By Jack Payne
With the temperatures hovering around the 90-degree mark, hunting might be the last thing on your mind.
Well, put that aside, there is much that can be done without breaking into a hard sweat.
Glassing fields and clearcuts is an example of planning ahead. Glassing fields and clearcuts shows feeding areas. Deer, geese, and turkeys can easily be spotted from a vehicle.
With the early nuisance goose season only a month away, it's never too early to locate a few feeding areas. Early-season goose hunting is 100 percent about finding hot feeding areas.
This is also a good time to check out your decoy weights, flags, and practice your calling.
Fall turkey season starts in mid-September, and once again, a key feeding area will go a long way. Fall turkeys can become very predictable in the routes that they take.
A late-summer food source is different from a mid-fall food source. A mid-fall food includes acorns, insects, and agricultural feeds. A late-summer food source would include certain farm fields, such as clover, rye, and old fields that might include grasses and weeds.
Turkey enjoys feeding on insects, scratching, and pecking. Locating the fields, the time the birds show up, and where they enter the fields, shortens the playing field, so to speak. One note on turkey hunting this fall: tags can be purchased over the counter.
Fall turkey hunting is fun and something that you can double up with archery deer or stalking squirrels. Check out your decoys and calls and make sure they are in top order.
Animals need water. It might be to drink or it might be for feeding and such. Locating a small pocket of water can be very productive during the early season archery season, duck, or goose hunting.
Low and clear rivers and streams will identify potential deer crossing areas when the water gets deeper. I like hunting swamps or wet areas. Locating a few isolated areas that are overlooked by other hunters is vital to my hunting success.
Low water will show paths and trails that lead into secluded pieces of high ground. Once the water levels return, it becomes much more difficult to find these hidden trails.
Late summer is also the time that I enjoy checking over tree stands and ladder stands. Squeaks should be fixed. You can replace old nuts and bolts with some new stainless bolts and nylon washers.
I hunt ground blinds. Many of my ground blinds are fallen trees or deadfalls that I hollow out a small opening in the center. Hardly noticeable to any other hunter, let alone a deer.
I spend a fair amount of time hunting from the ground. I use either a turkey lounge chair or a packable frame chair that weighs barely two pounds. On the specially made hunting chair, I added tennis balls to the legs. The tennis balls prevent the chair from sinking into the soft soil.
August is also the time to verify that your ammo supply is in good order. Verify that you have enough shotgun shells, both for turkey and waterfowl hunting.
Hunting broadheads easily are forgotten until the last second. It will only take five minutes to verify that you have enough broadheads. Tuning up your bow or crossbow is suggested.
If you need your bow string or any work done on it, do it now! If you wait until September, be prepared for a backlog. Get the maintenance chores out of the way.
August is a great time to buy a new bow or crossbow. This gives you plenty of time to practice before hitting the woods. I use this time to wash my hunting clothes and sell or donate the extra clothes.
Selling your extra gear will put a few extra bucks into your pocket. Spending a few hours riding around will provide information on wildlife numbers. Checking all of your gear will eliminate any frustration on the early hunts. And remember that Bob's Gun and Tackle will help with sales and repairs.
With the temperatures hovering around the 90-degree mark, hunting might be the last thing on your mind.
Well, put that aside, there is much that can be done without breaking into a hard sweat.
Glassing fields and clearcuts is an example of planning ahead. Glassing fields and clearcuts shows feeding areas. Deer, geese, and turkeys can easily be spotted from a vehicle.
With the early nuisance goose season only a month away, it's never too early to locate a few feeding areas. Early-season goose hunting is 100 percent about finding hot feeding areas.
This is also a good time to check out your decoy weights, flags, and practice your calling.
Fall turkey season starts in mid-September, and once again, a key feeding area will go a long way. Fall turkeys can become very predictable in the routes that they take.
A late-summer food source is different from a mid-fall food source. A mid-fall food includes acorns, insects, and agricultural feeds. A late-summer food source would include certain farm fields, such as clover, rye, and old fields that might include grasses and weeds.
Turkey enjoys feeding on insects, scratching, and pecking. Locating the fields, the time the birds show up, and where they enter the fields, shortens the playing field, so to speak. One note on turkey hunting this fall: tags can be purchased over the counter.
Fall turkey hunting is fun and something that you can double up with archery deer or stalking squirrels. Check out your decoys and calls and make sure they are in top order.
