Hi,
The Christian Science Montor headline reads, " man bites dog" - in this case
that trees and community greening are good things. Maybe a few letters to
the Christian Science Monitor on how neighborhood community greening like
community gardening is the full story.
Best wishes,
Adam Honigman
Planting trees
By Ross Atkin
The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0416/p13s02-lihc.html
A tree may grow in Brooklyn, but Gary Moll of American Forests, a
conservation group, would like to see more of them there - and in
Dallas, Des Moines, and Detroit as well.
But the reality is that just the opposite is happening. Over the past 15
years, the number of trees in many US cities has declined by about 30
percent, while the space covered by concrete and other solid surfaces
has risen by 20 percent, says Mr. Moll.
He estimates that to redress the imbalance, metropolitan areas need 634
million more trees.
That's a lot of new trees, especially in a time of belt-tightening
municipal budgets. But in some cities, such as Atlanta and Detroit,
volunteer groups are stepping in to help - planting and caring for trees
on public land, and educating the public about why they matter.
Trees are natural pollution-control devices. They absorb carbon dioxide
(a byproduct of burning fossil fuels) and return oxygen to the air.
Their leaves, branches, and and trunks help slow the runoff of storm
water.
They also provide sound buffering, shade, and measurably cooler
temperatures on hot summer days, and breeding and roosting places for
local and migratory birds, whose habitat has been disappearing.
The savings that result from these environmental benefits can really add
up. Research has shown that substantial increases in the number of city
trees can reduce storm-water and pollution-control expenditures by
millions of dollars.
Unfortunately, there's more involved than simply planting more trees.
Cities also have to keep them alive - and that can sometimes be a
problem.
In some cases, as with elms, disease has been a factor. Generally,
though, much of the problem stems from lax maintenance, outright
neglect, and stressful growing conditions.
Think big
One solution, practiced by The Greening of Detroit, is to avoid tiny
saplings and instead plant good-sized trees. Most of the 35,000 trees
planted by the nonprofit group over the past 13 years have been about 12
feet tall.
A tree this size, says Rebecca Salminen Witt , executive director of the
organization, makes a more immediate impact and stands a better chance
of survival.
Landscape architect Henry Arnold of Princeton, N.J., likes to think of
trees as beautiful, economical public utilities. Often, however, they
are shortchanged in planning underground infrastructure, and as a
result, wind up crowded for space. "Trees are not looked upon with the
same seriousness as other utilities," he says.
This is beginning to change as word spreads that tree size and longevity
count more than quantity. "The benefit of an urban tree is proportional
to its crown size or volume," Mr. Arnold explains. "One tree that lasts
50 years is worth more than 20 trees that last only 10 years."
Consequently, attention is shifting toward doing a better job of
improving growing conditions. To thrive, city trees need better soil and
more of it than they commonly receive, plus good drainage and aeration.
When trees are planted too hastily, without proper attention to soil and
selection, they may never mature or produce the desired benefits. In
fact, many live only seven to 10 years.
"A lot of community groups like to push tree planting because it's fun
and easy to get the public involved," says Jim Cothrel, president of the
Society of Municipal Arborists. "But if you don't maintain the trees,
you can end up with a lot of headaches and potential hazards."
Education, therefore, is a priority for organizations like The Greening
of Detroit and Trees Atlanta, which teach neighborhood volunteers proper
aftercare, from pruning to watering.
In both cities, the goal is to maintain each tree three or four years
after being planted, while it's getting established. Ideally, community
groups that plant trees shoulder this responsibility.
"We ask our planting partners to sign maintenance agreements," says Ms.
Witt, "but practically speaking, it doesn't always get done."
The effort is backstopped, therefore, by a small full-time staff and by
the Green Corps, trained high school summer workers.
In order to have trees planted, neighborhood groups must have a water
supply (even if it's just permission to use someone's garden hose), and
generally a willingness to do some modest fundraising. "We find that
encourages them to take better care of the trees," Witt says.
In the case of Chicago, the mayor has taken the lead in crusading for
trees. Disappointed by the city's defoliated landscape and urban heat
islands (summer hot zones), Richard M. Daley vowed to plant half a
million trees upon taking office in 1989.
His recollection of growing up when the city had a magnificent canopy of
elm trees led to dusting off Chicago's long-ignored motto, urbs in horto
("City in a Garden"), which dates to 1837.
The city is so committed to this identity that nearly 400,000 trees have
been planted and 53 miles of tree-studded median strips built. Along the
lakefront, trees are strategically planted to benefit wildlife migration
and create an "O'Hare for birds."
"Tourists are frankly shocked because they don't picture the city of
broad shoulders being a garden," says Barry Burton, an assistant to the
mayor.
Few would argue about the aesthetic appeal of trees. To get broad-based
support from local governments and civic organizations, however, means
going beyond that.
More trees, less violence
Bill Sullivan and Frances Kuo, University of Illinois researchers, have
studied the impact of trees on Chicago's public-housing residents, and
believe the social benefits to city dwellers are every bit, if not more,
compelling than the environmental ones.
