LOOK INSIDE: Farmstead Shelterbelts by Brenda J. Brown

17 hours ago

Coming Fall 2026

Shelterbelts are those long rows of trees one sees on North America’s prairies and plains. Farmstead shelterbelts are those that encompass farmers’ residences and workyards.

This book focuses on Manitoba farmstead shelterbelts and the people who live with them. Today’s farmstead shelterbelts are the result of large-scale governmental policies and agencies as well as local vernacular expressions. Taken together, their presence, absence, and/or character indicate larger social, economic, and technological forces as well as ecological and psychological ones.

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“Farming is often investigated from the lens of extraction, of how to make a living from the land. Farmstead Shelterbelts is a beautiful reminder that farming is also a geography of creative construction, of shaping everyday lives through the lens of beauty and vision. Brenda J. Brown leads readers with warmth and insight.”

—Merle Massie, farmer and award-winning author of Forest Prairie Edge: Place History in Saskatchewan

"The North American prairie is vast, and humans have imprinted themselves on it for thousands of years. Farmstead Shelterbelts succeeds in opening up a tiny piece of the grasslands and illustrates in fine detail and imagery how people have adapted it—and adapted to it. "

—Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty, authors of Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie

“Brenda J. Brown provides a thoughtful account of prairie shelterbelts, offering a balanced look at their environmental and cultural value. Grounded in farmers’ voices, the book captures both the rewards and challenges—reminding us these living windbreaks are as much a part of prairie identity as they are tools of the land.”

—William R. Schroeder, author of Trees Against the Wind: The Birth of Prairie Shelterbelts, retired Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientist

“Farmstead Shelterbelts is a welcome and timely tribute to the continuing importance of prairie trees. Brown skillfully combines the multidisciplinary study of trees in Manitoba’s agricultural landscapes with many personal stories. The result is a celebration of the essential and profound relationships humans have with trees.”

—Shari Peyerl, author of the award-winning Alberta’s Cornerstone: Archaeological Adventures in Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park

“Brenda J. Brown captures the disappearing prairie shelterbelts, tracing their ecological, historical, and social roles, thus transforming rows of trees into stories of life. By elegantly documenting these landscapes, including detailed visual-spatial material, she reveals what Canada’s rural environments stand to lose as industrial farming reshapes the land.”

—Alissa North, University of Toronto professor and editor of Innate Terrain: Canadian Landscape Architecture

“Beneath infinite cobalt skies, a horizontal palette of gold, periwinkle, and mustard yellow dominate. The landscape is punctuated by ascending strokes of green—sometimes singular, clustered, or in long strands cleaving the colour field. On the prairie, the presence of trees is an act of deliberation. Read their stories and see the prairie in a different light.”

—Karen Wilson Baptist, author of "Wide Open Space: Towards a Phenomenology for Prairie Landscape Architecture"

“An interesting and thought-provoking book! Bringing together a discussion of prairie geography, agriculture, and shelterbelts, Brenda J. Brown has written a book that is both fascinating to read and an essential resource for those interested in Canadian western development.”

—Sandra Rollings-Magnusson, author of Folklife and Superstition: The Luck, Lore and Views of Prairie Homesteaders