Discover: Deforestation: The Forest Sponge

In the 1930s Western Canada became a windy dustbowl. Lakes went dry and starving animals were fed thistles. Swarms of locusts ate the handles off rakes, and even the shirts off people's backs. Some families survived by eating gophers. Many families lost their homes in the Great Depression. Why?

There were many reasons, but one reason was simply Western Canadians had logged too many trees. They did not use trees for windbreaks and the topsoil was blowing away.

Watch the National Film Board of Canada video Windbreaks on the Prairies to find out how Alberta and Saskatchewan planted trees to stop the dust bowl or read the following article from Western Oklahoma to find out more.