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/625396
www.urban-forestry.com 13 The Carmel Urban Forestry Committee's annual fall planting project invites volunteers and specifically high school students to help plant street trees. They believe involving the stu- dents will strengthen their desire to care for the environment as adults. Photo by Carmel Urban Forestry Committee Opened in 2001, the Monon Greenway is the Carmel section of the Monon Trail, a rail trail which runs from just north of downtown Indianapolis through Carmel to the north. Photo by City of Carmel, Beth Maier How do you manage Carmel's urban forest? DM: The program has grown along with the City. Just before I started as urban forester in 2004, Carmel had a popula- tion of 37,000 and about 20 square miles (52 sq km) of city. Carmel, in the fifth fastest growing county in the country, has now grown to nearly 86,000 in popula- tion and an area of 50 square miles (129 sq km). Managing Carmel's urban forest- ry program has been a great opportunity to bring about an award-winning program that is known in the state as a place of urban forestry leadership. However, there are challenges that come with annexing rural areas and arbitrary subdivisions with uninspected street trees and long areas of wooded rights-of-way. Given the rate of growth, Carmel decided that placing the urban forester in the planning and zoning department was crucial. Most of the newly planted land- scaping is within new subdivisions and large commercial blocks. Detailed ordi- nances along with regulating the species diversity, planting locations, and planting details is essential to ensure this new landscaping is designed and installed properly. Many of the old farm roads are being turned into streetscapes with roundabout intersections; in each case, the decision needs to be made whether to preserve or remove fencerow trees. New street construction is designed with intri- cate landscaping plans and street trees providing instant, aesthetically pleasing views. For all these reasons, housing the urban forester position within planning and zoning has been very effective. What types of trees are your best performers? DM: It is hard to grow almost anything compared to other areas in the Midwest, as Carmel is located in central Indiana, which has heavy clay soils. However, we have found the following trees to work: elm (Ulmus), Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata), oak (Quercus), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), hackber- ry (Celtis occidentalis), and Japanese lilac tree (Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk'). As Carmel has been brutally hit with the emerald ash borer, nearly all the