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North Collins Celebrates First-Ever Arbor Day

North Collins kindergartners helped heel in the swamp white trees planted on Arbor Day 2018, the town’s first AD celebration. Photos Courtesy Town of North Collins

With the help of a grant from the Council, the Town of North Collins (pop. approx 3600) in Erie County celebrated its first-ever Arbor Day on April 27. Kindergartners read tree tributes and helped plant two swamp white oaks (Quercus bicolor) in the Marion J. Fricano Town Park at the future Veterans Tribute site. North Collins Town Supervisor John Tobia spoke at the event about the origins of Arbor Day.

Location of North Collins in Erie County in New York State.

In addition to kindergartners and their teachers, the event was attended by Town Board Councilwoman Ellen Mathis, Town Clerk Lynn DiVencenzo, the Veterans Tribute Committee, and Town Forestry Committee Chair Wes Awald, whom Tobia thanked for his special effort getting this Arbor Day celebration organized. 

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New Windsor’s Inaugural Arbor Day Celebration

On this rainy Arbor Day, New Windsor veterans, school kids, and other community members moved the tree dedication indoors, to the New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps bays.

On April 27, 2018 the Town of New Windsor Tree Committee, in conjunction with the Town of New Windsor, hosted its inaugural Arbor Day tree dedication ceremony.  Executive Assistant to Town Supervisor George Green / Chief of Staff Colin Schmitt provided this report. 

This event was made possible thanks to a generous grant from the New York State Urban Forestry Council, which was used to purchase five eastern redbud trees and related supplies.

Thanks to the publicity from the grant and event, we secured additional donations of trees which led to the planting of 13 new trees around the town hall complex—eastern redbud, Kwanzan cherry, and weeping cherry trees.

We used the Arbor Day event to dedicate trees to specific veteran and first responder organizations. The event included the dedication of the trees, with a ceremonial planting for each organization, and the reading of descriptions of the specific trees. Over 100 people attended from a wide array of organizations and backgrounds. 

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Deadline to Apply for Environmental Justice Grants Extended to July 27, 2018

DEC Extends Application Period for Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants
Deadline to Apply for Grants Extended to July 27, 2018

Green infrastructure (bioswale). Photo by Karen Emmerich

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos recently announced the extension of the application period for Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants. The deadline to submit applications has been extended to July 27, 2018. In April, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that $4.5 Million in Community Impact Grant funding is available to help communities facing environmental justice challenges address environmental concerns. The funding is provided by the State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).

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Trees for Tribs Grant Funding! Apps Due Sept 7, 2018

DEC Announces $525,000 in Grant Funding Available to Improve Water Quality Through Tree Planting Projects

07/03/2018

DEC Announces $525,000 in Grant Funding Available to Improve Water Quality Through Tree Planting Projects Streamside Plantings Improve Wildlife Habitat, Protect Water Quality and Increase Resiliency New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the first round of statewide competitive grants for the Trees for Tributaries Program, designed to support riparian tree planting projects for communities across the State. Approximately $525,000 in grant funding is available to help plant trees and shrubs along streams to improve wildlife habitat, water quality and storm resiliency. 

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Pine Hollow Arboretum: Environmental Education in the Capital District

Arboreta are a unique component of the urban forest, a place where we can see the breadth of beautiful trees and shrubs suited to our climate. They also make excellent outdoor environmental education labs.

For the 7th year, NYSUFC organizational member The Pine Hollow Arboretum in Slingerlands (a suburb of Albany), is providing an opportunity for area students to connect with nature in a meaningful way. The goals of the program are to increase overall environmental literacy and stewardship, to foster an appreciation for biodiversity, and to provide a venue for collaboration across socioeconomic and cultural barriers serving as a step towards community connectivity in the Capital District. 

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With Arbor Day 2018, Nassau County is on Its Way to Tree City USA

from left: Bob Sympson, Laura Cullen, Rob Alvey, Norma Gonsalvez, Richard Anerdos, and Lawrence Ferrandiz planting the serviceberry tree at the Nassau County Executive Bldg for Arbor Day. All photos courtesy Nassau County Tree Advisory Board

Bob Sympson of Nassau County is a volunteer tree planting enthusiast, NYSUFC member, and member of the Region 1 ReLeaf Committee. He prepared opening remarks for the County’s April 26, 2018 Arbor Day observance and tree planting, notably attended by County Executive Laura Curran. 

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Rochester ReLeaf: RIT, Our Extraordinary Campus Host

Our campus host for Rochester ReLeaf 2018 is the world-renowned Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). RIT is a privately endowed, coeducational university with nine colleges emphasizing career education and experiential learning.

  • RIT was founded in 1829! How is this possible, you say? You can read the history here.
  • The RIT campus occupies 1,300 acres in suburban Rochester, which is the third-largest city in New York State. RIT also has international locations in China, Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo.
  • The student body consists of approximately 15,700 undergraduate and 3,250 graduate students. Students from across the United States and from over 100 countries attend RIT. Nearly 3,500 students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds are enrolled on the main campus along with more than 2,700 international students. An additional 2,200 students are enrolled at RIT’s international locations.
  • Women were welcomed at RIT decades before other colleges even considered co-education.
  • RIT is the third largest producer of undergraduate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) degrees among all private universities in the nation.
  • The Institute’s programs ranking in the top 10 nationally are in the following areas: computing security, film and animation, fine arts (glass, metals and jewelry design), industrial design, online MBA, photography, and video game design.
  • RIT has award-winning programs in a host of uncommon disciplines: sustainability, medical illustration, microelectronic engineering, packaging science, museum studies, American sign language/English interpretation, and diagnostic medical sonography.
  • RIT is home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), the world’s first and largest technological college for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. President Lyndon Johnson and Congress established NTID in 1968.
  • One of the world’s greenest universities, RIT has two LEED platinum buildings and several LEED gold level buildings. RIT is home to the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and a massive 2-megawatt, 6.5-acre solar energy farm—among the largest for any New York college.

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Rochester ReLeaf Keynote: New York Tree Law

The Friday morning keynote address for Rochester ReLeaf will be given by Laura E. Ayers, Esq., who specializes in property matters all over the State. One of her firm’s specialties is adjoining landowner disputes that involve tree ownership and maintenance. In this hour keynote, Laura will present on interesting facets of New York Tree Law pertinent to those of us involved in urban and community forestry.

Rochester ReLeaf Beckons: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Documentary Screening & Discussion

On Thursday afternoon (July 26) of the Council’s ReLeaf Conference in Rochester, panelists Cornell Extension Associate Mark Whitmore, NYS Parks Natural Heritage Program’s Julie Lundgren, and Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) Coordinator Hillary Mosher will be screening “The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: A Film About the Loss of an Ecosystem.”

This award-winning, 23-minute film is an educational visual resource to engage, raise awareness, and create momentum on this destructive forest pest and invasive species in general. A panel discussion will follow the film.

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