How dare you call Alder a cockroach of a tree ! Alder is a hard wood and can be used in making furniture, used as trim, carved and used as eating implements, used for smoking fish, and in building structures. Some folks use Alder when making music instruments.  
Logs cut freshly from Alder can be used to spawn mushrooms too. Dried Alder makes cut fir wood just the right size for wood stoves too. 
I think Alder would be a great tree for them to try out there. They grow very fast too. 
PS. The saw dust that has been sterilized from Alder is often used in large hanging bags for indoor mushroom farming.