Orchard People

[00:00:00] Introduction to the Urban Forestry Radio Show
Welcome to the Urban Forestry Radio Show brought to you by the Community Orchard Network. In this monthly radio show and podcast, I'm going to take you on a journey. We'll learn about fruit trees, permaculture, food forests, and so much more. So if you're a gardener and enjoy growing your own food, if you love trees and especially fruit trees, or if you're just interested in living a more sustainable life, you've come to the right place.
I'm Susan Poizner, your host for today. So get ready, roll up your sleeves, and let's dig in to today's episode.
Welcome to the Urban Forestry Radio Show with your host, Susan Poizner, right here on Reality Radio 101. To contact Susan live right now, send her an email, instudio101@gmail.com.
And now, right to your host of the Urban Forestry Radio Show, Susan Poizner.
Hi everyone, welcome to the show today.
[00:02:04] The Role of Technology in Gardening
So many of us these days have smartphones. Some of us have tablets or iPads. A few people out there even have wearable watch computers strapped to their wrists. These devices can be really useful, especially if you download apps, which are little computer programs that are designed to make your life better, healthier, or more productive in some way.
Now, there are all sorts of apps out there. Some will tell you the weather anywhere in the world. Others will count your calories and tell you when and what to eat. Some remind you to breathe deeply, to meditate, or to take a walk in the park. Some apps will call you a cab. Others will find you a life partner.
[00:02:54] Introducing the My IPM App
So, why aren't there any apps to help us grow our fruit trees successfully? Well, now there is such an app, and frankly, it's really wonderful. Today on the show, we're going to talk about a little program that you can download onto your smartphone that will tell you if your fruit tree is diseased, and it will suggest things that you can do to heal it.
The app is called My IPM, and in a minute we'll talk to its creator, Dr. Guido Schnabel. Now, Dr. Schnabel clearly loves trees, and that's why he devoted so much time to creating this app. But there are other ways to express your appreciation for trees. My second guest today is Warren Hosselton. Now by day he's an arborist and he works as a park supervisor for the City of Toronto.
But he's also an avid cyclist. And each year he sets off on a 600 mile journey to raise money for the Canadian Tree Fund. That money goes to tree research and education. I'll talk to him in the second half of the show. But first, let's start off with the ultimate fruit tree app.
[00:04:06] Interview with Dr. Guido Schnabel
It's called MyIPM, and on the line I have the app's creator, Dr.
Guido Schnabel. He's a professor and plant pathologist at Clemson University in South Carolina. Dr. Schnabel, how are you today? I'm doing good. How are you doing, Susan? I'm doing very well. It's a beautiful day here in Toronto. And I'd love to hear a little bit about your work in general. You specialize in fruit tree pest and disease problems, right?
Correct. I'm a plant pathologist specialized on tree fruits, but also I do a little work on small fruits as well. So how did you get into this field in the first place? I think it's, it's probably a little bit genetics in there because my grandfather always liked fruit trees, and my father liked fruit trees, and I can still remember, walking around the fruit trees with, especially with my father, trying to figure out which branch to cut and which branch to not cut, to make the tree look good and have, tons of fruit the next year.
So, you know, it was probably this whole father son binding thing going on. So that was, that was what brought me into the tree fruit business and I, worked on many different tree fruit pathogens during my education in Germany as well. So, so why did you, in the end, develop an app to help growers identify pest and disease problems?
What was your motivation? The motivation here was, that maybe three years ago or so, I thought, that, A tool like this would be really helpful for growers because they don't always have, have their spray guides with them or their fact sheets with them. they want their information right here, right then, whenever they see a problem in the field.
And the same is true for homeowners as well. homeowners would go into backyard and, and look at the trees and try to figure out what that is that is rotting their apples or their peaches or whatever. And I was looking to find a solution for, this kind of, of problem. Now, as far as you know, are there any other fruit tree apps out there?
There are some, but, ours is the only app that integrates a diagnostics tool. That integrates information that you would only find on fact sheets that integrates spray guide information, both for conventional growers, but also for organic growers. And also it integrates a lot of our latest science. Hmm.
[00:06:45] How the My IPM App Works
So, so talk me through, how does this work? You, you download the app. I've seen it. I've actually played around with it a little bit. Had some fun. But, but tell us how it works. Okay. So you first download the app and you can decide to look at a certain crop. Let's say peaches. So you tap on the peach icon.
