City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/36513
Recently pruned Celtis australis street trees comprised of single tree species of similar age. Given Milwaukee’s devastating loss of 200,000 elm trees to Dutch elm disease and pending loss of hundreds of thousands of ash trees to Emerald Ash Borer, I consider Torino’s boulevard monocultures to be at significant risk to an exotic pest or disease. Gianmichele is confi- dent that the risk can be effectively managed through aggressive sanitation and management, and he indi- cated that the species designations on boulevards are controlled by ordinance and therefore not within his discretion to change. I also had the pleasure of visiting the City tree nursery and several floral bed displays and central park grounds managed by Torino Urban Forest Manager Stefania Camisassa and her talented staff of technicians and gar- deners. Torino’s 7-hectare (17-acre) tree nursery produces high quality trees for boulevard and park reforestation. Field grown and containerized trees maintained by the gardeners were extremely well pruned to a matched specimen standard and efficiently watered with a drip irrigation system. While the timing of my visit limited www.urban-forestry.com the floral beds I was able to personally observe, a pho- tographic tour of floral displays designed and installed by Stefania’s staff during and following the 2006 Winter Olympics was very creative and impressive. Like many European cities, Torino has numerous monuments and statues throughout the city that serve as a magnificent canvas for Stefania’s floral artistry. My overall impression of Torino and its forestry opera- tions is very favorable. Gianmichele and Stefania and their talented and dedicated staff went out of their way to welcome me and share their excellent work. The won- derful Italian meals including ravioli and lasagna with home-made ragu sauce prepared by Gianmichele and Stefania from generational family recipes was a special treat. The traditional Italian pizzas cooked in wood-fired ovens, gelato, cannolis, and Italian chocolate served in cafés throughout the city was simply fantastic! And I also learned that Italians are incredibly skilled at parallel park- ing. Thank you most sincerely to SMA and to exchange sponsor Davey Resource Group for making this learning experience possible. 37