Jesse Saindon has spent most of his adult life growing trees. As the owner of Liberty Tree Nursery in Beaver Dam, New Brunswick, Jesse tends to a unique mix of hardwood trees native to the Wabanaki forest—also known as the Acadian forest. In this episode of Below the Canopy, Jesse explains what inspired him to open Liberty Tree Nursery, his process for collecting locally-adapted seeds, and his motivations for growing bur oak—an ecologically and culturally significant tree species that is now rare in New Brunswick.

Resources and further reading:

• Bur Oak: King of the Floodplains, Liberty Tree Nursery, Aug 30, 2021
• Conservationists work to save dwindling population of bur oak trees, CBC New Brunswick, Dec 23, 2021
• Past and present distribution of New Brunswick bur oak populations: a case for conservation, McPhee, D. & Loo, J.A., 2009
• Climate Change-Resilience in the Acadian Forest: A Review, Community Forests International, 2018

We would like to acknowledge the Government of Canada for supporting this project.

Podcast artwork by Emma Hassencahl-Perley and Erin Goodine.

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