And you would first see a window displaying one particular disease or a disorder. And the way I envision it to work is that you compare this one disorder or this one disease with what you see in your backyard on the fruit. And if that's not exactly matching, then you slide that picture away from right to left, and you go to the next one.
And it may show a, apple or a peach with a, with a dark spot or with a pink spot. It may show a peach tree or an apple tree with a, with a dead limb or an entire orchard declining. Just pick that picture that closely matches what you are dealing with and tap on it. And then it shows you a gallery of, further pictures that further investigate what it might be that you're facing.
I think, yeah, I've seen the pictures, they're amazing because, you know, let's say you see something wrong with a leaf and you're like, Oh, is this a disease? Is it not a disease? So you look up, you know, your apple tree and you see that, you know, various pictures and you'll say, okay, this looks familiar. This looks like what I have.
So yes. So then you go in further. So you say, okay, this problem is what I have. I have, you know, orangey spots on the leaves of my pear tree. What is that? So what happens next? So what happens next is you are welcome then to tab on the more button. It gives you more information about this particular disease, including the biology and epidemiology of the disease.
It's a pathogen, and it gives you cultural control options, horticultural control options. It gives you non chemical control options, and also chemical control options. So basically it's for anybody. It could be for an orchardist with 10, 000 trees, or it could be somebody with two trees in their backyard.
Is that correct? That is correct. That is correct. It is specifically designed, though, for probably commercial production, but a homeowner definitely will get some use out of it. So I, I've noticed, as I said, I, I had fun. I played around with it and I saw that once you get into the diseases, it talks about the types of chemicals you can or cannot use.
Now for the homeowner, a lot of these chemicals, even if you wanted to use them, you would need a pesticide license and obviously many of them are not organic. but I saw there were organic options, so you keep it open for everybody. Yeah, and that's sort of the, the, the core of the entire app for our commercial, but also for our organic growers.
You have the option to list all the registered in America, in the U. S., America, registered products, both conventional and organic products. You can list them by chemical class, they're color coded. You can list them by efficacy, and you can also figure out more about their environmental impact. Hmm.
so there's an interactive table in there that really lets you sort all kinds of things and gives you a pretty good clue about what the options are that you might be able to spray both as a conventional and organic, grower. So how did you decide what diseases to feature? I mean, is there every single, you know, option out there for every single problem you can face with your fruit trees?
Oh, no, that would probably go beyond the capacity of this app. There's a lot of stuff that can affect Fruit Tree. but, the ones that are listed, especially for apples and peaches and strawberries and, pears, those are the ones that are most commonly found, in the United States, but also in Canada.
so the I have to say that there's two different apps. So there's one app that is, focusing on diseases of the Northeast, of crops of the Northeast. Those would be apples and pears and cherries, even cranberries. so the diseases from, from that particular area would also be very, very relevant to the disease that you have in Canada.
on that part of the country. Hmm. Now the app is called My IPM. What is IPM? Tell us a little bit about that. Sure. IPM stands for Integrated Pest Management and it's basically, trying to, to integrate several different approaches to reduce pest and diseases to a, to under an economic level or threshold.
And yes, we are also recommending pesticides, but we're doing this, always in mind to keep the risk of pesticides for the environment and for the consumer and for the applicator at a minimum. Hmm. Interesting. So IPMs, it's called integrated pest management. This is something that's always kind of confused me, and yet what we're talking about in the app is diseases.
So integrated pest management includes, disease. sort of regulation. Correct. Correct. So that includes diseases, as, as well as pests, as well as pests. Now, something I didn't notice on the app is, do you also show symptoms of pest problems on there? Ah, so there's a third app that we're developing.
We couldn't put it all into, you know, one or two apps. Pests are being developed on a third app. And that third app is called, SAP or for Southeastern Pests. And it currently, Features blueberry pests and strawberry pests, but it soon will also feature each pest and we're still looking for somebody to work with us on covering the other crops.
Basically what this is, is a collaboration of several different universities, and they each have a stake in a certain crop. So for example, Cornell and the University of Massachusetts, they have a stake in the diseases that, that, are relevant up there. Whereas Georgia and, Clemson University, we, try to update the, content for peaches and strawberries down here.
