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/599208
YOU DESERVE MORE We have over a century of experience, but innovation and re-invention are natural parts of our culture. As technology and scientific research advances, so do we. STRENGTH THROUGH STABILITY EMAIL: ufsolutions@davey.com WEB: www.davey.com/quality CONTACT: 855.623.4993 methods of seeding wildflowers, there were some other notable moments of my trip. I got to sit in on a confer- ence call with the urban forestry office of Melbourne, Australia, where they discussed a new method for inven- torying the expected life spans of their existing trees. I had the opportunity to present to Matthew's staff on my own work with Casey Trees managing our residential planting programs. (The difference in average residential yard size in New York City compared to Washington, D.C. is, of course, drastic.) I was also thoroughly impressed with the geospatial information software that NYC Parks has developed in-house. New Yorkers often seem to think they are the first or the best at anything and I will admit that New York City Parks sets a high bar for urban forestry work. Both in their res- toration planting and their work in intensively urbanized settings, they maintain high standards and continue to innovate. Their commitment to making the urban forest both viable in the center city, as well as ecologically robust in large parcels off the beaten track, is particularly commendable. Many thanks to my chief host Matthew Stephens, as well as to Christina and Kip for a fun and informative couple of days, and to the SMA for making this rich Arborist Exchange possible. I look forward to con - tinuing my own arboricultural work in the spirit of knowl- edge-sharing that defines this exchange program. showing strong growth and low mortality numbers. Seeing significant canopy on streets with plantings under a decade old makes this work feel all the more worthwhile. I was excited to hear that ~45% of street tree plantings city-wide are actually resident requests, suggesting that residents, too, are excited about trees. Investment in a typical street tree in New York City is already quite high compared to other municipalities and cities. But I also got the chance to tour some plantings that took it to the next level. Matthew Stephens's side project is running the New York Tree Trust, a non-profit that is able to leverage funding and community support to provide for advances in the NYC urban forest. The Tree Trust projects that I witnessed were able to use funding from businesses and residents to conduct more intensive site preparation for planting. In one case, structural soils covered with pervious surface lined the planting strips for blocks at the heart of the city. Only time will tell, but I will be excited to revisit these sites and check for increased growth rates. It is clear that partnerships involving public, private, and non-profit entities can yield novel new funding models and create planting projects that may never have hap- pened otherwise. In addition to geeking out about tree box sizes and