[Ccpg] Ironworker's love of trees restores county

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Ironworker's love of trees restores county

By Gayle Cuddy | nightengayles at aol.com
  Comments (2) |  Recommend (0)
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/780/story/1022511.html



Permaculture is one of those words that we keep hearing and reading 
about, but many of us are not sure exactly what it means.

In fact, my computer puts a red line under it because it doesn't 
recognize it as a word. But Lionel Johnston of Shell Beach knows what 
it means: permanent landscaping that is self-sustaining and benefits 
humans and wildlife.
Johnston is a retired ironworker who is in love with trees, 
especially trees that are native to the Central Coast and will grow 
here easily with little water.
Click image to see caption

He has given away 30,000 trees in San Luis Obispo County during the 
last 20 years, including various oaks, cypress, redwoods, sycamore 
and Catalina cherry.

These trees all have value for wildlife - food (especially acorns), 
leaf litter (good for the red-legged frog and slider turtles) and in 
the taller trees, a spot for nesting raptors to roost. On the other 
side are "hybridized" trees, those that have been bred to bear no 
fruit and are not useful to animals or humans. I planted one such 
tree in my yard recently, not knowing any better.

One Cool Earth is the nonprofit group that Johnston founded 15 years 
ago with Chris and Sue Elliot of Morro Bay. It's purpose is to gather 
acorns and other tree seeds, grow them in containers and then plant 
them at such places as Lopez Lake, Cuesta College, Cal Poly and Whale 
Rock Reservoir.
He has teamed with Cal Poly students, rangers at Lopez Lake, Friends 
of Lopez Lake, Connie Sparks, teacher of environmental horticulture 
at Arroyo Grande High School, and others.

Twenty years ago, he planted 58 live-oak trees on the Cuesta campus. 
They take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air, 
diminishing pollutants.
One Cool Earth came into existence for two purposes: first was the 
gathering of seeds, the planting, growing and then giving away of 
trees; second was the educating of people about the first by reaching 
out to the public about the importance of planting native trees.

Students from Arroyo Grande High School and Cal Poly gathered acorns 
from Lopez Lake in the fall of 2008. They will soon be going back to 
plant the saplings.
The students get community service credit for this. Sparks said the 
students can take one home to plant in their own yard, if desired. 
Students from the Grizzly Youth Academy for at-risk students also 
often help with the plantings.

The tree planting at Lopez Lake is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 20.
Meet in the park entrance parking lot. There will be no park fee, and 
the public is invited.

As an ironworker, Johnston helped build bridges, dams, the Space 
Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, and the Kennedy 
Library and architecture building at Cal Poly.

As a retired volunteer, he is building live forests for the benefit 
of generations to come.

"The wealth is in the satisfaction of seeing these young people doing 
something positive and life creating that they carry forward with 
them," Johnston said.
For more information about tree plantings, call Johnston at 801-0668, 
or go to www.onecoolearth.org.
The South?County Beat appears every other week. Anyone with story 
ideas involving interesting people in the South County can reach 
Gayle Cuddy at 489-1026 or nightengayles at aol.com.
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