Aha. So it's a collaboration. Many people are involved, but you're using this one type of software. also to clarify for myself, so I don't have a smartphone, but I do have a iPod. I did download it on my iPod, and as far as I can see, it works even without Wi Fi. So you don't have to be connected at that very moment that you're out in the field.
you can just look at it without internet. Is that true? That is true. Once you've uploaded the content, it will be available even if you're offline. Now, uploading the app in your, with your Apple device might require Wi Fi, but I think on an Android device, it does not require Wi Fi. It works very well, but once you've, once you have it uploaded, all the content is available.
The audio takes a little bit. There's some audio in there. it takes a little longer to download, but within an hour or so, the, even the audio is going to be completely uploaded. It uploads, so to say, in the background. Wonderful. But all the pictures and all the text and all the tables are there once you have it uploaded.
Wow, that's wonderful. In a couple of minutes we're going to go into a little bit more detail about some of the diseases featured on the app. And we may have some questions coming in from listeners. But I know that listeners may be interested in going right now to, get this free app and put it on their phone and play around with it.
I've put it on my Facebook page, so people can go to Facebook. com/ Orchard People. And you can see that I've got a posting there, there's a whole bunch of links for this app because depending on what device you use, you have to download the appropriate version. So check out Facebook. com/ Orchard People.
So Dr. Schnabel, in just a minute we are going to be hearing a word from our sponsors. But after the break, I really would love to chat with you more about protecting our fruit trees and berry plants from pests and diseases. Are you okay staying on the line for a couple of minutes? Sure thing.
Okay, great.
[00:15:40] Listener Questions: Expert Advice, Diagnostics/Identification, and Future Updates to the App
And to our listeners out there, do you have any pest and disease questions for Dr. Schnabel? He's a real expert. Oop, I see one coming in. we will talk about your questions after the little, respite. but you can email in questions to instudio101 at gmail. com and Dr. Schnabel will give you some great advice.
You're listening to the Urban Forestry Radio Show on Reality Radio 101. I'm Susan Poizner and we'll be back after this short break.
This is the Urban Forestry Radio Show. I'm Susan Poizner. And today I'm chatting with Dr. Guido Schnabel, a professor and plant pathologist at Clemson University in South Carolina. He's also the creator of My IPM, a new fruit tree app that will help you identify fruit tree disease problems and teach you how to treat those problems.
Do you have questions for Dr.  Schnabel? His expertise is peach trees and strawberries, but he can also answer questions about apple trees, pear trees, and much more. Send us an email at ins So, Dr. Schnabel, before we dig into some questions, I just wanted to ask you, there are some diseases I feel that you really need to have a test for, that a picture isn't really going to help you diagnose.
Is that not the case? If that is your situation, how do you get your, your fruit or your leaves tested? Correct. So that's always a good idea, to get your, expert involved. And for that, we have, a plant diagnostic clinic in South Carolina that is associated with Clemson University. And, You know, residents of South Carolina are welcome to send their samples over there for about 10 or so.
They get an expert diagnostics, including, an isolation of the pathogen and, determination down to the genus level. What caused that, that problem. That's quite amazing because that's incredibly inexpensive. is that offered across the United States in extension services? Yes, usually all land grant universities actually do have a service like this.
the price, of course, changes, and probably if you are submitting your, sample From outside state lines, probably going to have to pay a little bit more. But, in general, that, that is how, how we, we do things, yes. So, if that's, here in Canada, by the way, it's where we don't really have As much support in that way.
It is quite expensive to test. there was, I, I had one client who had very, very strangely misshapen apples and we couldn't figure out what it was and it would have cost 175 to test them. So, there you go. But, it's wonderful that you guys have the support. Now I have. Carol sent us an email here.
Oh, you've got a lovely email from Carol. I don't know where she's emailing you from, but she writes here. Thank you, doctor, for such an amazing app. I have used it for my apple trees and it's absolutely great. Thank you, Carol. So that's nice. Have you gotten some nice feedback like that from people who've tried it?
Yes, yes, I've gotten several emails and they were all very positive. some growers want their other crops also be included. Like just yesterday, I got an email from a grape grower. He said, Oh, I use your app all the time, but I grow mainly grapes, wine grapes. I would love to see something like that developed for wine grapes as well.
So is that a possibility? Will that happen in the future? That is certainly a possibility. I just need, an expert to, be in charge of it, be in charge of updating information, be in charge of updating the, active ingredient and trade name list and all the new signs that are coming in. I can't cover all the crops.
I already covered several of them, but I need a specialist to, commit to the content. And I was successful doing this and recruiting people from other universities, as you already mentioned. but for grapes, for example, I haven't yet, found the right person. Well, maybe they're listening to this show.
