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the gift of trees
DECEMBER 2013
CASEY TREES NEWS IN BRIEF
Casey Trees study gets published in online journal Dr. Jessica Sanders, Jim Woodworth and Joseph Duszak explored the condition of American elm cultivars — selected from the same nursery and stock — planted in 2003 at two different D.C. locations, where the trees experienced divergent success and health as a result of differing management strategies. Their findings were recently published in the current issue of Cities and the Environment, a e-journal dedicated to the ecology of urban communities. In 2003, mainly Princeton elms were planted along Barracks Row, a commercial corridor in Capitol Hill that was undergoing revitalization, and the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue corridor adjacent to the White House. Ten years later, the Barracks Row elms display greater amounts of structural defects and adverse health conditions when compared to their White House counterparts. This difference was attributed to the delayed pruning program in place for Barracks Row, while the White House elms benefited from rapid and aggressive pruning that improved tree structure and health. The elms along Barracks Row, while facing threats, have still been key towards growing community investment and interest in trees. Casey Trees looks ahead to finding the balance between realistic, yet proactive management strategies and collaborations that help the urban forest thrive.
CASEY TREES NEWS ADVOCACY EFFORTS LEAD TO ZONING MEASURE CHANGES | On Nov. 19, Maisie Hughes, Director of Planning & Design, and Tree Advocates Delores Bushong and Laszlo Bockh provided public testimony to the District Zoning Commission to express concern about the Green Area Ratio (GAR), a zoning measure intended to set new standards for landscape and site design that mitigate stormwater runoff, improve air quality and reduce the urban heat island effect. The existing measure failed to incentivize the planting of large canopy trees based on the measures proposed credit system, which valued trees based on their planted size instead of size at maturity. Casey Trees testimony resulted in the “Plantings” section of the credit system score card being altered by the Office of Planning to reflect the environmental and economic value of trees.
ARBORIST POSITION OPENS IN TREE PLANTING DEPARTMENT | Casey Trees is looking for an Arborist to oversee the Community Tree Planting (CTP) program and procurement activities for all Casey Trees planting initiatives. A bachelor’s degree in arboriculture, horticulture, urban
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forestry, landscape management or related field, and three or more years of experience is required; Master’s degree preferred.
LAST BRANCH OUT OF 2013 | Our monthly happy hours will continue until the end of the year with the newly added Dec. 10 date at Stoney’s, a Logan Circle bar featuring great food and drinks. Volunteers, friends, and staff will reflect on the successful year as the leaves fall away, winter sets in and 2013 winds down. The December event will be the last chance to warm up with Casey Trees until Branch Out returns on Feb. 11 Check in with Casey Trees Facebook and Twitter accounts for events to come in 2014.
ZOO RECEIVES 30 NEW TREES | Originally scheduled as the fall 2013 CTP season kickoff on Oct. 5, but postponed due to the federal government shutdown, 30 new trees were finally planted along a service road at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park on Dec. 2. Both Casey Trees and park staff planted the trees, which are part of a habitat restoration project adjacent to Rock Creek Park. This was the third Casey Trees planting with the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.
December 2013 | theleaflet
RIVERSMART HOMES PROGRAM CONTINUES TO REACH GOALS | More than 340 native trees will have been planted through the RiverSmart Homes program by the end of 2013. Newly hired Arborist Marty Frye recently returned to Casey Trees and is currently performing site visits with homeowners to prepare for the planting of 350 trees this spring.
URBAN FORESTRY NEWS STUDY IMPROVES DOCUMENTATION OF PRIVATE URBAN FOREST | Researchers from the University of Tasmania observed two Australian cities — Melbourne and Hobart — using a broader forestry technique known as “size class analysis” to evaluate change in the private urban forest. Although trees on public land are often well documented, a large percentage of trees on private land in cities do not share the same luxury. The size class analysis observations determined that private land is trending towards smaller and denser trees, which do not provide as much benefit to the urban forest. Higher levels of large shade tree protection on private property and compensation through planting on public land could help to improve the situation.