Animals need water. It might be to drink or it might be for feeding and such. Locating a small pocket of water can be very productive during the early season archery season, duck, or goose hunting.
Low and clear rivers and streams will identify potential deer crossing areas when the water gets deeper. I like hunting swamps or wet areas. Locating a few isolated areas that are overlooked by other hunters is vital to my hunting success.
Low water will show paths and trails that lead into secluded pieces of high ground. Once the water levels return, it becomes much more difficult to find these hidden trails.
Late summer is also the time that I enjoy checking over tree stands and ladder stands. Squeaks should be fixed. You can replace old nuts and bolts with some new stainless bolts and nylon washers.
I hunt ground blinds. Many of my ground blinds are fallen trees or deadfalls that I hollow out a small opening in the center. Hardly noticeable to any other hunter, let alone a deer.
I spend a fair amount of time hunting from the ground. I use either a turkey lounge chair or a packable frame chair that weighs barely two pounds. On the specially made hunting chair, I added tennis balls to the legs. The tennis balls prevent the chair from sinking into the soft soil.
August is also the time to verify that your ammo supply is in good order. Verify that you have enough shotgun shells, both for turkey and waterfowl hunting.
Hunting broadheads easily are forgotten until the last second. It will only take five minutes to verify that you have enough broadheads. Tuning up your bow or crossbow is suggested.
If you need your bow string or any work done on it, do it now! If you wait until September, be prepared for a backlog. Get the maintenance chores out of the way.
August is a great time to buy a new bow or crossbow. This gives you plenty of time to practice before hitting the woods. I use this time to wash my hunting clothes and sell or donate the extra clothes.
Selling your extra gear will put a few extra bucks into your pocket. Spending a few hours riding around will provide information on wildlife numbers. Checking all of your gear will eliminate any frustration on the early hunts. And remember that Bob's Gun and Tackle will help with sales and repairs.
Conservationists Seek to Stabilize
Kirtland’s Warbler Population
A team of conservation experts from state and federal agencies and nonprofit groups is undertaking a long-term plan to stabilize the population of the once-endangered Kirtland’s warbler.
The 2025 census of the colorful songbird indicates a decline in the population. According to the recent survey, there are 1,477 breeding pairs of Kirtland's warblers in Michigan, which is home to 98% of the global population. Another 12 pairs were counted in Wisconsin, for a global population of 1,489 pairs, with Ontario's numbers yet to be reported.
The last census, in 2021, estimated the global population at 2,245 pairs.
The decline is projected to continue over the next few years before the Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team’s efforts can stabilize the population through innovative strategies to manage the bird’s habitat. The team is a collaborative network of partner organizations including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, American Bird Conservancy, Huron Pines and others.
“This is a situation we’ve been monitoring and addressing for several years now,” said Erin Victory, a wildlife biologist and Kirtland’s warbler management coordinator for the DNR. “From a habitat management perspective, we anticipated a decline in the population and have been taking action to address it. We are confident we have enough tools and resources available to us, collectively within the conservation team, to reverse the decline and stabilize the population.”
The Michigan survey was conducted June 6-26 in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. The census resulted in:
• 814 pairs of Kirtland’s warblers on DNR-managed land in the northern Lower Peninsula.
• 597 pairs on Forest Service land in the northern Lower Peninsula.
• 49 pairs on DNR-managed land in the Upper Peninsula.
• 17 pairs on Forest Service land in the Upper Peninsula.
• Small numbers of the songbird also live in Wisconsin and Ontario (in 2021, Ontario reported 22 pairs).
One reason for the decline in the bird’s population is a reduced acreage of suitable breeding habitat. The ground-nesting Kirtland’s warbler relies exclusively on young jack pine forests to breed, with the vast majority of the birds living on designated state- and federally-managed acreage in northern Lower Michigan. But there currently aren’t enough young jack pine stands available to maintain a stable population of Kirtland’s warblers, so the state and federal agencies will adjust the tree-harvesting strategy to create more breeding habitat in designated management areas.
The Michigan DNR has worked closely with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service and other groups for decades to create habitat for the Kirtland’s warbler through jack pine plantings (the bird will only nest in jack pine stands that are about 6-20 years old). The goal is to maintain at least 1,000 pairs of Kirtland’s warblers.
