"Most homesteaders who streamed into the Canadian prairies in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought with them a desire for the comfort and protection of trees they had known "back home." Recognizing the potential value of trees as incentive for settling the vast and mostly treeless prairies, the Canadian government began to grow and distribute tree seedlings for planting around farm homes and yards. Trees Against the Wind is a detailed account of the federal government's prairie tree planting program from 1901-41 under the leadership of professional forester Norman MacKenzie Ross. Archival photographs and materials bring life to the story of how Ross, with his dedicated horticulturists, foresters and nursery workers, and thousands of innovative prairie farmers, transformed the open prairie into a tapestry of treed farmyards and miles of planted shelterbelts. From a discussion of government efforts to settle the west and the realities of immigration and homesteading at that time, the book moves to examining the origins of the government tree planting program and the background of the man who was chosen to lead it. Accounts of the development and workings of the Indian Head and Sutherland Forest Nursery Stations provide insight into the business of growing trees as well as the social history and lives of British and eastern European immigrants. Readers will learn about forestry applied to an agricultural environment, including the testing and selection of tree species that could survive harsh prairie conditions. Description and illustration of the significant educational and promotional activities that supported prairie tree planning are followed by an account of the successful navigation of changes in government and the challenges posed by drought and economic depression. A brief afterword describes program highlights from Ross's retirement in 1941 to the program's closure in 2013, having delivered more than 600 million trees to farmers in western Canada. An engaging account that gives life to the people involved and their stories, Trees Against the Wind is, above all, a tribute to Ross's passion, acumen and formidable promotional abilities, which were instrumental in advancing prairie tree planting from a temporary program to a movement that improved the quality of rural life for thousands of rural residents in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba."-- Provided by publisher.
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