Cantley 1889 Articles

Cantley’s Trees – Our heritage, health, hope for the future

By Margaret Phillips

Fortunately, many forests still dominate Cantley’s picturesque landscape and some of these are older than the arrival of our fi rst pioneer settlers almost two centuries ago. Their beauty attracts people to live here. Trees have an impact on tourism, our well-being and the health of our environment.

Our heritage organization Cantley 1889 considers forests a significant part of Cantley’s legacy, to be protected and appreciated by everyone. A good example of one of Cantley’s pristine heritage forests is at Parc Victoria-et-René Prud’homme. Its majestic trees have grown to an awesome height creating an incredible leaf canopy shading its seedlings on the rugged forest floor below. A wide variety of flora grows where sun can penetrate its rocky and wetland areas and at the park’s entrance. We encourage you to visit this park and to join our forest walk on October 16th – see the notice.

A Living Classroom

Parc Victoria-et-René Prud’homme features the wide range of biodiversity typical of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region. Its hills are composed of billion-year-old layers of Precambrian rock that was once at the bottom of mountains as high as the Himalayas. The park’s cliffs and rocks were moved and shaped by huge glaciers of the last ice age. This forest is historic. Since 1865 for nearly a century, this land was part of a pioneer farm belonging to the Brown family. Evidence in the forest indicates the family left this forest untouched except perhaps to cut firewood, collect maple sap and perhaps graze some cattle. From the 1850s until 1927 on the adjacent property (today’s parc du Traversier), was the renowned “Paddy Fleming Ferry” terminal. In June, Cantley 1889 installed an interpretive plaque there which shows the history of the site.

Importance of trees

Trees were respected and honoured by indigenous people who lived in harmony with the forests and managed them accordingly. They knew trees were essential to their survival and the well-being of everything in their environment.

Current research also shows how important trees are to the health and well-being of all of us and all living things and to the planet, especially their role in fighting climate change. Forests remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it while releasing oxygen into the air. They provide shade and help regulate moisture. Planting trees and conserving forests are the cheapest and most effective ways of tackling the climate crisis. Estimates say that a world-wide planting programme could remove almost one-third of all the carbon emissions resulting from modern human activities.

In her popular book and soon-to-be movie, Finding the Mother Tree, Dr. Suzanne Simard’s many years of ground-breaking research shows that, “... trees are a complex, interdependent circle of life ... forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks. Trees perceive each other, learn and adapt their behaviours, recognize neighbours and remember the past. They have agency about the future, elicit warnings and mount defenses, and compete and cooperate with one another just like humans do.”

During the various COVID lockdowns, walking in nature, particularly among trees, was recommended for our mental health and well-being. Communing with nature was part of life in past centuries and in many cultures. More recently, the Japanese introduced Shinrin-yoku, “forest bathing”, which has become an integral part of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine and is now popular worldwide. People who spend time in the forest experience decreased cortisol (stress hormone) which can help relieve high blood pressure, heart conditions, skin conditions and asthma.

In October, our trees are at their most glorious, reminding us of how beautiful they are. We hope you enjoy their stunning displays of colour and are thankful to be living here among Cantley’s many trees.