By selling timber to clearcut mature jack pine followed by planting jack pine seedlings, land managers provided a consistent amount of young habitat to support this goal. The strategy mimics how jack pine naturally regenerates after wildfire by creating a mosaic of thickets and openings. Many other early-successional plant and animal species benefit from this commitment on the landscape.
However, in recent years it has become evident that previous management practices need to be updated. Early intensive efforts to create habitat ramped up in the late 1980s and 40 years of implementing jack pine plantings have resulted in a majority of the management areas with 30- to 40-year-old jack pine stands. Because these stands are intentionally planted at higher densities for better habitat compared to other types of planted stands, they are not commercially marketable for clearcutting until they are at least 60 years old. This has left land managers with less opportunity to create young habitat over the last decade.
“While a population decline is not what we wanted to see this census, it is encouraging that we already understand the principal cause and conservation team members are taking steps to address the issue,” said Steve Roels, coordinator of the Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team and Kirtland’s warbler program director for the American Bird Conservancy.
The conservation team is developing a 10-year Breeding Range Conservation Plan to effectively manage the habitat. The primary strategy is to use novel approaches to cut jack pine stands in the surplus 20- and 30-year age classes, in addition to 60-year-old stands, to ensure annual habitat goals are met consistently. To the extent possible, the younger timber will be sold as mulch or as a renewable energy resource on the biomass market. Land managers are also evaluating the feasibility and safety of increasing prescribed fire use.
“This strategy continues to create habitat and also allows the 40-year age class to continue growing and become merchantable. If we kept trying to harvest from the 40-year age class we would be perpetuating the problem,” said Jason Hartman, silvicultural specialist for the Michigan DNR. This strategy will benefit local economies, Kirtland’s warblers and other species associated with the jack pine ecosystem.
Other strategies in the management plan include transitioning away from jack pine plantations where possible in favor of lower-cost natural regeneration and partnering with university researchers to evaluate new habitat management techniques. The plan also calls for periodic monitoring of brown-headed cowbird nest parasitism. Cowbirds lay eggs in the nests of Kirtland's warblers and other bird species. The larger cowbird chicks out-compete warbler chicks for food, which causes them to die, while the warbler parents unknowingly raise the cowbird chick.
Unforeseen factors affect the Kirtland warbler’s population as well. Victory referenced a 2023 hailstorm that wiped out half of the jack pine seedlings at a DNR-contracted nursery that were slated for planting and wildfire in the breeding areas that can change the amount of habitat. Additionally, hurricanes during migration and dry winters on the species’ wintering grounds in the Bahamas can stress or kill birds, with fewer birds returning to northern Michigan the following year.
“The decline in the Kirtland’s warbler population is likely due to a decline in available breeding habitat, but there are other factors that we can’t control that are associated with higher bird mortality,” Victory said.
The Kirtland’s warbler was federally endangered for nearly 50 years. The population dropped to fewer than 200 pairs in the 1970s and again in the 1980s when the population was restricted to only 14 townships in six counties in northern Lower Michigan. Thanks to a decades-long, collaborative effort to recover the species by federal, state and private partners, the bird was removed from the federal endangered species list in 2019.
“The Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team is a highly collaborative group that has been working to ensure the survival of the Kirtland’s warbler for more than 50 years,” said Phil Huber, a wildlife biologist and chair of the conservation team. “I am confident that this group will continue to do what is necessary for this at-risk species and other plants and animals in the jack pine ecosystem.”
The Kirtland’s warbler remains a state-threatened species in Michigan because it is conservation-reliant, meaning it will not persist without intensive management. The majority of the population nests in a 10-county area in the northern Lower Peninsula, primarily from Grayling to Oscoda.
Kirtland's warbler surveys have been conducted in Michigan since 1951. A full survey, or census, is conducted every two to four years. State and federal agency staff and volunteers survey jack pine nesting areas, listening for singing males advertising and defending nesting territories. Each recorded male is presumed to have a mate, so the number of males also indicates the number of breeding pairs.
While Victory said surveys in coming years may show the bird’s numbers coming close to or even dropping below the population threshold of 1,000 breeding pairs, she’s confident the population will rebound with the conservation team’s habitat management strategies.
“The real strength of the management of the Kirtland’s warbler lies in the collective efforts of the conservation team,” Victory said. “The collaborations and partnerships that we’ve leveraged among our state, federal and private partners will continue to be a driving force behind maintaining a sustainable population of the Kirtland’s warbler and other species in the jack pine ecosystem.”
