At Leland’s Cabins, we have a deeply rooted commitment to protecting our planet. And one way we demonstrate this is by renewing what we use. For each and every cabin we sell, Leland’s plants 20 trees in each and every customer’s name. We believe this can do more than offset the impact of the lumber that we consume.
Partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation, we work to get more trees into the soil and growing. Trees provide habitat for wildlife, give us natural beauty, offer us recreational opportunities. And they are workhorses, too, filtering our air and our water. Because we treasure the look and feel natural wood provides to our cabins—on the log cabin exterior, the floors, and even the walls and ceilings—we recognize that trees are vital to life and to what we do.
Trees are an easy issue to get behind. Did you know America has a national tree? It’s the oak. And the Texas state tree? The pecan. Take a look at what goes into making a Leland’s Cabins home, and you’ll see we’re particularly fond of cedar, which we use on our exteriors; ponderosa pine and white pine, which is our choice for our floors, ceilings, and walls; and pecan, which gives our kitchen cabinets their luster.
We want to make sure a wide variety of trees survives for future generations. So that’s why we support the important work of tree planting and revitalizing forests all across the country—and around the globe.
The Arbor Day Foundation hit a major milestone recently, marking 60 million trees planted in America’s forests. In Texas alone, they’ve planted over 800,000 trees in Bastrop, east of Austin, as part of a wildfire restoration project with Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Lost Pines Recovery Team.
In Davy Crockett National Forest in East Texas, they’ve partnered with the U.S. Forest Service on a wildlife habitat restoration to plant another 154,360 trees. And in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, they helped plant 20,000 trees as part of a watershed and wildlife habitat restoration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, and Valley Proud Environmental Council.
How Is a Forest Replanted?
Reforestation is important work in areas that have been devastated by fire, disease, harsh weather, or even insects. Trees can play an important role in protecting the health and quality of the damaged environment by eventually growing and replacing those trees that were lost.
The process starts with the U.S. Forest Service. First they select the areas where replanting is most critical. These often are sites that are in dire conditions, unable to regenerate naturally because of the severity of the damage.
Then as seedlings are grown in a nursery, they are designated to be used in the specific replanting areas. When the timing is right and the forest is ready, the seedlings are planted in the soil. This typically happens in the spring. Employees of the Forest Service as well as volunteers get their hands dirty planting the seedlings in the proper places.
As a Texas log-cabin builder, we take a special interest in Texas success stories. In Davy Crockett National Forest east of Waco, which comprises more than 160,000 acres of trees and trails, shortleaf pine stands had suffered a 53 percent decline since 1980. When a tornado ripped through the forest on December 25, 2012, things turned worse.
Now workers and volunteers are helping restore the area’s forestland by replanting shortleaf pines. This will help save the Davy Crockett forest, allowing it to provide critical foraging and nesting needs for the deer and other wildlife that call it home.
Why Plant Trees?
There are plenty of reasons why it is important to keep forests healthy. According to the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Parks, here are a few:
Watershed protection: Over 180 million people in the United States depend on forest watersheds for their drinking water. Trees provide natural water filtration, which can lower costs associated with drinking water treatment.
Air quality: Trees pull pollution from the atmosphere, which makes the air we breathe cleaner.
Wildlife habitat: Large populations of wild animals depend on forested areas for food, water, and shelter.
Soil stabilization: Trees and their network of roots can slow the effects of erosion from water and wind.
Flood control: Areas dense with trees reduce flooding and cut runoff into crucial waterways.
Reclamation: Environments that were stripped of trees for lumber, agriculture, or mining purposes can be returned to their original state of being lush with trees.
Recreation: Forests provide recreation and tourism opportunities for local areas, which generate revenue for a neighboring town.
Jobs: Restoring a forest means creating new jobs along with maintaining the existing jobs.
Commitment to the Next Generation
We see planting trees as a living tribute, and what we do at Leland’s is a quiet effort. But sometimes these sorts of projects can make a powerful statement, as with Plant a Tree at Flight 93. This is a comprehensive tree planting initiative at the site of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. With a goal of planting 150,000 new trees at the memorial site, the effort is a vital and dynamic way to honor the 40 heroes of United Flight 93, while at the same time offering a place to learn about and understand the events of September 11, 2001.
As a Texas log-cabin builder, trees are what we’re all about. We use natural woods in everything we do at Leland’s Cabins. So as you can imagine, our commitment to sustaining our forests and growing a variety of trees runs deep. And that’s why we’ve committed to making sure 20 trees are planted for every cabin we sell. This is our promise to future generations—that the trees sustaining our business and our world today are still there for them tomorrow.
Stop by a Leland’s log-cabin showroom today and see for yourself.