How it Happened: The History of NY ReLeaf

Welcome to Part One of Council Cofounder Nancy Wolf’s meticulously researched and lively

How it Happened: New York ReLeaf

A Brief History of Urban Forestry in the United States and the Creation of the New York State Program

Part 1 of 2

Answering questions such as:

How does NYS urban forestry have its roots in the Adirondacks?

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What was the role of the first Earth Day (1970) in the genesis of urban forestry as a recognized field of study, volunteer focus, and profession?

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How did New York gain the distinction of having the oldest state forestry agency in the United States?

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When and where were the first national urban forestry conferences held, and who organized them?

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Who were the first NYSDEC Regional Foresters for urban forestry, including the first two women?

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How did volunteers and nonprofits fuel the creation of the urban and community forestry movement in NYS?

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Natural Areas Conservancy Welcomes 12 CUNY Interns for Summer 2020

This month, the Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) kicked off its fifth annual City University of New York (CUNY) internship program. As New Yorkers adjust to new working styles due to COVID-19, the NAC team has worked tirelessly to move the program to a virtual format. They are proud to continue providing high-quality, paid internships for CUNY students, even during this unprecedented time.

The NAC’s Jessica Hoch manages the internship program. She says, “This year, we’re thrilled to offer remote internships for CUNY students who are passionate about conserving New York City’s natural areas. We’ve developed a curriculum focused on forest ecology and management for the students to learn and advance in the coming weeks.” The 12 interns will work virtually in four teams of three, with one Crew Leader and two Crew Members. The projects they complete this summer will allow NAC staff and NYC Parks to better understand local forest health and prioritize future forest management efforts.

Green-Wood Cemetery as Habitat & Ecosystem: Webinar this Friday June 26th

Friday, June 26, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

pyramid cemetery meadow

Credit: Art Presson

Register here

Did you know that Green-Wood is actively converting areas of traditional lawn to naturalistic meadow plantings? We are leading the way in this new trend among cemeteries. These meadows provide wildlife habitat and other important ecosystem services— all while providing a beautiful atmosphere for visitors. Join Jenna Webster, Senior Associate at Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, to learn what it takes to make layered, dynamic plantings work within the cemetery context and understand what such plantings mean for the aesthetic traditions of memorial landscapes.

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NY ReLeaf Webinar: Ecological Assessment of New York City’s Natural Areas

Join NY ReLeaf for an urban forestry webinar on July 21st at 10 AM! The Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) exists to restore and conserve the green and blue spaces of New York City in order to enhance the lives of all New Yorkers. In this webinar, NAC Project Manager Justin Bowers will talk about recent research done in NYC to create a detailed picture of the composition and condition of NYC’s forests and wetlands.

The study collected ecological data in over 1000 plots throughout the City and provided a wealth of data that contributed significantly to the creation of the Forest Management Framework, a guiding document for forest restoration and conservation in NYC over the next 25 years.

Online registration is free but required in advance.

What’s a Tree Worth? Nina Bassuk Students Annual Tree Tag Tradition

 

What’s a tree worth?

In what has become an annual tradition (save, sadly, for the spring of 2020), students in Nina Bassuk’s Creating the Urban Eden: Woody Plant Selection, Design, and Landscape Establishment class at Cornell are helping to make people more aware of the full value of trees. In a typical spring, they hang bright green “price tags” on trunks around the Ag Quad that show the dollar value of a tree’s ecosystem services. The students use i-Tree to enter data and calculate ecosystem service value.

Read the full story on the Cornell Urban Horticulture Institute blog.

Quick Start Grant Recipient Town of Glenville Achieves Tree City USA Status, Plants 200 Trees

Town of Glenville staff Matt and Joe plant trees as part of the community’s extended 2020 Arbor Day celebration, funded in part by a NYSUFC Quick Start grant. The Town also recently achieved Tree City USA status. Congrats to Glenville!

This account was provided by the Town of Glenville. 

The Town of Glenville in Schenectady County envisioned a one-day Arbor Day event to plant trees and clean the parks. That was pre-pandemic. Post-pandemic the Town found the perfect opportunity to tout our parks and tree planting online.

Going online helped keep residents focused on positive actions. Over the course of the past few months we encouraged the public to plant trees, explore nature (alone), and celebrate Arbor Day.

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Your Input Sought on a Possible New Urban Forest Certification Standard

From David Sivyer, Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager for the Eastern Region of the U.S. Forest Service 

Greetings Urban and Community Forestry Program Managers and friends,

Urban and community forests are a significant resource in North America and are likely to continue to increase in significance based upon demographic, economic, and environmental trends. As such, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is hosting a webinar on June 9, 2020 from 1:00-3:00 PM eastern time to explore the potential value of collaborating to develop a customized urban forest certification standard. Input received from participants during the webinar will inform a task work group that is being convened to assess the need for the standard.

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