The 2025 census of the colorful songbird indicates a decline in the population. According to the recent survey, there are 1,477 breeding pairs of Kirtland's warblers in Michigan, which is home to 98% of the global population. Another 12 pairs were counted in Wisconsin, for a global population of 1,489 pairs, with Ontario's numbers yet to be reported.
The last census, in 2021, estimated the global population at 2,245 pairs.
The decline is projected to continue over the next few years before the Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team’s efforts can stabilize the population through innovative strategies to manage the bird’s habitat. The team is a collaborative network of partner organizations including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, American Bird Conservancy, Huron Pines and others.
“This is a situation we’ve been monitoring and addressing for several years now,” said Erin Victory, a wildlife biologist and Kirtland’s warbler management coordinator for the DNR. “From a habitat management perspective, we anticipated a decline in the population and have been taking action to address it. We are confident we have enough tools and resources available to us, collectively within the conservation team, to reverse the decline and stabilize the population.”
The Michigan survey was conducted June 6-26 in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. The census resulted in:
• 814 pairs of Kirtland’s warblers on DNR-managed land in the northern Lower Peninsula.
• 597 pairs on Forest Service land in the northern Lower Peninsula.
• 49 pairs on DNR-managed land in the Upper Peninsula.
• 17 pairs on Forest Service land in the Upper Peninsula.
• Small numbers of the songbird also live in Wisconsin and Ontario (in 2021, Ontario reported 22 pairs).
One reason for the decline in the bird’s population is a reduced acreage of suitable breeding habitat. The ground-nesting Kirtland’s warbler relies exclusively on young jack pine forests to breed, with the vast majority of the birds living on designated state- and federally-managed acreage in northern Lower Michigan. But there currently aren’t enough young jack pine stands available to maintain a stable population of Kirtland’s warblers, so the state and federal agencies will adjust the tree-harvesting strategy to create more breeding habitat in designated management areas.
The Michigan DNR has worked closely with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service and other groups for decades to create habitat for the Kirtland’s warbler through jack pine plantings (the bird will only nest in jack pine stands that are about 6-20 years old). The goal is to maintain at least 1,000 pairs of Kirtland’s warblers.
By selling timber to clearcut mature jack pine followed by planting jack pine seedlings, land managers provided a consistent amount of young habitat to support this goal. The strategy mimics how jack pine naturally regenerates after wildfire by creating a mosaic of thickets and openings. Many other early-successional plant and animal species benefit from this commitment on the landscape.
However, in recent years it has become evident that previous management practices need to be updated. Early intensive efforts to create habitat ramped up in the late 1980s and 40 years of implementing jack pine plantings have resulted in a majority of the management areas with 30- to 40-year-old jack pine stands. Because these stands are intentionally planted at higher densities for better habitat compared to other types of planted stands, they are not commercially marketable for clearcutting until they are at least 60 years old. This has left land managers with less opportunity to create young habitat over the last decade.
“While a population decline is not what we wanted to see this census, it is encouraging that we already understand the principal cause and conservation team members are taking steps to address the issue,” said Steve Roels, coordinator of the Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team and Kirtland’s warbler program director for the American Bird Conservancy.
The conservation team is developing a 10-year Breeding Range Conservation Plan to effectively manage the habitat. The primary strategy is to use novel approaches to cut jack pine stands in the surplus 20- and 30-year age classes, in addition to 60-year-old stands, to ensure annual habitat goals are met consistently. To the extent possible, the younger timber will be sold as mulch or as a renewable energy resource on the biomass market. Land managers are also evaluating the feasibility and safety of increasing prescribed fire use.
“This strategy continues to create habitat and also allows the 40-year age class to continue growing and become merchantable. If we kept trying to harvest from the 40-year age class we would be perpetuating the problem,” said Jason Hartman, silvicultural specialist for the Michigan DNR. This strategy will benefit local economies, Kirtland’s warblers and other species associated with the jack pine ecosystem.
Other strategies in the management plan include transitioning away from jack pine plantations where possible in favor of lower-cost natural regeneration and partnering with university researchers to evaluate new habitat management techniques. The plan also calls for periodic monitoring of brown-headed cowbird nest parasitism. Cowbirds lay eggs in the nests of Kirtland's warblers and other bird species. The larger cowbird chicks out-compete warbler chicks for food, which causes them to die, while the warbler parents unknowingly raise the cowbird chick.
