Hi folks<\/p>\n
This month Ely Climate Group will meet on Tuesday September 15th<\/sup>\u00a0at 4pm at the Ely Community Center (27 S 1st<\/sup>\u00a0Ave East, Ely MN). Riley Smith from Ely\u2019s Tree Board and Community Coordinator at Friends of the Boundary Waters will talk about Ely\u2019s trees. A new (2026) survey of our city trees was presented to the city council recently by the Tree Board. A lot of careful work was involved with data collection and analysis. The report is available on the Tree Board website. Search for \u201cEly Tree Board\u201d and look for the pdf at the bottom of the page. Riley will explain the data and implications.<\/p>\n There is a lot of work and planning needed to maintain a healthy and diverse population of trees in a city. For example we need to deal with the emerald ash borer which is expected to arrive here in the next few years. Ash trees make up about 8% of Ely\u2019s trees, but some blocks are mostly ash.\u00a0 New trees must be planted each year to make up for those that die due to natural causes like climate, diseases and aging, or to loss from interference with city functions. Maintaining a healthy canopy creates a more livable environment but needs an investment of time, effort and funds.<\/p>\n As usual we will meet in person and by zoom, here is the zoom link:<\/p>\n Topic: Ely Climate Group Sept 15th 2026<\/em><\/p>\n Time: Sep 15, 2026 04:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)<\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/us06web.zoom.us\/j\/89564672565?pwd=sEzbuDo80o6DhKXipp040o6yDjYwK8.1<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Meeting ID: 895 6467 2565<\/em><\/p>\n Passcode: 373021<\/em><\/p>\n Last month we had a lively discussion about Ely\u2019s response to help residents and evacuees from the July fires. We had three speakers. Megan Wind represented Ely Community Response Team (ECRT), Bret Pence spoke for Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light (MNIPL) with his experience developing \u201cResilience Hubs\u201d, and Aaron Kania, candidate for MN House seat 3A, talked about community organizing in the face of fires. Thank you to our presenters.\u00a0 A recording of this meeting is available on the Ely Climate Group YouTube channel:\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=r6hoIaPpo4w&t=3743s<\/a><\/p>\n Finally here is another resource with emphasis on local trees. Sam Reed, who is the Climate and Conservation Manager from Friends of the Boundary Waters, has started a new Substack called \u201cBoreal Compass\u201d. The first post is written by Sam Reed and Lee Frehlich. It discusses the effects of climate on northern ecosystems, especially the Boundary Waters. It is short, readable and excellently done. You can find it here and subscribe for future postings.\u00a0https:\/\/borealcompass.substack.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n