In the News...

Make sure you check out our "In the News" Blog and keep up on where we are and what we're doing!

Plant 7 Trees A Year And You’re Carbon Neutral

"According to carbonfootprint.com it is estimated that the average person needs to save about 7,000 kg of CO2 per year. So planting just 7 trees each year is one strategy for achieving this...
Tree planting is recognised the world over as a practical short-term solution to offsetting carbon dioxide and it’s probably the easiest and most tangible way to offset your carbon emissions. Each tree planted ‘offsets’ your environmental impact by ‘breathing’ in about 1 tonne of CO2 emissions over its lifetime of 100 years."
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Tree study gets to root of diversity, growth link

"Trees do not make good neighbors, at least to their own kind."
Young seedlings tend to die if an adult tree of the same species is nearby. This is one way forests maintain diversity. Now, a group of researchers show that abundant tree species are less susceptible to disease inflicted by soil-borne organisms.

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City Park Facts

The Center for City Park Excellence maintains the nation's most complete database of park facts for the largest 85 U.S. cities.

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Open Space Conservation

"Close to 80 percent of the U.S. population (220 million people) lives in urban areas and depends on the essential ecological, economic, and social benefits provided by urban trees and forests. However, the distribution of urban tree cover and the benefits of urban forests vary across the United States, as do the challenges of sustaining this important resource. As urban areas expand across the country, the importance of the benefits that urban forests provide, as well as the challenges to their conservation and maintenance, will increase. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the current status and benefits of America's urban forests, compare differences in urban forest canopy cover among regions, and discuss challenges facing urban forests and their implications for urban forest management."

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Complete Streets: Streets as Public Space

Streets should be community assets, compatible with built and natural environments, and reflect the balanced needs of the community and transportation networks - part of public spaces, green and attractive.

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Top 50 Forestry Blogs

Top 50 Forestry Blogs

Find everything you need to know about trees, forest management, urban forestry, conservation, and everything in-between.

Trees a 'low-cost' solution to air pollution and biodiversity loss in cities

"Native woods and trees in urban areas, including gardens, provide haven for wildlife, reduce air pollution, surface run-off and flooding. Reversing the declining numbers of native trees and woods in cities would provide numerous benefits at 'relatively little cost', says a report from the Woodland Trust. As well as access to green space, the report, 'Greening the Concrete Jungle', says trees provide a wide range of free ecosystem services including reducing the risk of surface water flooding and improving air quality that could save millions in flood defence and healthcare costs."

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Evergreen Summer

Summer is the best time for Evergreens!
Find out why...

Exposure to Plants and Parks Can Boost Immunity

"In a series of studies, scientists found that when people swap their concrete confines for a few hours in more natural surroundings — forests, parks and other places with plenty of trees — they experience increased immune function."

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Green Streets for All

"The National Building Museum’s Smart Growth lecture series featured Adam Ortiz, Mayor of Edmonston, Maryland, who put forward his community’s innovative green street as a model, saying that the time has come for green infrastructure best practice to become common practice. Edmonston’s green street, which cost some $1.3 million and took 2-3 years to complete, represents his community’s attempt to “take responsibility” for remedying unsustainable stormwater managment practices. “If a small town can do this, anyone can.”"

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Two groups ring up dollar value of local trees

In an attempt to educate the public about the monetary value of trees, 2 groups in Liberty, MO recently fastened oversized price tags to trees around the downtown area bearing a monetary value on the potential lifetime benefits the tree will pay back to the community.

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Tree census: Chicago-area trees to be counted

"Working in close collaboration with the Forest Service, arboretum census takers are counting the trees in the Chicago region this summer. The aim is to get an accurate count of each species living in yards, parkways and parklands in every city, town and unincorporated area of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties."

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Denver tree program trains veterans to be urban foresters - Alliance for Community Trees

Veterans City Canopy is a new program training homeless veterans to be urban foresters. Veterans Green Jobs, a Denver nonprofit that helps homeless veterans get the skills and experience to join the green-jobs economy, has a contract to plant free shade trees in homeowners' front yards.