MULTI-SCALE APPROACH CRITICAL IN UNDERSTANDING URBAN RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPES | Researchers from different institutions looked to gain a greater understanding of how urban residential expansion should be approached. Four city regions — Baltimore, Miami, Boston, and Phoenix — were examined and surveyed based on urban residential expansion’s effect on land use, land cover and ecological changes. Using three different scales — individual household decisions, neighborhood-level decisions, and regional-scale policy — the study found that management of single parcels was linked to residents’ attitudes, values, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors and constraints, as well as the biophysical characteristics of the site. Of note was the impact of social pressure as a cause of landscape decisions among individuals and neighborhoods.
IN THIS ISSUE... FROM THE DESK: ENHANCING THE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE AT CASEY TREES.............................. 4 SPOTLIGHT: REMEMBERING LIFE THROUGH TREES............................................................................... 5 QUANTIFYING DEVELOPMENT’S IMPACT ON D.C.’S TREE CANOPY..................................................... 7 HOW D.C.’S PARKLAND MEASURES UP................................................................................................ 8-9 SCHOOL PLANTING PROGRAM ENDS YET ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON.............................. 10-11 ARBOR KIDS: ICE ART FOR TREES........................................................................................................... 12
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From the Desk Volunteer Power 101 Like many nonprofits, our power comes from three main engines. First is our Board of Directors, which provides strategic direction to guide our work. The second engine — our dedicated staff — brings the smarts and creativity to develop and test programs within that strategic guidance to propel us forward to achieve our mission and goals. The third engine, however, is in many ways the most powerful — our volunteers. Even though we have grown our staff and programs over the years, without our volunteers we would be light years behind. Volunteers help us in so many ways. They register EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR participants for events, plant and care for trees across the city, advocate for trees that are threatened by development projects, communicate to councilmembers and decision makers about the importance of maintaining funding for city agencies that maintain D.C.’s trees and green spaces, and many other functions.
MARK BUSCAINO
As I told staff at a recent meeting, we must focus on enabling others to make the places where they live greener and healthier, and that is largely done through the benevolent work of our corps of more 1,700 volunteers from across the D.C. metro. But what of the future? How do we continue to grow this corps of engaged and motivated citizens to meet the challenges and needs of tomorrow?
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That’s the question our Volunteer Coordinator, Katie Blackman, asked a few months ago, and she is well on her way to finding out. Over the next few months, Katie will hold several focus sessions with our newly formed volunteer committee to get their ideas on how we all can be more impactful toward achieving our mission. I am confident, given the group of dedicated people on this committee, that the sessions will be fruitful and expose a range of ideas that we have not yet thought about. Achieving our mission by empowering others — creating a platform for greater community engagement — planting more trees and caring for them for generations to come. Stay tuned to hear more about how you can come out and help us take another step forward toward restoring, enhancing protecting the tree canopy of the nation’s capital. Email Katie with questions about our new volunteer engagement initiatives or to share your ideas! Regards,
Mark Buscaino Executive Director
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Spotlight After loss, remembering a life through trees By Mark DeSantis, Development Associate, Casey Trees | For some, a tree is nothing more than just that — a tree. But for others, a tree can represent something much more meaningful. Trees can be powerful symbols of growth, change and — perhaps most often — life. This was the case in June of this year, when Casey Trees was contacted by local resident Doug Johnson and several of his close friends who were looking to commemorate the life of Eric Thomas, a dear friend and Casey Trees volunteer, who had recently passed away. “We wanted a lasting and tangible memorial that represented something important,” Johnson said. Eric was a long-time Washingtonian who loved gardening and frequently volunteered his time on weekends to help Casey Trees at our Community Tree Planting events. A true asset to the Casey Trees family, Eric lost his courageous battle with cancer in May. Remembered for his fun-loving, vibrant and generous spirit, Eric’s legacy continues to live on among his friends and family. But Doug wanted to ensure this legacy would also make an impact in the city that Eric loved. “We wanted a lasting and tangible memorial that represented something important to Eric.”
campaign in hopes of raising money to plant trees in honor of Eric and his life. Working with Casey Trees, they were able to raise a staggering $27,605 — all of which has gone towards our planting programs within Washington, D.C. Thanks to this incredible outpouring of generosity and love, Eric’s friends and family will have planted more than 100 trees across our city — an amazing gift to our city that will last for generations. “Eric would have wanted something that would be beneficial to the community,” Johnson said. “We hope that when friends and family see a tree, they will think about Eric.” At Casey Trees we too hope that as you walk around and see our city’s trees — or even if you come out to plant alongside us — you remember this idea: Every tree has a story.
