Fighting climate change through the conservation and restoration of Saskatchewan forests will be the next topic for a Saskatchewan Environmental Society virtual webinar.

Ecologist Michael Fitzsimmons will be speaking at the third edition of the Sustainability Series, hosted by the Saskatoon Public Library. He says boreal forests are important to the province and need to be managed carefully. Fitzsimmons explains participants in the webinar will learn more about boreal forests, what they were like before and what they could look like in the future.

In the 1920’s, Fitzsimmons says a debate began on whether forested areas were best kept as forest or used for farmland. Fitzsimmons suggests In the 2020’s the debate needs to be revived on whether Saskatchewan southern boreal forest land is best used for agriculture or to fix atmospheric carbon within trees and soils. Saskatchewan Forests and Natural Climate Solutions will be hosted by the Saskatoon Public Library today (Tuesday) at 7:00 p.m.

Fitzsimmons says he’s witnessed some disturbing trends in his 35 years in the field. He says most environmental problems require someone to make a sacrifice, and he thinks we’ve lost that. “We create far more disposable products, and waste far more. We’re harvesting more trees to feed that waste. Really we need to rethink why we harvest, what kind of products we want to produce with forest wood, and how we want to use it.” Fitzsimmons asks what forest products are worth sacrificing trees for, suggesting pulp that goes into paper cups and pizza boxes might be frivolous, while dimensional timber and plywood might be on the constructive and necessary side.

Fitzsimmons suggests a lot of groups focus on a clear cutting vs selective cutting debate, but he thinks the real issue is how much wood gets extracted and how much is left behind.

A link to the webinar can be found here.