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Urban trees help migrating birds

"Even a small urban forest can help migrating birds, a study has said. US researchers found that birds used the patches of greenery to rest and refuel in the middle of their journey between winter and breeding sites."

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Trees Mean Jobs

The proposed reauthorization of a national tree-planting program will produce an estimated economic impact of $741 million over the next five years according to a recent study. In addition, the program would create a total employment impact of more than 6,000 jobs during those five years, generating more than $87 million in revenue for federal, state and local governments at a time when municipal greening budgets continue to be cut.
The Small Business Environmental Stewardship Assistance Act (SBESA) is currently being considered in both chambers of the U.S. Congress. Read more about how you can help ANLA's effort to reauthorize the national tree planting program at www.treesmeanjobs.com."
ANLA.org American Nursery and Landscape Association

Designing Wildlife Habitats

During the Dumbarton Oaks symposium on “Designing Wildlife Habitats,” a range of ecologists and landscape architects analyzed various aspects of the relationship between people and nature, and how these relationships take form in natural, managed, and even restored wildlife habitats. Speakers also explored cutting-edge thinking on “ecological infrastructure” and ”human-nature interaction design,” ideas that can guide the future development of both designed landscapes and conservation systems.
Restoring the Balance between People and Nature through Wildlife Habitat Design

Ecologists and landscape architects also explored challenges and opportunities with wildlife habitat restoration in urban areas, and the impact of climate change. Speakers offered more variations on the idea of ecological infrastructure, arguing that interdisciplinary design teams are needed to create these multi-use systems. Speakers also concluded that designers and scientists must work harder to tell stories that spark the imagination of the broader public. Otherwise, the value of biodiversity won’t be understood.
Recreating Wildlife Habitat in Cities

The benefits of an urban forest in the concrete jungle

Their benefits go far beyond aesthetics. 'The roots and the canopies make a natural stormwater filtration system. It would also be a lot hotter here, and trees do their part in keeping the air clean, too,' said Jorgenson, whose Community Forestry Office operates under the Parks and Recreation Department. 'For us, it's not about planting trees because they look pretty. We recognize all the benefits they have and try to bring as many trees in as we can.'"

Each year, street trees intercept 19 million gallons of stormwater-a service worth more than $96,000 to the City of Boise. City-owned street trees also absorb and trap air pollutants like carbon dioxide, ozone and nitrogen dioxide. Researchers estimate that a full 900 tons of CO2 emissions are either pulled from the air or foregone because of photosynthesis each year, along with almost 7,000 pounds of ozone and 1,350 pounds of nitrogen dioxide. All that pollution control is worth a total of $6,292.

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Building Green and Healthy Places for Learning

"Almost one in five Americans are housed in schools for the better part of each day, but many of these schools offer toxic environments with poor daylight and are sited in far-off places, which means they are both unhealthy learning environments and contribute to sprawl (or unhealthy communities). Creating green and healthy schools which are in walkable, bikeable neighborhoods is key to increasing test scores and graduating children who can be future stewards of the environment. But how do we build green schools?"
Building Green and Healthy Places for Learning

Scaling up Green Infrastructure

"Green infrastructure has been widely discussed as a solution for taking pressure off of outdated stormwater systems. Through natural technologies like green roofs, rain gardens, bioswales and green road medians, green infrastructure can absorb and filter excess water at the source, in effect, decentralizing stormwater management. Green infrastructure can also reduce the costs of water treatment because these natural systems reduce water flow, remove toxins, and recharge groundwater supplies."
Scaling up Green Infrastructure

The Value of Urban Parks

"The U.S. House Urban Caucus’ Urban Parks Taskforce organized a briefing on urban parks and their role in creating green spaces which can revitalize neighborhoods, improve health, and create jobs. Parks also play a major role in fighting childhood obesity, providing safe and healthy places to play. Caucus members heard from Joe Hughes, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology; Susan Wachter, Professor of Financial Management, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania; Eddie George, ASLA, former NFL player and landscape architect; and Salin Geevarghese, Senior Advisor, Office of Sustainable Housing & Communities, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) and ASLA played key roles in putting the panel together."
The Value of Urban Parks

