How did you get connected with The
Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF)?
James Kaechele: I was looking for some opportunities to go
see tree planting in other places. I think it would be easy in NYC to
say, "We have the most well-funded and arguably the largest-scale
urban forestry program in the country, we're out in front with all
the answers, so I'll just stay here where we've got it all figured
out." But I believe that the only way you stay sharp in this field is
by talking with other people and sharing methods; otherwise, you
get complacent and do the same things over and over again.
So at the beginning of 2019, I wanted to go visit other cities and see
what's going on in the larger world of tree planting. FTPF was looking
for a program arborist on a part-time basis to lend expertise to them
as an organization and to organize fruit tree planting efforts in diverse
communities across the U.S. and worldwide. I love people, plants, and
travel, and this organization fuses all three. They planted more than
80,000 fruit trees in five countries in 2019 alone, finding locations
where the orchards will make the most impact. In 2019, I went to five
cities domestically and made two international trips with FTPF. >
www.urban-forestry.com 29
James demonstrates how to properly plant a limón sutil tree (Citrus aurantifolia).
"The land-use questions
are the same; the site
assessment process
is the same; tree
planting techniques
are the same—it's
the same skills that I
use in the work I do
with street trees and
residents in NYC."