Maybe they will contact you soon. we have another question here from David in Toronto. Something is nibbling on the leaves of the apple trees in my small orchard. It's early spring now. Will it get worse? And should I worry about this? What should I do? So something's nibbling on the leaves of his apple trees.
most likely it's going to get worse, but maybe not from the same, insect, it's probably an insect that's nibbling on his, on his leaves. so there's, certainly a chance that it's going to get worse, but it depends on what he wants to achieve. If he wants the biggest apples without, any blemishes or scabs.
And he probably should do something about it. If not, then I wouldn't worry about it. It's not going to harm the tree. It won't harm the tree. And doing something about it would involve probably some sort of chemical treatment. And finding those insects, I suppose you have to find them before you get rid of them.
Correct. You would have to either find the insects, or you would look at the symptoms and maybe diagnose if it's, you know, some sort of a sucking or feeding insect, and see what exactly it is, and then determine what you can spray. either organically or conventionally. there's several oils that you can spray for For, insects, like neem oil, for example, they would help, but you would have to apply them probably in 10 to 14 day intervals to make them work really well.
Now that's very interesting that you mention neem oil, actually, because, there are a lot of people listening to this show who may not, certainly they don't do conventional, orcharding, and they, they may do some sort of organic, but they may use holistic. techniques and neem oil is one of those ones that's really promoted by, holistic orchardists.
Is that something that you consider one of the tools in your toolbox? That's certainly something we consider, yes. And that's actually listed in the app as one, possible solution for insects. When you look at the, insect app, the SCP app, and, you scroll to the pests and look at what's registered for organic production, neem oil will, will show up.
Interesting. Okay, so now we have an email here from Marion in North York. My old plum tree has lots of ants gathering on the trunk of the tree and there's lots of sawdust. Are they carpenter ants? Will they cause long term damage to the tree? How do I get rid of them? Oh, that's probably a question that you should probably ask an entomologist.
Really? Yeah, how did those ants get there? That's very interesting. Okay, we'll have to get an entomologist on the program when your next app is ready. Yes. So yeah, who knows? Maybe they're attracted to some other disease in the tree, and I don't know, they eat the the goop or whatever that's left behind from somebody else.
Maybe. Yeah. Okay, and we have another question here also from Toronto from Chris. Our sweet cherries in Toronto seem to struggle with bacterial canker. We cut off infected branches, but occasionally, there is some on the trunk. So we scrape that off. when can you leave a tree alone? When is it time to just cut down the tree?
Oh, that's a, that's a big issue. Bacterial canker is caused by a pseudomonas bacterium, and we have also, a lot of problems with bacterial canker here in the southeast. It's very hard to control. but the best thing to do is to keep your tree happy so that it uses its own defense mechanisms, to fight off the bacterium.
so that would include, no over, over fertilization, make sure that, that the weeds are controlled, that the The tree has all the, the resource that it's needed, the pH is correct, of the soil and all these cultural methods you can do to keep the tree happy. Now, I would definitely recommend to cut the branches off that are dead because you don't want any other pests and diseases accumulate in the area where there's still healthy trees are.
That's always a good idea. but with regard to chemical control, there is virtually no option, especially not for a homeowner. Interesting. So to keep the tree happy, that's a good way to do it. I'm so glad you mentioned that. I wrote a book, Growing Urban Orchards, and it's specifically for home growers or community orchardists, and that's really what my premise is, is that you really need to, it's not just about diagnosing and fixing a problem.
Once your tree already has the problem, it's It's kind of late. And that really it's about knowing how to prune your tree and how to feed your tree and how to take care of it and just to understand what it's, what it's saying to you. So I'm really glad you mentioned that it's, this is only diagnosing the problem is only part of the issue.
The issue is how do you care for your tree? So that's correct. And, it, you know, it starts with, with planting, if you plant your tree the right way. In the right location with the right root stock. You win half the battle right there. Absolutely. I teach a whole workshop on how to choose a fruit tree.
How to choose the right tree for your unique location. You know, for instance, here in Toronto, peach trees don't really grow that well. If you know that, if you've done your research, you won't plant them and you'll plant something that will do better.
[00:26:14] Listener Question: Developing the MyIPM App - From the Ground Up and Updates So Far
we have another email here from Howard. Howard from Washington State.
