“For my eighth grade science fair project I designed a shovel specifically for tree planting. I got the inspiration when laboriously planting cedars with my dad on our farm in southern Ontario and thinking there had to be an easier way. The shovel had three metal pieces welded on the back of the blade designed to create a perfect hole for seedlings. Spoiler alert: the shovels didn’t work—hence why I’m not a millionaire—but I did get a bronze medal at the 1998 Canada-Wide Science Fair in Timmins. Although it wasn’t to the Northwest, the trip to the science fair was my first venture to the
boreal forest, where the pristine nature floored me, and it planted the seed for deciding where I would eventually settle down.

Every April, we present our annual Green issue to commemorate Earth Day, and this year it’s all about trees and how
forestry has played a crucial role in Northwestern Ontario’s history, culture, and economy. As part of our cover story, Matt Prokopchuk reports on the City of Thunder Bay’s Urban Forestry Management Plan, and Kelsey Raynard looks at forestry in the Northwest and innovations in the industry. Plus, we present forestry by the numbers and venture back in time with historic photos of logging in our region.

 -Adrian Lysenko