A tree growing technology discovered on the prairies may, eventually, change the world.

That is the claim of Rodney Sidloski the Executive Director of HELP International who recently presented his findings at the RM of Hanover Office. Sidloski says he has patented a new way of growing trees by floating them on water; an idea that bypasses the mechanized methods of the greenhouse and is incredibly inexpensive. He believes this invention could be of significant value to both local communities and struggling communities across the world. 

This may seem like an unusual concept to pursue, but Sidloski has good reason. He lived in Ghana for many years where he was surrounded by poverty and saw that people oftentimes lacked the resources to produce their own food. With this in mind, he decided to create a way of growing trees that was so cheap anyone in the world could afford them.

Nearly 10 years since his research began, he now touts his invention as the two-penny tree. Sidloski claims his invention can hold up to 55 trees per square metre and uses roughly 93.5% less water than a traditional greenhouse would.  

The idea seemed to pique many people's interest. Residents and councilors from municipalities like Hanover, Steinbach, La Broquerie and even Springfield attended Sidloski's session. Many even stayed afterward to participate in a hands-on workshop illustrating the ease of the system. 

People from across Manitoba came to the RM of Hanover Office to learn about Sidloski's technology.

“Tree cuttings are placed in the very same containers that are in greenhouses," says Sidloski explaining his process, "but instead of using all of that expensive technology and nutrient feeding, they are simply placed in a small amount of soil and floated on open water bodies.”

Sidloski notes that the exact size of the body of water can vary from a pond to a dugout to an old Rubbermaid bin filled with water. He feels the implications of this are huge.

“In a city like Steinbach, you could have a beautiful floating garden of a hundred thousand trees in the middle of a pond as an eco-tourism centre that doubles as your biggest industrial tree production unit.”

Sidloski says the plants can still thrive in containers as small as an old plastic bin.

According to Sidloski, this simple invention enables anyone, in both rural and urban settings, to grow hundreds of trees in their own backyards nearly free of charge. From the day after they are planted in the floating water to the day of their harvest, there is no input needed by humans or technology and so no additional cost or labor. The plants merely sit there and grow.

Sidloski adds that the trees can remain in the water for up to five years, through frozen winters and hot summers, and will continue to live healthy lives.

Sidloski boasts that his bottom-fed irrigation system flies in the face of typical plant production that uses top watering and bottom aeration. In some ways, it even contradicts conventional science.

“Foresters and biologists are saying this is counter-intuitive and should not work; to me this points to a major breakthrough.”

Sidloski's research shows that all kinds of plants have been proven to work in this floating system.

Sidloski adds that it is not only trees that have been proven to flourish in this system but nearly every plant he has tried. “Any plant can work if the cuttings are conditioned properly.” He believes this basic technology will enable people all across the world to grow food for much cheaper, which is the ultimate goal of his not-for-profit organization. Meanwhile, the same system could help beautify well-established local communities at a very low cost.