Planting trees to help Minnesota’s warming climate
Hundreds of oak and white pine seedlings grow packed together inside Cree and Jason Bradley’s greenhouse. The smell is earthy, moist, and slightly nutty. The shelves holding the bright green sprouts are stacked in levels, from the ground to the ceiling. Cree and Jason, 2003 UMD graduates, are the owners of the 25-acre Chelsea Morning Farm and the 120-acre Never Summer Sugarbush located north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
They are partnering with the University of Minnesota Duluth and the Nature Conservancy in the Forest Assisted Migration Project. That's an ambitious endeavor to grow 25,000 trees from climate-adapted seeds, seeds collected from a zone south of northern Minnesota, to combat detrimental forest effects from climate change and warming temperatures. The project will span over several years and will include varieties such as yellow birch, white and red oak, and white pine.
The Bradleys value farming in a healthy, organic, and sustainable way. Growing trees from seeds has recently become a significant part of their operation, but they also grow produce for the nearby community. They operate a diversified, small-scale, family-farm by growing vegetable crops. Harvesting maple syrup and Lake Superior fish add to the operation. Their local farmers market is one of the places they sell their produce and the Bradley’s support dozens of families in their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
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Image via University of Minnesota Duluth
