around the time a group of us were starting the Nevada Land Conservancy, the first independentland trust in Nevada. I was chatting with someone who took no care to mask his disdain for what we were setting out to accomplish. He was certain we were going to be “in the way” of progress. We talked further about what makes this area unique. I listened for the essence of his attachment to this area. It didn’t take long to find. As a child, some sixty-odd years ago, he spent every possible minute on, along, and in the Truckee River. He spoke of “his” swimming hole and where he learned to fish. He reflected on the stunning seasons along the river, when the cottonwoods turn from green to brilliant yellow in the fall. I said “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We are going to protect those kinds of places, and those kinds of experiences, for future generations.”

It’s been eleven years since I had that conversation, and much has changed. Nevada Land Conservancy has helped protect over 35,000 acres of Truckee River corridor, private parcels within wilderness study areas, trailheads, scenic valleys, and the tops of mountain ranges. We’ve helped Nevada ranching families stay on their land, and we have built coalitions of people to find conservation solutions together. We’ve done it for wildlife, recreation, and water. We’ve done it today for Nevada’s future generations.

I didn’t have any “future generations” of my own until 2002; now the objective is more personal. I want my children, and yours, to know: how cold water feels right where it springs from the earth and how massive lenticular clouds form in a clear blue sky. I want them to know infinite distance – the vast gold, brown, purple, and blue horizon of the Great Basin — and the magical Black Rock under a full moon. I want them to know the fresh smell of sagebrush after rainfall and the changes in light and sound after snowfall. I want them to see the tops of distant peaks where the mule deer, the pronghorn, and the pygmy rabbits play. I want them to climb to the top of the hills where young children stood a thousand years ago. I want them to know where birds stop to rest as they journey through in spring and fall. I want them to have “their” swimming holes and know where trout hide in the Truckee River.

I want our children’s hearts to be full of “belonging” to this place, their home – Nevada.

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GReNO's Vol. 003 Advertising Reservations Close January 20th!

Advertising
Jan 092010

GReNO is expanding its size and distribution – again for the third time!

Our next edition will be jam packed with great articles and information, with even more affordable ad rates.  You can download our flyer here – or simply give us a call to discuss how we can help you reach our growing community of sustainable and renewable energy conscious readers.  With our expanded distribution through Whole Foods and other eco-outlets, your message will reach a much wider audience for less money.  But hurry… advertising reservations close on January 20th!

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