He asks, Hello Doctor, how long did it take to develop your app? Thank you. We've been working on this app for about two years now, and the first version of the MyIPM SED, the Southeastern Disease, app came out maybe a year ago, a year and a half ago, actually. now the Apple app came out only a few months from now.
but in total, probably it took us two years to fine tune everything. You know, it's a product that was developed from scratch. We didn't have any templates. So it took a while. It took a while. Okay, well, we're glad you did it.
[00:27:04] Wrapping Up with Dr. Schnabel
Sadly, we're running out of time for this part of the show, but again, for listeners who want to download the My IPM app, you can find all the links at facebook.
com slash Orchard People. And if you're on the page, I'd love it if you would like the page before you go. That would be really nice. you'll also be able to find those links at orchardpeople. com slash network. Once this podcast is finished and recorded, we will put it, in the archive and then I will also include the links there.
So Dr. Schnabel, is there anything you wanted to add to the, to tell our listeners about pest and disease prevention or about your app? Not really, just, you know, go ahead and try it out and free of charge, as I already mentioned, you already mentioned that same thing, so nothing to lose. If you don't like it, you can uninstall it, but I hope you like it and I hope it's helpful.
Oh, wonderful. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show today. You're welcome. for having me. Thanks. Okay, goodbye for now. Goodbye.
[00:28:14] Introduction to Arborist Warren Hosselton
Okay, well, coming up after a few words from our sponsors. We know fruit trees need human support and educated hands on care. But in the second half of the show, we're going to bust the myth that native trees can fend for themselves.
and that they don't need human assistance. I'll be chatting with arborist Warren Hosselton of the Canadian Tree Fund. So stay tuned. You're listening to the Urban Forestry Radio Show. I'm Susan Poizner and this is Reality Radio 101.
Well, my next guest on the show today also really loves trees. Warren Hosselton is an arborist and a park supervisor in Toronto. In his spare time, he works to teach young people about the value of trees and the importance of professional tree care. Warren is also deeply involved in a non profit called the Canadian Tree Fund.
It's a fantastic organization that I recently joined as a member of the board. The Canadian Tree Fund raises money for tree research and education. Now, many of us love trees, but Warren puts his money where his mouth is. Each year he dons his slick Lycra cycling outfit and he goes on a week long cycling adventure in an effort to raise money for tree research and education.
It's called the Steel Tour de Trees. And Warren is on the line with me now. Hey Warren, how are you today? Good, Susan, good afternoon. Good afternoon. So, it's lovely to have you on the line.
[00:30:05] The Canadian Tree Fund and Its Mission
Tell me a little bit now, tell our listeners a bit about the Canadian Tree Fund. What is it? And what are its goals?
Yeah, well the Canadian Tree Fund was established back in 1996 to bring research and education to the group of professional arborists that work across Canada. So it's really the fundraising arm of professional arborists in Canada. So how did you get involved? Well, I, I became a certified arborist back in 1995, so I, I kind of followed the, and I'm a member of ISA Ontario, the International Society of Arboriculture, Ontario chapter.
And through that, I kind of followed some of the fundraising initiatives of the Tree Fund. And in 2003, I noticed that Steel Tour to Trees was, riding out of Ottawa. So, being a Toronto guy, I I thought, boy, it's pretty close, because the year before I think it was in Portland, or sorry, B. C., and before that it was in England, and I thought, saw it and thought, boy, I should get on this.
Hm, were you a rider at the time, or? Somewhat, a recreational rider and a commuter rider, but not certainly a road bike rider, As, as I am now. Well, I've seen the pictures. You look very slick in your fancy little outfit there on your big ride. Well, thank you. Yeah, look, you make it look easy. Yeah, well, you know, many miles and, and it does get easier.
Oh, that's good to know. So, with regards to fundraising for trees, I think that there are people who, you know, eyebrows will be raised. Why do trees need fundraising, for heaven's sakes, they will say to themselves. You know, native trees have survived for centuries without us intervening. Well, I think it's like anything that, you know, research brings intelligence to the, to the topic or the subject.
So, when something is, ailing a tree or there's an issue that, research is the best way to address it. And, you know, in years past, even before 1996 in Canada, there was no real, avenue or, system to bring funds to research for trees. So You know, as we fast forward to where we are now, we've, we've, addressed many problems with trees.
And, again, we're just bringing intelligence to the trees, which in the, you know, the big picture is helping us as a Society in the community.