High School Gardening-for Credit

At a New Jersey high school, students can take gym class in the garden. 'We’re giving students another option to mainstream physical education,' Mr. Wilkinson said. 'How long is somebody going to play basketball or soccer? Gardening they can do their whole lives.'
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Members of Congress Discuss Green Agenda

"At this moment when all attention is on the economy, urban forestry is on the front lines of job creation, neighborhood stabilization, and cost effective infrastructure planning (including water, energy, and transportation). No other options provide the range of economic services as green infrastructure. Perhaps more important now than ever, the green industry is a reliable source of good paying, green jobs for every trained worker."
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Tree-mendous

Although trees are familiar to all of us, many aspects of their biology remain enigmatic: because they grow slowly and live for so long, they’ve been hard for us to study in the laboratory. Which is why they are Olivia Judson's nomination for Life-form of the Month: April. Full Article

Human health linked directly to forest health

“Our research confirms what we know instinctively: Human health is inextricably linked to the health of the planet,” says Chris Elliot, WWF’s Executive Director of Conservation.
“Deforestation is a double blow to human health,” says Elliot. “It increases the spread of certain diseases while destroying plants and animals that may hold the key to treating illnesses that plague millions of people.”

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Rewilding: A Model for Sustainable Conservation

While climate change gets most of the ink in environmental news sections, biodiversity is at a “point of no return”... If ecosystems fail, their ability to sequester carbon or provide flood control diminishes. These ecosystems then also fail to provide the habitat necessary to preserve diverse species that rely on complex interactions with one another to survive.
One possible solution is “rewilding,” a model that can be implemented piecemeal across landscapes to promote the reconnection of isolated habitats, form bridging corridors that help revive complex natural systems, and reintroduce predators. The approach is designed to restore biodiversity in places where it has been lost.

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The jobs are in the trees

With Congress and the White House considering spending scarce dollars to jump-start employment, they'll need to get the biggest jobs bang for the buck to give Americans confidence that they're spending our money wisely. Probably the biggest jobs generator of all, and one of the least recognized, is investing in forest and land restoration and sustainable management, with conservation, watershed projects, and park investment coming close behind.
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Funding for community-based greening in cities

"Sen. Bob Casey introduced the companion bill to Rep. Allyson Schwartz's Green Communities Act (H.R. 2222). As cities across the United States are looking for new effective, low cost strategies that will grow their economies, the implementation of green infrastructure is one of the most effective ways to improve quality of life, attract new business, and improve the general environment.

The bill authorizes $120 million in funding for community-based greening in cities. ACT member organization Pennsylvania Horticulture Society hosted a field hearing on the legislation and is a leading advocate for the program, which would be authorized by the Secretary of Commerce and delivered through the Economic Development Administration. Urban forestry and volunteer-based action are prominently featured in the legislation."

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Take Action to Save USFS Urban Forestry Programs

"The Alliance for Community Trees is joining together with 15 national organizations to support a strengthening of the U.S. Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Program (U&CF) in the President's FY 2011 federal budget.
This year, we hope that many state, regional, and local organizations and city mayors will help carry this advocacy message to their federal elected officials. Your support strengthens the case for preserving the Urban and Community Forestry Program and improving the program's ability to assist communities of all sizes, nationwide."

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Trees speed the sale of a home

"Studies conducted around the country confirm this, but any realtor will tell you that trees can increase the value of a home. In fact, property values of homes with trees in the landscape are 5-20% higher than equivalent properties without trees and just adding a few trees can increase the sales price of homes by 1% and speed the sale of a home by four to six weeks.
Adding trees in just 4,000 yards could increase homes sales by a combined estimated $10.4 million."

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Biodiversity loss can increase infectious diseases in humans

The extinction of plant and animal species and their habitats may not just make the world boring. New research now suggests it may also put you at greater risk for catching some nasty disease.
"Habitat destruction and biodiversity loss," -- driven by the replacement of local species by exotic ones, deforestation, global transportation, encroaching cities, and other environmental changes -- "can increase the incidence and distribution of infectious diseases in humans," write University of Vermont biologist Joe Roman, EPA scientist Montira Pongsiri, and seven co-authors in BioScience.

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