To gauge this, they studied a Chicago public-housing complex of 28
architecturally identical high-rise apartment buildings. They wanted to
see how the site's limited trees impacted the lives of residents.
Compared to people in places without trees, people in buildings with
trees enjoyed better relations with neighbors and reduced violence. The
message, Mr. Sullivan says, is simple: Nature should be at every
doorstep, or very nearby.
The city is attempting to heed this advice by designing ample green
space into new public-housing projects.
Like any community, though, Chicago is challenged by
trees-versus-development issues.
To rebuild a stretch of Lake Shore Drive, 400 mature trees had be
removed. A city policy, however, requires replacing them inch-for-inch,
based on trunk size. As a result, 1,000 new trees are being planted.
Atlanta, a city under intense development pressure, is especially
mindful of its trees. Orange warning signs are posted where trees are to
be removed. People have 15 days to appeal the plan to the city tree
commission.
Marcia Bansley, executive director of Trees Atlanta, a nonprofit
citizens' group, knows how tricky it can be to balance saving trees with
development.
Her organization has done a lot of tree rescuing and planting, and
people often look to the group for assistance. But it's not possible to
save every tree. "It's a fine line between saving trees and working
toward the overall good of the community," she says.
In Atlanta's case there is a particular sense of urgency because the
city has grown so rapidly in recent decades. Suburban sprawl has eaten
up surrounding woodlands and made Atlanta's commutes the longest in the
country.
To encourage more urban dwelling, especially among former suburbanites,
cities need to be as green as possible. Trees Atlanta has helped
tremendously in that regard by planting more than 14,000 shade trees
downtown since 1985. Trees have been planted alongside business-district
sidewalks, in parking lots, around downtown churches and subway
stations, and in pocket parks.
For businesses, trees can have drawbacks. They make messes, buckle
sidewalks, interfere with utility lines, and obscure storefronts. But
there's an upside, too, says Kathleen Wolf of the University of
Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture.
Her research shows that people are willing to spend more on products in
business districts with trees than without them. Trees send a message of
care, quality, and welcome, and can give a district a distinct character
that customers like.
Communities still have much to do in reaching low- income neighborhoods
with the message about planting and caring for trees and in enlisting
residents as "citizen foresters," but Jim Lyons, executive director of
GCA Casey Trees, an endowment fund of the Garden Club of America, is
convinced the rewards are worth it.
"Trees represent the fabric that helps pull communities together and
gives them something to care about and commit to in terms of their own
love of neighborhoods," he says.
>>
--- Begin Message ---
Planting trees
By Ross Atkin
The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0416/p13s02-lihc.html
A tree may grow in Brooklyn, but Gary Moll of American Forests, a
conservation group, would like to see more of them there - and in
Dallas, Des Moines, and Detroit as well.
But the reality is that just the opposite is happening. Over the past 15
years, the number of trees in many US cities has declined by about 30
percent, while the space covered by concrete and other solid surfaces
has risen by 20 percent, says Mr. Moll.
He estimates that to redress the imbalance, metropolitan areas need 634
million more trees.
That's a lot of new trees, especially in a time of belt-tightening
municipal budgets. But in some cities, such as Atlanta and Detroit,
volunteer groups are stepping in to help - planting and caring for trees
on public land, and educating the public about why they matter.
Trees are natural pollution-control devices. They absorb carbon dioxide
(a byproduct of burning fossil fuels) and return oxygen to the air.
Their leaves, branches, and and trunks help slow the runoff of storm
water.
They also provide sound buffering, shade, and measurably cooler
temperatures on hot summer days, and breeding and roosting places for
local and migratory birds, whose habitat has been disappearing.
The savings that result from these environmental benefits can really add
up. Research has shown that substantial increases in the number of city
trees can reduce storm-water and pollution-control expenditures by
millions of dollars.
Unfortunately, there's more involved than simply planting more trees.
Cities also have to keep them alive - and that can sometimes be a
problem.
In some cases, as with elms, disease has been a factor. Generally,
though, much of the problem stems from lax maintenance, outright
neglect, and stressful growing conditions.
Think big
One solution, practiced by The Greening of Detroit, is to avoid tiny
saplings and instead plant good-sized trees. Most of the 35,000 trees
planted by the nonprofit group over the past 13 years have been about 12
feet tall.
A tree this size, says Rebecca Salminen Witt , executive director of the
organization, makes a more immediate impact and stands a better chance
of survival.
Landscape architect Henry Arnold of Princeton, N.J., likes to think of
trees as beautiful, economical public utilities. Often, however, they
are shortchanged in planning underground infrastructure, and as a
result, wind up crowded for space. "Trees are not looked upon with the
same seriousness as other utilities," he says.
This is beginning to change as word spreads that tree size and longevity
count more than quantity. "The benefit of an urban tree is proportional
to its crown size or volume," Mr. Arnold explains. "One tree that lasts
50 years is worth more than 20 trees that last only 10 years."