Eric Thomas was an avid gardener and volunteered on multiple occasions at Casey Trees plantings.
For Doug Johnson and the rest of Eric’s friends, a tree is no longer just a tree – it’s far more than that now. “A tree will become a beautiful symbol of the life of an equally beautiful person.”
Casey Trees offers a variety of ways to commemorate a loved one or meaningful life event.
To do so, Johnson and more than 100 of Eric’s closest friends and family, joined together to start a Crowdrise
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YEAREND GIVING BY DECEMBER 31, 2013
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ONLINE Become a Member or make a one-time donation. Gift Memberships also available.
MAIL Make checks payable to Casey Trees and mail to: 3030 12th St. NE, W DC 20017
PHONE Call 202.833.9125 for stock transfers or credit card donations.
CASEYTREES.ORG/DONATE
Technology & Research Urban tree canopy changes with development By Dr. Jessica Sanders, Director of Technical Services and Research, Casey Trees & Dexter H. Locke, MESc, Doctoral Student, Clark University | What is the state bird of Washington, D.C.? The construction crane. According to the District Department of Transportation, at present there are more than 60 cranes erected across the District. While planting trees to increase canopy in the District is important, how does current construction impact existing tree canopy, if at all? The idea of construction and a declining canopy led us to conceptualize a research project with Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne, a colleague from the Spatial Analysis Lab at the University of Vermont, to better understand changes in D.C.’s canopy between 2006 and 2011 and the role construction played during that period. Is large-scale development or the removal of several individual trees spread across many smaller sites causing much of the city’s canopy decline? To answer these questions, we reviewed more than 100,000 approved building permits issued between 2006 and 2011 and categorized them according to their likelihood of impacting trees. Permits indicative of larger site disturbances were separated from those that didn’t seem to impact trees. For example, a complete building demolition where trees existed on the property was placed in a “Probable” category while a toilet installation was classified as “Unlikely” to threaten tree canopy. After completing the analysis, we determined that during our study period the city lost one-third to one-half of the tree canopy on sites permitted for construction. But what about other construction-related causes of canopy loss? The fluidity in the permitting and building
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process introduces lags, which may explain the results. These lags and other factors suggest that canopy loss happened on unpermitted sites, which may present an opportunity for improving tree preservation mandates.
Maples and sweetgums planted by Casey Trees on the grounds of Spingarn High School were threatened by construction of the D.C. Streetcar barn at the site. The trees were transplanted to another site in D.C.
While widespread development is expected to continue, our urban forest can flourish if we recommit ourselves to planting, maintaining and protecting trees. Our work sheds light on the role and growing need to accompany new trees with advocacy initiatives to reach the city’s tree canopy goal.
As a PhD student at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., Dexter H. Locke’s research goals look to further understand how the unique combination of messages, messengers and markets impacts participation in different urban forestry initiatives in major cities in the northeastern U.S.
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Planning & Design How do D.C.’s parks measure up? By the Planning and Design Department, Casey Trees | Urban parks offer a variety of opportunities for recreation and relaxation. A well-designed park system means that urbanites can enjoy the trappings of city life — access to people, jobs, culture, efficient transportation, etc. — and daily interaction with nature.
DPR owns roughly 900 acres of parkland in the city and facilitates quality urban recreation and programming of area parks. DPR land constitutes 10 percent of parkland and open space in the city, but it is the Department of General Services that manages and maintains the grounds (and trees) on these parks.
Scientists have found that interaction with nature is critically important for the health and well-being of city residents. Research indicates that traveling long distances to visit natural places does not provide the same healthful benefits as having direct and walkable access to green spaces. It is for these reasons that parks — and the trees within them — are critically important to city life.
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
PARKLAND OF D.C. D.C.’s trees are predominantly found in its parks and open space. Those land types account for approximately 9,300 acres, or 24 percent of the District’s land area. Most of the city’s parks and open space are managed by the federal government through the National Park Service (NPS), which owns approximately 6,800 acres of land that make up more than 350 properties. Ranging from large parks — Rock Creek, Fort Dupont and Anacostia Parks are some examples — to small traffic circles and triangles, NPS is responsible for a large portion of D.C.’s trees. Outside of NPS, a smaller but important landholder is the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).