[00:32:31] Challenges Faced by Urban Trees
Well, I guess there's also today we live in cities and these poor trees are stuck in, I don't know, coffins, you know, those street boxes where you plant a tree and they has hardly any room for its roots.
And I guess, are there many unique challenges that urban trees face that perhaps, you know, trees and for thousands of years have not had to deal with? Absolutely. as you say, they are in urban areas, especially they're, yeah. Challenge number one just being, it's like the heat island factor being surrounded by, you know, acres of asphalt and then there's, you know, issues with compaction and, mechanical damage and, just air quality.
So all of this, all of these challenges kind of stack up on each other and really, you know, make it tough on the tree to survive in urban areas and that's exactly why they need the help of, You know, professionals in the aboriculture industry.
[00:33:24] Training and Role of Arborists
So, how did you train to be an arborist and, and what do arborists, how do arborists help the situation?
Well, that was way back in the 1800s, I started to talk about that. In the 1800s, huh? Yeah. No, I, took a three year course at, Humber College in Toronto. And the third year was strictly, aboriculture. And, through the years I, I worked at the old, what's now, Metro. It's now the City of Toronto, but I was on forestry for many years there doing, the foreperson for forestry issues east of Yonge Street in the old municipality.
So, and I've taken various courses over the years. And again, being a member of, the International Society of Aboriculture, we have a system where to stay certified, you must have X number of, educational credits every year. And that really keeps you on your game. It's a real challenge to keep up with.
You know, all of the new initiatives and, and some of the, the, ideas that are coming out in the industry. Hmm. Okay.
[00:34:23] Steel Tour de Trees: Fundraising for Tree Research
Well, let's, so later on in the year, you're going to be participating again in the Steel Tour de Trees. Can you tell me a little bit what it's, what it's about? You and a couple of other guys are going on a big ride.
Is that what it is? Yeah, we're kind of spread out a bit. I'm from Toronto and Sioux Troop is a little bit east of Toronto and Colberg. And then we have Phil Graham. One of the top riders on the entire tour from, B. C., doing us proud. And, so we've got this going on in, October. And it's down in, Charlotte, Carolina, and it's a 600 mile loop.
And you're, you're the only ones riding, or are there people in the States participating? Oh, no, there's about 80 riders in total. Oh, 80 riders. Yeah, 80 riders in total. We all have to raise 3, 500. And that goes directly to research and education, and we have major sponsors, such as, local power companies that will underwrite the cost of the tour.
Davy Tree, Asplund Tree, Bartlett Tree, Rainbow Tree, all these different massive tree companies know the value of, of this tour. And it is the world's largest, fundraising tour for trees. Wow. A fundraiser period, never mind cycling tour, but it's just a massive fundraiser. They bring in close to 500, 000 every year on this tour.
That's amazing. And, and the, the camaraderie, I can't speak enough. As I say, I went to ride it once in 2003, and I've been riding it every year now for 14 years. I just can't break away from it. Wow, that's great. The people are amazing. The cycling is amazing. The trees are Second to none, because that's what it's all about.
So, the people really take pride in showcasing what they have in the different local areas. And it's just an amazing place. And I've made so many friends over the years through the tour that, you know, I always joke that I could be any state in the U. S. or province of Canada and need that. Quick phone call for a bailout and I would be in good standing.
So, it's really amazing. If, if, listeners are interested, I made a little video for you guys at facebook. com slash Canadian Tree Fund. And, I put in some pictures of the Canadian team, which is our three riders. And, and it looks like, you know, you're riding hard during the day, but then you're planting trees.
And so it's not just the riding, there's a lot more involved. Yeah, we engage with the communities as we go through. A lot of times we'll meet the council members or the mayors or the different garden clubs or, you know, some of the arbor enthusiasts that come out and cheer us on. So yeah, and again, the riding days are long.
And as far as, you know, ability and we have riders that are You know, kind of teenagers there's been and we've had some riders that are close to 80. Oh, wow, you know and they ride every mile and it's it's not a race. So it is truly a tour and what'll happen is some of the you know, the stronger riders will get in and and they'll head back out to the curb and each rider comes in they'll be cheering them on and it's it's such a great feeling.
So can anyone get involved? Do you have to be an arborist to ride on this? No, not at all. Not at all. We it's it's amazing sort of the demographic of our group there. I would say, I would say that probably 70 percent are in the sort of the green industry. And I mean like, you know, we have people that literally work in garden centers and landscape architects and arborists and consulting arborists.
