City Trees

4 CityTREES President's Message Sam Oludunfe City Trees Editor Guest Message Michelle Sutton When I started as City Trees Editor in 2005, my former graduate advisor, Nina Bassuk, suggested that the magazine have periodic written "Roundtables" on a given subject. Since then we've run 37 Roundtables in City Trees, they hold up quite well. Each Roundtable contains advice and anecdotes from, on average, 7 to 8 urban forestry and affiliated professionals. Here are the topics we've covered. Because they contain so many interesting anecdotes along with extensive practical guidance, among my favorites are "Special Challenges of Urban Forestry in Zoos," "Fall Planting," "Large Tree Relocation," and "Managing the Urban Forest in Cemeteries," and "Bees in the Urban Forest." I'd be keen to hear your suggestions for future Roundtable themes. Email me at citytreeseditor@gmail.com. • Adventures with Slopes • Bees in the Urban Forest • Bioswales • Building Bridges between LAs and MAs • Building Bridges with City Departments, Part I and Part II • Managing the Urban Forest in Cemeteries • Climate Change and the Urban Forest • Conifers in the Urban Forest • Consulting • Contract Growing Partnerships • Drought • EAB Lessons Learned • Fall Planting • Flooding and Tree Damage • Gas Lines and Trees • Historic Trees • Invasive Plants • Large Tree Relocation • Managing Natural Areas in the Urban Forest • Medians • Memorial Trees • Palms in the Urban Forest • Pruning Cycles • Pyrus, We Have a Problem • Retired from the Municipality • Sewer Lines • Social Networking • Teaching • Tree Boards • Tree Lights • Urban Forestry's Location in City Departments • Urban Fruit Trees • Urban Wood Roundtable from USFS (2021) • Urban Wood (2007) • Where Urban Forests, Stormwater, and Watersheds Meet • Zoos "It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanates from old trees, that so wonderful- ly changes and renews a weary spirit." – Robert Louis Stevenson Bird songs begin to herald the dawn. The brightening outdoors is beckoning. Small mammals are coming out of hibernation. Blankets of yellow flowers are spreading on the open space hillsides. There is that definite promise of pink flowers on the redbuds; bud-breaking is imminent on heretofore dormant decidu- ous trees. Temperatures are rising. Clothing layers are getting fewer, lighter, and thinner. Spring comes early to Southern California! With the warming weather, the appreciation for urban forests' ameliorating effects on blue and gray infrastructure comes to the fore. By extension, the recognition of the municipal arborists and urban foresters who manage these all-important resources, which, among myriad other things, provide "that subtle something … that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit," increases. Expectedly, "spring cleaning"—including the removal of debris from winter damage —is ongoing in the public forest, even as inspection for diseases is conducted, understory plant- ings are pruned as necessary, and mulching around parkway and road way median trees is repaired and replenished. Preparations for tree planting are kicking into high gear, well ahead of National Arbor Day in the U.S. Tree planting, site selection, and tree species choices are targeted at put- ting the right tree in the right place, with due regard for the architectural and engineering functions of each tree. Are your records of these infrastructure enhancement and management activities showing a shift from reactive to pro- active planning and administration of the urban forest? Here in Chula Vista, California, the City wants to gain a better understanding of the current state of the urban forest and its future needs, proactively identify the City forest's rehabilita- tion and replacement needs and plan the budget and resourc- es accordingly, minimize the life-cycle cost by incorporating the latest advances in urban forest management to develop efficient and effective preservation and restoration strategies, develop a consistent and defendable methodology for priori- tizing work and budget expenditure, and focus on a high bene- fit-to-cost ratio to ensure the budget is spent in the right place, for the right reason, at the right time, and at the right cost. Say, how is your urban forest faring post-winter? Be on the lookout: Call for Proposals for the 2022 SMA Conference coming soon!

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