Ganaraska Forest
-
Conservation History -
“The Zavitz story provides inspiration for a new
generation of tree planters in both urban and rural
spaces. Efforts underway to double the tree canopy
in Toronto, the GTA and Ottawa seem altogether minor
in comparison to the 2 billion trees planted across
the province in his time.”
Edmund Zavitz planted the idea for 2 billion trees
Mark Cullen: Toronto Star, November 2, 2012
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Edmund
John Zavitz - "The Father
of Reforestation"
Early Photo - Edmund J. Zavitz
From his youth, E.J.
Zavitz
(1875-1968)
was strongly influenced by his early experiences
in the Ganaraska region spending time at both his
grandfather's and uncle's farms.
"As a young boy Zavitz spent time with his
grandfather and uncle on their farms
on the headwaters of the Ganaraska River. From his
family he first learned the value of
trees and of the devastating effects
of early logging and farming
practices that stripped the land of
protective forest cover and exposed
the fragile soil to the attacks of
wind, flood and fire."
Ralph McKim,
Kawartha Land
Trust
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A keen interest in conservation and
reforestation, E. J. Zavitz graduated from the University of
Michigan in 1905 with the degree of Master of Science in Forestry. He was then appointed lecturer at the Ontario
Agricultural College in Guelph. He also lectured at the
University of Toronto.
Regarded as the Father of
Reforestation, Zavitz
developed a reforestation program for eroded
lands in Southern Ontario.
Zavitz was also the author of many
landmark reports and handbooks on reforestation.
“Between 1790 and the early 1900s,
Ontario was denuded of all of its
existing forests through the efforts of
lumbermen and farmers. The results were
devastating. Wildlife disappeared,
streams and rivers dried up, and sand
and top soil blew away.
In 1904, an ambitious professor from the
University of Toronto in forestry
proposed to province that it would be a
good idea to establish an aggressive
replanting program in the marginally
productive areas of the province. In
fact, he wanted to more than triple the
existing tree cover in Southern Ontario.
It was an audacious idea and he had a
lot of nerve. His name was Edmund Zavitz
and his story is worth repeating…”
Edmund Zavitz planted the idea for 2
billion trees
Mark Cullen: Toronto Star, November 2,
2012
|
Edmund Zavitz amidst the desolation he
worked
to redeem. Photograph: Edward Borczon
In 1908,
Zavitz expressed the first reforestation and conservation vision for the Ganaraska
and Oak Ridges Moraine
areas. According to Zavitz in his
Report on the Reforestation
of Wastelands in Southern Ontario:
"Extending though Northumberland and Durham
Counties is a sand formation locally known as the "Oak Ridge" or
"Pine Ridge"... It
is safe to say that seventy-five percent is wholly unfit for
successful farming... These areas should be preserved for
the people of Ontario as recreation grounds for all time to
come... The policy of putting these lands under forest
management has many arguments in its favour...
It will
pay as a financial investment; assist in insuring a wood
supply; protect the headwaters of streams; provide breeding
ground for wild game; provide object lessons in forestry;
and prevent citizens from developing under conditions which
can end only in failure. "
Report
on the Reforestation of Waste Lands in
Southern Ontario,
1908 (E. J. Zavitz) published by the
Ontario Department of Agriculture,
Toronto
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From 1912 to 1949, Zavitz had
great influence over the governments of the day.
“The vision that Edmund Zavitz was to
develop and (to a large extent) realize
is difficult to imagine today. So much
of what we take for granted was part of
his vision. He provided great influence
over the governments between 1912 and
1949. He provided scientifically-based
arguments that successive governments
understood and, for the most part,
supported, crossing political lines
between the early Farmers Union Party,
the Progressive Conservatives and the
Liberals."
Edmund Zavitz planted the idea for 2
billion trees
Mark Cullen: Toronto Star, November 2,
2012
|
In 1912, E. J. Zavitz became the
first provincial forester at the Ontario Ministry of
Lands, Forests and Mines.
In 1924, E. J. Zavitz became Deputy
Minister of Forestry.
In 1935, Zavitz was appointed
Chief of Reforestation.
To fellow foresters, he was simply known as "E.J. - the foster father of a billion trees".
"When Zavitz launched his ambitious plan
as the newly minted “Chief Forester” to
replant up to 30 per cent of the land
mass in Southern Ontario, he produced
black and white slides from his
extensive collection and used them to
illustrate his point. He travelled
around the province on a public speaking
circuit, preaching the merits of
reforestation to anyone who would
listen.
While many municipal officials did not
embrace his message in the beginning, he
did succeed in swaying the opinion of
many farmers, who considered themselves
stewards of the land and understood the
thesis that much of the now-barren real
estate in the country was never going to
be productive for agriculture."
Edmund Zavitz planted the idea for 2
billion trees
Mark Cullen: Toronto Star, November 2,
2012
|
Following his graduation in
1920, Dr. Zavitz hired
A. H. Richardson as a forest
engineer. Richardson became his
long-time assistant in the Forestry Branch of the Department of Lands
and Forests.
A.H. Richardson was appointed
as full-time Chairman
by the Ontario Government in
1942 to organize the Ganaraska study.
Ganaraska Forest was established on the Oak Ridges Moraine
in 1947 -- the largest conservation project on the
moraine.
Today, Ganaraska Forest is part of the world's largest
greenbelt (Ontario's Greenbelt) - the large areas of
reforested land attributed to the vision of Zavitz over a
century ago.
“We have proof that the Zavitz strategy works.
Thanks to aggressive tree planting last century, we
are seeing the arrival of rare bird species like the
red-shouldered hawk and red-headed woodpecker; and
there are streams populated with brook trout where
there were none a century ago. The flooding of our towns and cities came to an
all but complete stop due to the Zavitz
tree-planting plan. Forest fires were reduced
dramatically through proper forest management, and
streams and rivers returned to their once gloriously
productive state. Once trees were re-established in
the head waters of the Don, Credit, Ganaraska
rivers, and many other natural waterways, life
became normal once again.”
Edmund Zavitz planted the idea for 2 billion trees
Mark Cullen: Toronto Star, November 2, 2012
|
“To ignore the Zavitz story is to deny our forbearers
much credit for creating the natural
beauty, safety and productivity that we
enjoy in our provincial parks,
conservation areas, and wide tracts of
private land that were forested with his
leadership.”
Edmund Zavitz planted the idea for 2 billion
trees
Mark Cullen: Toronto Star, November 2, 2012
|
Highly recommended book...
Two Billion Trees and
Counting
- The Legacy of Edmund Zavitz -
by John Bacher
Edmund Zavitz (1875–1968) rescued
Ontario from the ravages of increasingly
more powerful floods, erosion, and
deadly fires. Wastelands were talking
over many hectares of once-flourishing
farmlands and towns. Sites like the Oak
Ridges Moraine were well on their way to
becoming a dust bowl and all because of
extensive deforestation. Zavitz held the
positions of chief forester of Ontario,
deputy minister of forests, and director
of reforestation. His first pilot
reforestation project was in 1905, and
since then Zavitz has educated the
public and politicians about the need to
protect Ontario forests. By the
mid-1940s, conservation authorities,
provincial nurseries, forestry stations,
and bylaws protecting trees were in
place. Land was being restored. Just a
month before his death, the one
billionth tree was planted by Premier
John Robarts. Some two billion more
would follow…” Amazon |
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c2014
M. Martin
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