Reforestation

Mirage is keenly aware of the pressures brought to bear on its raw materials and financially supports organizations that specialize in hardwood reforestation to safeguard our resources.

Tree Canada Foundation

The Tree Canada Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that forms partnerships with volunteers to improve citizen quality of life by planting and caring for trees. Despite its Canadian origins, the foundation also plants trees in the United States—especially in urban areas—to improve air quality in cities. It also carries out a number of other reforestation projects to preserve the natural habitats of some animal species and prevent shoreline erosion.

Reforestation and plantations in the United States:
Charleston, South Carolina
Rockburn Park in Hampton, Maryland
Howard County, Maryland
Urban revitalization in Boston, Massachusetts
Valley Park in Roseville, Minnesota

Reforestation and plantations in Canada:
Raven River Springs, Alberta
PoCo Trail, British Columbia
Prince Edward Island
Morgan Arboretum in Montreal, Quebec
New Brunswick
Etchemin River restoration, Quebec
Urban forest diversification, Saskatchewan
Revitalization of West Humber Valley in Toronto, Ontario

Protecting the material through use

Wood is a vitally important natural material. Although we might sometimes think that using it is a bad thing, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Read on to find out why…

Wood: a renewable material

When we build with wood, we are choosing a high quality, renewable, and biodegradable material. We can protect our environment by purchasing wood or wood-based products. Other products made from materials like plastic or aluminum use up valuable natural resources that are running out and can never be replaced. Wood is the only renewable construction material.

100% of the tree is used

A full 95% of every tree cut is used to make products such as construction lumber, plywood, wood chips, and sawdust. Even the bark is used in landscaping. The remaining 5% is made up of branches left in the forest to biodegrade naturally and enrich the soil, helping saplings to grow.

Careful use of forests

Few people realize that the number of trees the forest industry harvests each year is lower than the number destroyed by fire, disease, and insect pests. For example, selective cutting methods used to manage forests promote new tree growth, and the increased sunlight they let in allows for a diversity of species and their greater survival over time. Thanks to sustainable harvesting, the volume of wood in logged forests has increased every year for the past 20 years.

Using trees ensures their future

When trees in a forest age or become too numerous, they stop growing and start to rot, releasing carbon dioxide. When mature trees are cut for the purpose of making wood products, however, the carbon dioxide remains inside them. Reforestation with saplings begins the air filtration process all over again.

To find out more, visit greenspirit.com.