Electric Power Tools for Habitat Restoration
We are passionate about not only improving habitat, but doing so in the most sustainable and cost-effective way possible. Gasoline power tools often emit more carbon and ozone than newly installed plantings can mitigate, which leads to a net source of pollution. That's why we have only used 100% electric power tools for our projects.
We presented on this issue at the 2023 Urban Ecological Research Consortium in Portland, Oregon. By switching to electric tools, habitat restoration projects can become more sustainable and better achieve goals of environmental improvement over time. The poster below contains key points when considering electric tools.
Poster presented at UERC 2023: "Electric Power Tool Assessment, Improving Sustainability on Habitat Restoration Projects.
Ian Hunter showing the poster to conference attendants.
Did you know that 2-stroke engines can create up to 300 more air pollution than pick-up trucks, per gallon of gas? Electric tools have zero emissions during operation, while also being more quiet, light, and inexpensive to operate over time.
Thank you to everyone we met here, and we hope to do it again soon!
Reading about electric power tools for habitat restoration took me back to the summer I spent volunteering with a local watershed group. We were tasked with clearing invasive willow saplings along a riparian corridor, and the crew brought a battery‑operated brush cutter that seemed almost magical compared to the hand shears we’d used before. The tool cut through thick stems with minimal effort, allowing us to finish a mile of bank in half the time we’d anticipated. I remember the quiet hum of the motor blending with the birdsong, and how the lack of a noisy gas engine meant the wildlife barely noticed our presence. That day taught me that the right equipment can make restoration work feel less like…
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