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Because parks are so important to communities, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) developed the ParkScore® index, a rating system that ranks cities based on their quality of parks, according to three factors: acreage, services and investment, and access. ParkScore® index ranks Washington, D.C. sixth out of
WHO OWNS WHAT? Around 9,300 acres — or 24 percent — of District land is made up of parks or other open space areas.
NPS (74%) DPR (10%) Other (16%) According to the Capital Space Plan, adopted by NCPC in 2010.
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50 cities, meaning that there is an opportunity for our city to improve. Although D.C. excels in its accessibility to parkland as well as percentage of parkland to overall land area, we fall short in the number of playgrounds — currently 1.7 playgrounds per 10,000 residents. We could also improve in providing larger parks, another factor that impacted D.C.’s ParkScore® ranking. For more information on how D.C.’s park land is owned, managed, maintained, and planned, see the City’s Capital Space Plan, developed in partnership with the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), NPS and the D.C. government. More information about TPL’s ParkScore® Index is available online.
Casey Trees recently received a grant from the District government that will fund tree plantings at DPR sites across the city.
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park
National Mall
Anacostia Park Fort Dupont Park Oxon Run Park
KEY LANDOWNER OVERVIEW OF WASHINGTON, D.C. D.C. Boundary
Streets, Right-of-way
Water
National Park Service
Properties
D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation
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Education School planting program By Priscilla Plumb, Youth Programs Coordinator, Casey Trees | This season, Casey Trees planted 58 trees at 10 schools in the District, Maryland and Virginia, working with 215 students from kindergarten to high school. Oct. 16 — Grace Episcopal Day School (Md.) Forty elementary school students added 10 trees along Connecticut Avenue NW to create a buffer between the busy road and the school grounds and for much-needed shade for the parking lot and front of school. Oct. 23 — Imagine Southeast Public Charter School We planted five trees with 17 3rd- to 6th-grade students at Imagine, including a grove of river birch to help soak up water near one of the building’s roof downspouts. Oct. 29 — Drew Freeman Middle School (Md.) Twenty-three middle school students helped us plant two shade trees and one evergreen tree at the front of the school and two fruit trees in the school’s growing orchard.
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Oct. 30 — E.L. Haynes Public Charter School Twenty-five kindergartners and their parents planted six shade trees at the school, enhancing the parking lot and front entrance of the school. A fruit tree was also added in front of their classroom window. Oct. 30 — Mary McLeod Bethune Public Charter School Thirty 4th- to 8th-grade students planted six trees at the school, including shade trees for their newly renovated playground and fruit trees for their garden.
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Nov. 6 — Jefferson Middle School Eight middle school students and Kid Power Inc. helped us plant five new fruit and shade trees. The fruit tree additions doubled their existing orchard! Nov. 7 — Capital City Public Charter School Five new native trees were planted at the front of the school by 15 high school and middle school students. The trees will help attract native pollinators to the school’s many garden spaces.
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Nov. 7 — Imagine Hope Public Charter School Six new shade trees were planted by 24 elementary school students along the school’s parking lot. A mix of oaks and American elms will help reduce stormwater runoff and provide shade for the cars and street. Nov. 8 — IDEA Public Charter School A group of 15 high school students planted five shade trees on the campus to enhance the school’s playing field and a new outdoor lunch space. Nov. 13 — Drew Model Elementary School (Va.) Eighteen elementary school students helped plant five native trees in the school’s newly renovated courtyard. The space is an extension of the school library, which looks out onto the courtyard.
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Arbor Kids Ice art for trees As the weather gets colder, make some ice art to decorate your outdoor trees, provide some winter food to wildlife or just to have some fun.
INSTRUCTIONS • Go on a walk around your neighborhood and collect some fun, interesting materials, such as tree needles, colorful fallen leaves, feathers, twigs, seeds, flowers, berries, etc.
• Fill a small bowl, tin or cup with at least an inch of water.
• Place a piece of twine or string around the edge of the container in the water. **Make sure the string is long enough so there is some left outside the container to use for hanging once frozen.
• Carefully arrange your collected items in the water.
• Leave it outside or place in your freezer over night.
• Once it is frozen carefully remove it (you may need to run warm water over it to release it from the container) and hang outside. Have fun creating!
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December 2013 | theleaflet