Read this month’s issue here and subscribe here.
Tree Planting
Trees Naturally Social Distance (and So Can You!): Planning Safe Tree Planting Events for the Fall
Iowa-based Trees Forever has done some socially-distanced planting events this spring, and in this webinar they share what has worked for them, what to consider, and ways to make it work. They walk through some great tips as well as the online-survey they’re using to manage volunteers signing up for shifts to plant. These guidelines are included in the Trees Forever webinar and will be a great resource for ReLeaf Committee members and partners hoping to plan some fall planting events. —Christina McLaughlin, NYSDEC Urban & Community Partnership Coordinator
Socially Distanced-Style, CCE Nassau Plants Tree for Arbor Day
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County planted a red oak (Quercus rubra) tree on Arbor Day on April 24th at the new location for their administration office. CCE Nassau County Hort and UCF Educator, Council Board Member, and ISA Certified Arborist Vinnie Drzewucki led the planting effort.
Here’s the event flyer, letting folks know how they could participate virtually, and referring people to Arbor Day resources, including Six Ways to Celebrate Arbor Day in a Time of Social Distancing and Happy Arbor Day (at Home).
DEC: Tree Nursery 2020 Seedling Sale & Buffer in a Bag Giveaway
DEC Nursery’s Spring Sale Happening Now
DEC’s Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery’s annual seedling sale is happening now! Dozens of tree and shrub species are available for purchase for conservation plantings across New York State. You can browse this year’s selection on our website, and we recommend placing your order by phone for the most up-to-date species availability information. The sale runs until May 15th, and seedlings are shipped mid-April through May.
Buffer in a Bag – Deadline April 10 (or While Supplies Last)
Don’t forget – if you’re a landowner with at least 50 feet of streamside property in New York State, you may be eligible for 25 free tree and shrub seedlings through DEC’s Buffer in a Bag initiative! Buffer in a Bag seedlings are intended to create riparian buffers that help prevent erosion, improve water quality, and create wildlife habitat along water.
Qualifying landowners are selected on a first-come, first-served basis now through April 10, while supplies last. Learn more and find an application on Buffer in a Bag program website.
Liverpool NY 2nd Annual Arbor Day Celebration
Thank you to the Village of Liverpool and Deputy Mayor Christina Fadden (Fitch) for forwarding this terrific account and photos of their 2019 celebration, funded by a NYSUFC grant. Fadden says, “The grant funds were a great encouragement, and we also now stand on the cusp of finally being designated a Tree City USA. Thank you to the NYS Urban Forestry Council for your support of our efforts and program.”
On Friday May 3rd, 2019, the Village of Liverpool celebrated its 2nd Annual Arbor Day Celebration at Liverpool Elementary School. At 9:00 a.m., an assembly of approximately 280 students, teachers and staff gathered in the school cafeteria. Village of Liverpool Tree Advisory Committee members Lisa Ballantyne, Yvette Hewitt, Diane Recor and Adam Woodburn joined Mayor of the Village of Liverpool Gary White, DEC Senior Forester Matthew Swayze, and Officer Sean Pierce in attendance.
Partnerships, Fruit Trees, and Land Restoration in the Peruvian Amazon, with James Kaechele
All Photos Courtesy James Kaechele & Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
What skills does an urban forester use when planting trees on disturbed land along an Amazon River tributary? “All of them,” says New York Tree Trust Director and Council Executive Committee Member James Kaechele. In early December, 2019, Kaechele, also a consulting arborist for the Pittsburgh-based international charity Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF), went with a team of staff and volunteers to the Loreta Region of Peru to plant 6,000 fruit trees in five Amazon River communities.
“As urban foresters, our job is equal parts plants and people,” Kaechele says. “We’re uniquely positioned to coordinate both the arboricultural and human aspects of a project like this. The land-use questions are the same; the site assessment process is the same; tree planting techniques are the same; you have to address any concerns people have—for example, the worry that some have about whether a tree will fall on their house—it’s the same skills that I use in the work I do with street trees and residents in NYC.” Furthermore, the land along the Amazon River is often severely degraded and in need of restoration, just like in the tree beds, parks, and natural areas of NYC—just degraded for different reasons.
i-Tree Planting Calculator Analysis of Buffalo’s Fall 2018 Tree Plantings
As part of the first i-Tree Online Academy, participants were asked to complete a comprehensive final capstone project that demonstrated their ability to utilize the i-Tree tools to analyze trees in their community or to engage community residents in examining the greenspace in their city or town. Projects were developed by each student and they were responsible to carry out all aspects of the design, planning, and implementation of each program.
Buffalo City Forester Ross Hassinger’s project involved the City’s 2018 street tree planting. In the fall season (Oct 15-Dec 31) of 2018, the city of Buffalo put out bids for a local licensed landscape company to plant 56 street trees in the City in various locations as shown in the map above. This is Ross’s report created after conducting his i-Tree Online Academy capstone project.
Callery Pear Tree Buy-Back Event: A Template from Missouri
Like so many regions in New York, nearly every corner of Missouri has been hit hard with the invasive spread of Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana spp.). Callery pears are self-sterile, but it turns out they readily cross-pollinate with other cultivars. Also, the rootstock upon which a Bradford pear is grafted will sometimes sprout, eventually yielding flowers and viable pollen.
Fortunately, Missourians are often out in front with innovative approaches to urban forestry and invasive plant control. Here’s how they reduced the number of Callery pears and increased the use of native, non-invasive trees. Special thanks to Tina Casagrand of the Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force (MoIP) for her help with this post.
Watertown’s Fall Tree Planting Attracts >60 Volunteers
Watertown’s 2019 Annual Fall Volunteer Tree Planting Project attracted more than 60 volunteers (many from Tree Watertown) to plant 28 bare root trees. The volunteer tree planting project was paid for in part by a $3000 grant from the Northern New York Community Foundation, which paid for the purchase of trees and planting supplies.
Town of Kent Launches Community Forestry Program with Aid of Council Grant
The town of Kent, NY (pop. ~ 13,500) is located in Putnam County. In 2018, the freak EF2 (110 mph at peak) tornado of May 15 plowed through a portion of Kent, uprooting or toppling 40 trees around Lake Carmel. The Town applied for and received a Council grant to plant red maples and white oaks in some key locations around the Lake. The initially scheduled spring planting activities had to be postponed due to unseasonal weather. Town of Kent Councilman Bill Huestis says, “The great news is that we finalized our initial tree planting in late June around Lake Carmel, and as of this writing all of the trees are doing fine.”