Unforeseen factors affect the Kirtland warbler’s population as well. Victory referenced a 2023 hailstorm that wiped out half of the jack pine seedlings at a DNR-contracted nursery that were slated for planting and wildfire in the breeding areas that can change the amount of habitat. Additionally, hurricanes during migration and dry winters on the species’ wintering grounds in the Bahamas can stress or kill birds, with fewer birds returning to northern Michigan the following year.
“The decline in the Kirtland’s warbler population is likely due to a decline in available breeding habitat, but there are other factors that we can’t control that are associated with higher bird mortality,” Victory said.
The Kirtland’s warbler was federally endangered for nearly 50 years. The population dropped to fewer than 200 pairs in the 1970s and again in the 1980s when the population was restricted to only 14 townships in six counties in northern Lower Michigan. Thanks to a decades-long, collaborative effort to recover the species by federal, state and private partners, the bird was removed from the federal endangered species list in 2019.
“The Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team is a highly collaborative group that has been working to ensure the survival of the Kirtland’s warbler for more than 50 years,” said Phil Huber, a wildlife biologist and chair of the conservation team. “I am confident that this group will continue to do what is necessary for this at-risk species and other plants and animals in the jack pine ecosystem.”
The Kirtland’s warbler remains a state-threatened species in Michigan because it is conservation-reliant, meaning it will not persist without intensive management. The majority of the population nests in a 10-county area in the northern Lower Peninsula, primarily from Grayling to Oscoda.
Kirtland's warbler surveys have been conducted in Michigan since 1951. A full survey, or census, is conducted every two to four years. State and federal agency staff and volunteers survey jack pine nesting areas, listening for singing males advertising and defending nesting territories. Each recorded male is presumed to have a mate, so the number of males also indicates the number of breeding pairs.
While Victory said surveys in coming years may show the bird’s numbers coming close to or even dropping below the population threshold of 1,000 breeding pairs, she’s confident the population will rebound with the conservation team’s habitat management strategies.
“The real strength of the management of the Kirtland’s warbler lies in the collective efforts of the conservation team,” Victory said. “The collaborations and partnerships that we’ve leveraged among our state, federal and private partners will continue to be a driving force behind maintaining a sustainable population of the Kirtland’s warbler and other species in the jack pine ecosystem.”
Volunteers Sought for
State Parks Workdays
Several state parks in southern Michigan will host stewardship workdays, where volunteers are needed to pull invasive plants, survey beaches, clean up the dunes and help high-quality ecosystems thrive.
Workdays will take place at:
• Island Lake Recreation Area (Livingston County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 10.
• Yankee Springs Recreation Area (Barry County), 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Aug. 16.
• Muskegon State Park (Muskegon County), 10 a.m. to noon, Sunday, Aug. 17.
• Fort Custer Recreation Area (Kalamazoo County), 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Aug. 23.
• Saugatuck Dunes State Park (Allegan County), 10 a.m. to noon, Sunday, Aug. 24.
• Pinckney Recreation Area (Washtenaw County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 24.
Visit the DNR volunteer events calendar at michigan.gov/dnr/ about/get-involved/volunteer-events for more details.
Workdays will take place at:
• Island Lake Recreation Area (Livingston County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 10.
• Yankee Springs Recreation Area (Barry County), 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Aug. 16.
• Muskegon State Park (Muskegon County), 10 a.m. to noon, Sunday, Aug. 17.
• Fort Custer Recreation Area (Kalamazoo County), 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Aug. 23.
• Saugatuck Dunes State Park (Allegan County), 10 a.m. to noon, Sunday, Aug. 24.
• Pinckney Recreation Area (Washtenaw County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 24.
Visit the DNR volunteer events calendar at michigan.gov/dnr/ about/get-involved/volunteer-events for more details.
Plant a Bit of Shade to Maximize
Cooling Roof, Walls and Windows
By Melinda Myers
Summer heat may have you seeking comfort from a nearby shade tree. You immediately experience as much as a 15-to-20 degree drop in temperature and enjoy the relief it provides.
Bring this shady relief home by looking for ways to include trees in your landscape. First, monitor patterns of sun and shade on and around your home throughout the day and throughout the year as the angle and position of the sun changes. Observe the impact your home, neighboring homes, sheds and existing plantings have on the sunlight reaching your landscape.