But there's a, you know, the other 40, 30 percent are people. We've got bankers and, and, you know, accountants and all sorts of different people that are Just taken upon it, and they went once, and they caught the bug like me. And they love trees, and they love to teach people. They see the value of it, too.
They see the value of it.
[00:38:17] Toronto Island Tree Walk Event
So, I know that something also, the Canadian Tree Fund does not just do the ride, though. That's your main fundraising project. But I know you guys have a wonderful, I wish I could attend, I'm not going to be here, but a wonderful, the Toronto Island Tree Walk that's taking place this very weekend.
Now for those listeners who aren't in Toronto itself, the Toronto Island is a very special place. can you describe it to, to the listeners? Yeah, it's we've been doing this probably since about the year 2000, maybe every other year. And it's, it's evolved over the years and at first it was kind of just a cycling tour because it was kind of spun off of tour de trees with the cycling.
But this year we have three tours. All running at the same time, and one is walking. It's going to be led by an island arborist, Tyler Ganton, who actually lives on the island here. And we're going to have a tram tour. It's a sort of a people mover that is going to span the whole island for people that, may have some mobility problems or don't want to do the walking tour.
And then of course we have the riding tour that's going to be led by myself and some other members of the Canadian Tree Fund. So this is wonderful. so now Toronto Island, for those who don't know, there are no cars on the island. No, there's not. There's, there's no vehicles other than operational vehicles.
Yeah. So it's really, really, a very cool place to visit little, beautiful little cottagey homes and a lot of gorgeous trees. Right. So I call it our Key West. huh. And so, and you guys will be telling stories around the trees or teaching. Yeah. Yeah, we tell the stories of the trees and some of the off offbeat information about trees that people love to hear and it's just so good because people just love this information to know what they're walking past every day like they, you know, outside of your front of your house so the trees are down the street and it's like It kind of enlightens you to, to watch out and you, you'll be able to identify trees after this tour.
It's really cool. That's so cool. Yeah. So, so, we actually have an email from Michelle from Ohio and she says, how do I get involved with a fundraiser? She's talking about the tour to trees, the tree fund. Is there some way that she can help or get involved? Well, what a, from Ohio, yes. There is a very, very strong team from Ohio, Team Ohio for Steel Tour de Trees.
But if she was to, just Google, Steel Tour de Trees, there's a whole page on information and, for new riders and, and, and, and getting involved. So, yeah, but It's spelled S T I H L. Yeah. Steel Toward the Trees and if she doesn't want to ride and she wants to support you guys I can, is there a website she can go to?
I'm sure you guys are looking for some donations for you want to support some Canadians, yeah, please come to CanadianTreeFund. org CanadianTreeFund, all one word, dot org. Check it out, so that will tell you a little bit about the team, and three people from all of Canada, and they would so love to get, your support.
I think Michelle should know that in 2017 that the tour is going to be in Ohio. Oh, nice. Yeah. Oh, Michelle, I hope you're a rider. I really hope you're a rider. They're going to put on a really good show down there, too. Oh, that's fantastic. And also, if you're not a rider, Michelle, I'm sure if you reach out to the Tour de Trees team, maybe you can get involved with the planting that takes place after the ride.
Who knows? I'm sure there's lots of opportunities. So that'll be fun. So back to the Toronto Island Tree Walk. When is that taking place? It's taking place this Saturday, June the 4th, it starts 10 a. m. sharp on Wards Island, and there is a boat that leaves the city at 9. 45 that pulls you in just for the start.
And we'll gather in front of the Wards Island Café, where they sell some excellent coffee and muffins and great food. And then we're going to gather and we're going to split up into our groups, the people that want to do the walking tour, the tram tour, the cycling tour. And off we go, and we'll be, the cycling tour is very gentle, it's probably 10 kilometers tops, it's all flat, no vehicles.
So, you know, even for the beginner rider, it's a, it's a great day. It's funny because whether you are, in Toronto or not, you can enjoy this, there are some volunteers that will be doing live Facebook feeds from the, the Toronto Island Tree Walk. I think that's quite amazing. And that will be on the Facebook page.
So facebook. com. slash Canadian tree fund. So that's going to be fun to look at. Yeah. So, so just to summarize, why, why are trees so important for you? It sounds like this is a really incredible experience for you. You love seeing the people you love being with people who care so deeply about trees, but why are trees so important?
