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SMA Announces Giant Sequoia as 2021 Urban Tree of the Year
Each fall, members of the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) nominate and vote for the SMA Urban Tree of the Year. Tree species or cultivars of species native to the U.S. Midwest, South, and East have dominated the Urban Tree of the Year program in its 25-year history (see past winners here).
For 2021, SMAers in the western states of the U.S. must have gotten organized; their collective might pushed the majestic giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) over the finish line. (And yes, there are giant sequoias that have been planted and are thriving in New York State, including at Wave Hill in the Bronx, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, and New York Botanical Garden, and on private properties on Long Island. We’ve also gotten reports of giant sequoia trees doing splendidly in southeastern Connecticut.)
Volunteers Restore Manorhaven Preserve on Long Island with Native Plants
“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” Kahil Gebran
According to a 2017 article on the blog Patch: Port Washington, Long Island edition, the Native Plant Garden in Manorhaven Nature Preserve was a project initiated in 2017 by Nassau County Master Gardener Pat Valente and realized with the help of many fellow volunteers. To date, the community has planted more than 1000 native plants, including eighteen species of Long Island native trees, in the Preserve.
Jamestown Community College Plants Sugar Maple to Celebrate 11 Years as Tree Campus USA
DEC Urban Forestry Series for Tree Check Month
This month NYSDEC Urban & Community Forestry Partnerships Coordinator Christina McLaughlin is filming UCF Program Technical Coordinator Dan Gaidasz for several Tree Check Month videos through FB Live. But you can watch them anytime! This video about Undoing the Damage Caused by Mulch Volcanos is available on the NYSDEC FB page as will be the next two videos, when Dan covers Tree Cavities and Managing Climbing Vines.
Creative Tree ID Education from @localecologist
Sharing with permission of NYC-based urban forester, researcher, and educator Georgia (@localecologist on Instagram) an elegantly simple idea for raising folks’ awareness about city trees through tree ID. See also @wspecoprojects for clever, local environmental education project ideas.
2020 ReLeaf Conference in Buffalo Rescheduled for 2021
In case you missed the announcement in May’s TAKING ROOT news …
From President Karen Emmerich
Sadly, due to the pandemic, we had to cancel the 2020 ReLeaf conference scheduled for July 23-25th in Buffalo. But the good news is that the Region 9 ReLeaf group has agreed to host the conference next summer, so put July 22-24th, 2021 on your calendar. We don’t want all their hard work to be in vain. It’s disappointing, but I think it’s the right decision.
I know many people had to postpone or cancel their Arbor Day celebrations, but in my town, we’re going to focus on an Arbor Week celebration in November. We’re all trying to make the best of a tough situation, so we have to be creative. As things open up in the months ahead, I hope we can re-establish our regional meetings/workshops. But until then, please stay safe and take time to smell the flowers.
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