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| Ottawa Nut Tree Walking Tour 2006 | ||
Using Ottawa-grown nuts - Hosted by Cobjon Nutculture Services Everyone welcome! | ||
 The Tour will opened and accompanied by Councillor Diane Holmes of Ottawa's Somerset Ward Councillor Holmes is well known for her strong advocacy for more trees in Somerset Ward and in the City of Ottawa in general. She has unflaggingly championed the urban forest for many years. Recently she has begun emphasizing nut trees for centretown because of their special beauty, strength and their nut crops. As an ECSONG member, she has come out squarely for more nut trees in centretown's Somerset Ward. We will be seeing black walnuts, butternuts, various kinds of oaks, buckeyes, horsechestnut, ginkgo and tree hazel. Lets make centretown more nut tree friendly! We are pleased Councillor Holmes will be able to join us for the first part of our Tour. |
 Black Walnut |
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Tour Topic: Learn the trees, use the nuts, plant more nut trees in Somerset Ward's Urban Nutculture Agroforest in centretown Ottawa Tour Date: Sunday, September 3, 2006 Tour Time: 9:30 AM to Noon. Tour Meeting Place: Start and End by the entrance to Ottawa City Hall opposite the corner of Lisgar Street and Cartier Street. Tour Fee: Adults@$10, includes Tour Kit; children 12 and under free. Tour Registration & Info: Call Vera at 613-832-2745 or send her an email |
Tour Backgrounder: The Somerset Ward Nutculture Walking Tour 2006 will introduce many of the nut trees already growing well in Ottawa's Somerset Ward. We will be seeing black walnuts, butternuts, various kinds of oaks, buckeyes, horsechestnut, ginkgo and tree hazel. Ottawa is justifiably proud of its urban forest though much remains to be done. Beyond the sought-after and well-known environmental benefits of a rich urban forest, Cobjon Nutculture Services, who will conduct the tour, wants to go to the next level, which it calls 'urban nutculture agroforestry'. On these webpages below you will see recent pictures of a number of the nut trees populating the Ward. The pictures were taken from springtime to the present this year. There are scores of nut trees in the Ward with space for many more. |
 Your tour guide is Hank Jones, President of Cobjon Nutculture Services and Chair of ECSONG. Hank founded Cobjon in 1978 and was a founding member of ECSONG in 1979. He has worked to create a profitable edible nut production industry across the Eastern Ontario region ever since. He foresees within a few years, an industry worth tens of millions a year built in part around many local producers scattered across the region. He also foresees an industry sector built on nut crops and nutwoods that are grown within the municipalities as a part of their urban forest what he calls their 'urban nutculture agroforest'. These trees offer all the environmental benefits of other trees while also earning money from their crops. These monies could be used to offset the cost to taxpayers of the urban forest, making it tax revenue neutral, whilst encouraging the planting of ever more trees. |
 Your assistant tour guide is Vera Hrebacka, Vice-President of Cobjon Nutculture Services and Treasurer of ECSONG. Vera's favourite nut tree is the Bur Oak because it is so strong. Vera is a superb cook when it comes to nut foods. She has developed new recipes to include locally grown nuts such as her black walnut tourtiere. She uses a mix of black walnuts and regular walnuts in both the crust and the filling. She is also a master of the roasted pecan from which she makes inter alia the most amazing spinach pesto and also super salads. Vera is working on extracting the delectable and nutritious oil of the Red Oak acorn. The tree grows exceptionally well across the region both in town and out. The acorn has on average ten to thirty percent oil. Hot extraction methods have been used successfully in the past by native Americans, so Vera is on the trail of cold press oil to compare. She plans to work with engineering technologists at Algonquin College on this new technology. The best source of red oak acrons in the region is the Villgae of Constance Bay, so Vera is working to help create an annual Oak Festival there that would provide acorns aplenty for oil production. |
A young Horsechestnut at Somerset and O'Connor just leafing out IMG_0595.JPG |
A line of Ginkgoes at Lisgar and O'Connor just leafing out IMG_0596.JPG |
The bursting buds of the Ginkgo IMG_0597.JPG |
A larger Ginkgo just bursting bud at Dominion Chalmers United Church near Cooper and O'Connor IMG_0599.JPG |
Young Ginkgo leaves IMG_0667.JPG |
Young Horsechestnut leaves IMG_0668.JPG |
The Horsechesnut leaves almost fully open IMG_0669.JPG |
A Butternut on Waverly St. starting to burst bud IMG_0670.JPG |
The bole of the Waverley Butternut reveals a large and mature tree. IMG_0671.JPG |
The Waverly Butternut with buds bursting IMG_0672.JPG |
Here the bursting Waverley Butternut buds are starting to show leaf and male catkin IMG_0673.JPG |
A young Horsechestnut on Waverlay between Metcalfe and O'Connor leafing IMG_0674.JPG |
A half grown Horsechestnut on McLeod near Metcalfe opposite the Museum of Nature. IMG_0803.JPG |
The same Horsechestnut in full leaf and flower. IMG_0804.JPG |
The same Horsechesnut's flowers. IMG_0805.JPG |
This website proudly hosted by Cobjon Nutculture Services, Ottawa 613-832-2745