Well, they just, they just do so much for us. Like, you know, they, they provide so much for us, and they make us feel good. You look in a city or you look down a street, I know that there's some neighbourhoods that have been, really hit hard with the emerald ash borer, where they had very mature wood lots, and all of a sudden there's nothing.
Talk about a contrast to the eye. Not only to the eye, to our own health. Like, you know, they scrub the air, they reduce, like, respiratory problems, and lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes, and homes for habitat, animals. They just make us feel really good and I really think we should be doing more for them because it's always an investment to put them in.
But we have to maintain them and make sure they get proper care. And I think that's so much part of the education side. I mean, those of us who grow fruit trees, more and more of us are realizing they need care and there's specific things you need to know how to do, but even with native trees, you need to know how to plant them.
Absolutely. You know, and how to, how to care for them and how to nurture them for the first few years and where to plant them. Where to plant, the whole, yeah, the, I, when I talk to students, I do a lot of that and, One of my main focuses is the little arborist oath of I will plant the right tree in the right place.
And I go on to explain why it is so important not to set a tree up for failure by not putting it in the right place. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Like an apple tree right beside your driveway where the apples fall on your head or on the car. Or like a pool. Yeah, right beside a pool. A willow tree near your house.
Yeah. there's all of that. Oh, well, sadly, I mean, this show has just passed in a blink of an eye. the Urban Forestry Radio Show is almost over for this month, but Warren, thank you so much for joining me on the show today. Thanks a lot for having me on and, I hope we can get some people down this weekend, to the Toronto Island Tree Tour.
Boat leaves at 9. 45. Come on over, meet some of us and the members of the tree fund and, you know, become engaged with us. It's a great organization. So best of luck with the Toronto Island Tour. People can learn about it on the Facebook page. So that's, let's remind ourselves, facebook. com slash CanadianTreeFund.
And, so goodbye for now, Warren. We will talk soon. Have a great day. Take care, Susan. Bye bye. Bye bye.
[00:46:06] Final Thoughts and Upcoming Events
So before we wrap up the show for today, and I can't believe how quickly it's passed, a little bit of news from my company, Orchard People. So we now offer training in fruit tree care for ISA certified arborists.
ISA certified arborists who sign up for orchardpeople. com's beginner fruit tree care course will earn up to eight continuing education credits from the International Society of Arboriculture. I think one of the reasons is, you know, ISA is So promoting education and continuing education about trees in general and fruit trees have very specific skills that you need in order to grow them successfully.
And more and more urbanites are planting them in their front and back yards, having problems and needing help. So hopefully now arborists will have the knowledge to be able to help them. The online course takes about eight hours and it includes a comprehensive video curriculum, eBooks and cheat sheets.
And you'll learn specialist fruit tree pruning. You'll learn, fertility management, pest and disease prevention, and so much more. You can learn about that at orchardpeople. com ISA. That's orchardpeople. com I S A. If you're not an arborist, you can still sign up. You can sign up at orchardpeople. com slash workshops.
My students include landscape designers, master gardeners, urban agriculturalists, and even fruit tree growing newbies. So everybody can benefit. So that's all for the show today. It was wonderful to speak to my special guests, Dr. Guido Schnabel of Clemson University and Warren Hosselton of the Canadian Tree Fund.
If you missed part of the show, or if you'd like to listen again, you can listen online or you can download the podcast from iTunes. All you have to do is go to orchardpeople. com slash network and you can access this episode or previous episodes covering all aspects of fruit trees, food forests, and permaculture gardens.
And while you're on the site, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter. I'll remind you about upcoming podcasts and you'll get access to lots of free content, including articles, interviews, eBooks, and more. Tune into the show again next month and we'll have more great guests. You're listening to the Urban Forestry Radio Show.
I'm Susan Poizner from the fruit tree care training website OrchardPeople. com and I look forward to seeing you next month.
If you want to learn more about the Community Orchard Network, I've created a page on my website where you can find out lots more information and learn how to sign up for our newsletter. Just visit www. orchardpeople. com slash network and you can read our Frequently Asked Questions and check out the free webinars and podcasts that we've recorded.
Tune in next month and you'll meet some more great guests, and you'll learn more about fruit trees, permaculture, and forest gardens. Our show goes out on the last Tuesday of every month at 1 p. m. Eastern Time. I'm Susan Poizner. Thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you next time. You
have been listening to the Urban Forestry Radio Show with Poizner, right here on Reality Radio 101.