Consider providing welcome shade where needed during the hottest hours of the day and weeks of the year. Look for opportunities to plant trees where you can make a difference in your comfort and money spent cooling your home.
Plant trees, if space allows, near those areas where you spend time outdoors. Shading patios and decks makes them more inviting on a hot summer day. Deciduous trees that drop their leaves in winter allow you to soak up some welcome sunshine during the cooler months of the year.
Maximize the cooling benefits to your home by planting trees on the east and west side of your house. Shading the roof, walls and windows greatly reduces heat gain and energy needed to cool your home. Since about 75 percent of the heat gain in a building comes through the windows, shading them can greatly increase your comfort and reduce money spent cooling your home. Once again, deciduous trees provide needed shade in summer and allow warming sunlight into homes during the cooler months.
Don’t overlook paved areas near your home that greatly impact the air temperature. Shading paved drives and walks reduces heat absorbed that is released back into the surrounding air. Lowering the temperature of the space around your home helps lower the indoor temperature.
Shading an air conditioner can increase its efficiency by as much as 10 percent, reducing energy use and saving you money. If space is limited, consider planting a shade-producing shrub or vine trained on a trellis. Be sure to provide space around the unit for needed airflow.
Avoid underground and overhead utilities when planting trees. Tall trees that eventually grow into the wires or structures may interfere with utilities and power transmission, creating a real hazard.
Improper placement results in pruning that ruins their beauty or requires removal, eliminating any benefit they provided. Always call 811 as you plan new plantings and at least three business days before placing the first shovel in the ground. It can help reduce the risk of injury and avoid the inconvenience that can happen when you damage an underground utility.
Consult your local university extension service and energy company for plant selection and placement recommendations for your area. Those living in wildfire prone areas need to also consider fire-safe landscaping practices.
No room to plant trees on your property? Consider joining the local tree board or other tree planting group. Adding trees to your community can help you and your neighbors create a healthier, cooler environment that everyone can enjoy.
—————
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is MelindaMyers.com.
Summer heat may have you seeking comfort from a nearby shade tree. You immediately experience as much as a 15-to-20 degree drop in temperature and enjoy the relief it provides.
Bring this shady relief home by looking for ways to include trees in your landscape. First, monitor patterns of sun and shade on and around your home throughout the day and throughout the year as the angle and position of the sun changes. Observe the impact your home, neighboring homes, sheds and existing plantings have on the sunlight reaching your landscape.
Consider providing welcome shade where needed during the hottest hours of the day and weeks of the year. Look for opportunities to plant trees where you can make a difference in your comfort and money spent cooling your home.
Plant trees, if space allows, near those areas where you spend time outdoors. Shading patios and decks makes them more inviting on a hot summer day. Deciduous trees that drop their leaves in winter allow you to soak up some welcome sunshine during the cooler months of the year.
Maximize the cooling benefits to your home by planting trees on the east and west side of your house. Shading the roof, walls and windows greatly reduces heat gain and energy needed to cool your home. Since about 75 percent of the heat gain in a building comes through the windows, shading them can greatly increase your comfort and reduce money spent cooling your home. Once again, deciduous trees provide needed shade in summer and allow warming sunlight into homes during the cooler months.
Don’t overlook paved areas near your home that greatly impact the air temperature. Shading paved drives and walks reduces heat absorbed that is released back into the surrounding air. Lowering the temperature of the space around your home helps lower the indoor temperature.
Shading an air conditioner can increase its efficiency by as much as 10 percent, reducing energy use and saving you money. If space is limited, consider planting a shade-producing shrub or vine trained on a trellis. Be sure to provide space around the unit for needed airflow.
Avoid underground and overhead utilities when planting trees. Tall trees that eventually grow into the wires or structures may interfere with utilities and power transmission, creating a real hazard.
Improper placement results in pruning that ruins their beauty or requires removal, eliminating any benefit they provided. Always call 811 as you plan new plantings and at least three business days before placing the first shovel in the ground. It can help reduce the risk of injury and avoid the inconvenience that can happen when you damage an underground utility.
Consult your local university extension service and energy company for plant selection and placement recommendations for your area. Those living in wildfire prone areas need to also consider fire-safe landscaping practices.
No room to plant trees on your property? Consider joining the local tree board or other tree planting group. Adding trees to your community can help you and your neighbors create a healthier, cooler environment that everyone can enjoy.
—————
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is MelindaMyers.com.