Consequently, attention is shifting toward doing a better job of
improving growing conditions. To thrive, city trees need better soil and
more of it than they commonly receive, plus good drainage and aeration.
When trees are planted too hastily, without proper attention to soil and
selection, they may never mature or produce the desired benefits. In
fact, many live only seven to 10 years.
"A lot of community groups like to push tree planting because it's fun
and easy to get the public involved," says Jim Cothrel, president of the
Society of Municipal Arborists. "But if you don't maintain the trees,
you can end up with a lot of headaches and potential hazards."
Education, therefore, is a priority for organizations like The Greening
of Detroit and Trees Atlanta, which teach neighborhood volunteers proper
aftercare, from pruning to watering.
In both cities, the goal is to maintain each tree three or four years
after being planted, while it's getting established. Ideally, community
groups that plant trees shoulder this responsibility.
"We ask our planting partners to sign maintenance agreements," says Ms.
Witt, "but practically speaking, it doesn't always get done."
The effort is backstopped, therefore, by a small full-time staff and by
the Green Corps, trained high school summer workers.
In order to have trees planted, neighborhood groups must have a water
supply (even if it's just permission to use someone's garden hose), and
generally a willingness to do some modest fundraising. "We find that
encourages them to take better care of the trees," Witt says.
In the case of Chicago, the mayor has taken the lead in crusading for
trees. Disappointed by the city's defoliated landscape and urban heat
islands (summer hot zones), Richard M. Daley vowed to plant half a
million trees upon taking office in 1989.
His recollection of growing up when the city had a magnificent canopy of
elm trees led to dusting off Chicago's long-ignored motto, urbs in horto
("City in a Garden"), which dates to 1837.
The city is so committed to this identity that nearly 400,000 trees have
been planted and 53 miles of tree-studded median strips built. Along the
lakefront, trees are strategically planted to benefit wildlife migration
and create an "O'Hare for birds."
"Tourists are frankly shocked because they don't picture the city of
broad shoulders being a garden," says Barry Burton, an assistant to the
mayor.
Few would argue about the aesthetic appeal of trees. To get broad-based
support from local governments and civic organizations, however, means
going beyond that.
More trees, less violence
Bill Sullivan and Frances Kuo, University of Illinois researchers, have
studied the impact of trees on Chicago's public-housing residents, and
believe the social benefits to city dwellers are every bit, if not more,
compelling than the environmental ones.
To gauge this, they studied a Chicago public-housing complex of 28
architecturally identical high-rise apartment buildings. They wanted to
see how the site's limited trees impacted the lives of residents.
Compared to people in places without trees, people in buildings with
trees enjoyed better relations with neighbors and reduced violence. The
message, Mr. Sullivan says, is simple: Nature should be at every
doorstep, or very nearby.
The city is attempting to heed this advice by designing ample green
space into new public-housing projects.
Like any community, though, Chicago is challenged by
trees-versus-development issues.
To rebuild a stretch of Lake Shore Drive, 400 mature trees had be
removed. A city policy, however, requires replacing them inch-for-inch,
based on trunk size. As a result, 1,000 new trees are being planted.
Atlanta, a city under intense development pressure, is especially
mindful of its trees. Orange warning signs are posted where trees are to
be removed. People have 15 days to appeal the plan to the city tree
commission.
Marcia Bansley, executive director of Trees Atlanta, a nonprofit
citizens' group, knows how tricky it can be to balance saving trees with
development.
Her organization has done a lot of tree rescuing and planting, and
people often look to the group for assistance. But it's not possible to
save every tree. "It's a fine line between saving trees and working
toward the overall good of the community," she says.
In Atlanta's case there is a particular sense of urgency because the
city has grown so rapidly in recent decades. Suburban sprawl has eaten
up surrounding woodlands and made Atlanta's commutes the longest in the
country.
To encourage more urban dwelling, especially among former suburbanites,
cities need to be as green as possible. Trees Atlanta has helped
tremendously in that regard by planting more than 14,000 shade trees
downtown since 1985. Trees have been planted alongside business-district
sidewalks, in parking lots, around downtown churches and subway
stations, and in pocket parks.
For businesses, trees can have drawbacks. They make messes, buckle
sidewalks, interfere with utility lines, and obscure storefronts. But
there's an upside, too, says Kathleen Wolf of the University of
Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture.
Her research shows that people are willing to spend more on products in
business districts with trees than without them. Trees send a message of
care, quality, and welcome, and can give a district a distinct character
that customers like.
Communities still have much to do in reaching low- income neighborhoods
with the message about planting and caring for trees and in enlisting
residents as "citizen foresters," but Jim Lyons, executive director of
GCA Casey Trees, an endowment fund of the Garden Club of America, is
convinced the rewards are worth it.
"Trees represent the fabric that helps pull communities together and
gives them something to care about and commit to in terms of their own
love of neighborhoods," he says.
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