The Leaflet — May 2012 by Casey Trees

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MAY 2012

CASEY TREES NEWS IN BRIEF

Attention Citizen Foresters: Join us for an end-of-season planting and party on May 5 The last planting of the spring 2012 Community Tree Planting season — open to Citizen Foresters (CF) only — will be May 5 at Calvin Coolidge High School, where CFs will plant 50 trees on the school’s grounds, at 5th and Sheridan Streets NW. Interested CFs can register online. An end-of-season barbecue will follow the planting. CFs can sign up for either the planting, barbecue or both; if you plan to come to the party only, contact Liz Ball, Volunteer Coordinator, by email or by calling 202.349.1907, to R.S.V.P.

CASEY TREES NEWS CASEY TREES’ MARK BUSCAINO RECEIVES AWARD | The Garden Club of America honored Casey Trees’ Executive Director Mark Buscaino with the prestigious Margret Douglas Medal. Since 1952, the award has been given annually to recognize an individual for their notable service to the cause of conservation education. Mark was recognized for his achievements in arboriculture. VOLUNTEER WITH CASEY TREES THIS SUMMER | Are you part of a group looking for summer volunteer opportunities? Help Casey Trees water, mulch and weed trees, install slow-release watering bags and beautify the surrounding area at previous CTP sites. Email Volunteer Coordinator Liz Ball with a date, time, location (optional) and number of people. Groups have a maximum of 20 people. These opportunities start May 12 and last until August. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR 2012 HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER CREW | Casey Trees is still accepting applications for this year’s High School Summer Crew jobs program. If you know a high school student or recent graduate who is at least 16 years old, loves the environment and needs a summer job, encourage them to apply. Crew members are tasked with caring for the District’s trees 35 hours a week Monday to Friday and are paid $9.00 an hour. Applicants must be able to lift 40 pounds and be willing to work outdoors in all weather conditions with various landscaping tools. Applications are due May 18. Finalists will 2

be invited to participate in a two-day field tryout on June 18 and 19. GET YOUR TREE REBATE BEFORE PLANTING SEASON ENDS | The spring planting season is almost over, so if you have the perfect space in your yard to add a tree, plant one through the Tree Rebate program. Since March, Casey Trees has approved 92 tree rebates. If you are interested in planting a tree on private property in D.C., do it before it gets too hot. CASEY TREES HOSTS QUARTERLY URBAN FORESTRY ROUNDTABLE | On May 31, the Northern Virginia Urban Forestry Quarterly Roundtable will meet at Casey Trees’ headquarters to discuss the theme “Increasing Tree Canopy on Private Land.” Panelists from The Virginia Department of Forestry, Tree Fredericksburg, District Department of the Environment, Casey Trees and urban foresters from some of Virginia’s counties will attend to explain current initiatives and promote regional aspirations of local groups and governments. The roundtable is open to the public; register with Trees Virginia by May 23.

URBAN FORESTRY NEWS D.C. GOVERNMENT RELEASES 311 SMARTPHONE APPLICATION | It is now easier to request new street trees with D.C.’s new 311 smartphone applications, available for free on both iPhone and Android devices. The application simplifies the process of reporting various city issues, including pesky potholes, damaged street signs and dead or dying trees in the boxes in front May 2012 | theleaflet

of your home or office. You can send photos with your report and view other issues reported by others in your area. DISTRICT HOSTS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY | The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has chosen the District of Columbia as the North American host for World Environment Day (WED) 2012! The city has been chosen to highlight its recent sustainability efforts and promote Mayor Vincent Gray’s plan for a multi-year sustainable DC program. Residents, business owners, and community leaders are expected to rally behind a theme of, “Unite for a Sustainable D.C.” as the June 5th event date approaches.

MAY ARBOR DAY DATES | A handful of states continue this year’s Arbor Day celebration in May. Here are the listings of Arbor Day dates and each state’s official tree: May 4: North Dakota (American elm); Vermont (sugar maple) May 20 to May 26: Maine (eastern white pine) May 21: Alaska (Sitka spruce). For more Arbor Day listings, visit the Arbor Day Foundation and be sure to join in the celebration.

IN THIS ISSUE... FROM THE DESK: FULFILLING D.C.’S TREE CANOPY GOAL................................................................ 4-5 CITY RECEIVES INCOMPLETE GRADE ON TREE REPORT CARD........................................................ 6-7 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GIVES TESTIMONY AT DDOE-DDOT BUDGET HEARING.................................. 8 GIVING: COMMEMORATE A SPECIAL PERSON OR EVENT WITH A TREE DEDICATION..................... 9 URBAN ORCHARDS: COMMUNITY GARDENS AND SCHOOL CAMPUSES GET FRUIT TREES.......... 10 SPOTLIGHT: SALLY BOASBERG WAS AN CHAMPION FOR D.C.’S TREES........................................... 11 TREEWISE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FROM AREA YOUTH SUMMER PROGRAMS....................... 12 CASEY TREES BEGINS LARGE-PARCEL PLANTINGS.............................................................................. 13 DEVELOPMENT TRACKER: MCMILLAN RESERVOIR SITE............................................................... 14-15 WEEKLY WATERING ALERTS BEGIN FOR D.C.-AREA RESIDENTS....................................................... 16 ARBOR KIDS: TBD....................................................................................................................................... 17

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From the Desk Casey Trees’ Tree Report Card: Assessing D.C.’s tree canopy Each year Casey Trees releases a Tree Report Card. It is a simple tracking tool to determine the condition and extent of D.C.’s tree canopy and how efforts to expand the amount of trees in the District — based on the city’s tree canopy goal of 40 percent by 2035 — are progressing. We have had some changes in the metrics since we began, but throughout the process we have tried to keep it as simple as possible. This year, in the spirit of simplicity, we dropped the Tree Awareness metric. It was a difficult decision because awareness MARK BUSCAINO gets to education, a cornerstone for many EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Casey Trees programs and something that is critical for the success of any endeavor. Unfortunately, we felt the mechanisms we used in the past to measure this were inadequate, and to do it property would have been extremely resource-intensive with D.C.’s 600,000 residents. We therefore decided to focus on the basics that we can realistically measure: • The extent of the tree canopy, • General health and composition of the trees that make up that canopy, • Tree planting efforts geared toward achieving D.C.’s tree canopy goal, and

• Efforts to protect trees and replace those that are removed I’m very pleased to report that there has been notable progress, for example: • More than 13,000 trees were planted, far exceeding the annual target of 8,600 trees.

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slowing the loss of trees, and ensuring that those that are removed are replaced. This year’s overall grade of Incomplete reflects the fact that while much work has been done to correct deficiencies in the UFPA, that work has still not been completed. While record keeping is improving, there remains a critical gap: neither the locations of replacement trees nor their survival is being tracked to determine if the law is achieving its intended purpose of replacing canopy that is lost when trees are cut down. We are hopeful that over the next several months the D.C. Council will enact the Urban Forestry Administration Reorganization Act of 2011 to raise the bar on discouraging the removal of healthy trees in the District and to replace those that are removed. If passed, we are confident that the slow decline of D.C.’s canopy, seen since the 1950s, will finally begin to rebound and that, over time, the 40 percent tree canopy goal will become a reality. • While tree canopy has not gone up, it has stabilized at 35 percent — the same as when the last measurement was taken in 2006. • Problems identified with Urban Forest Preservation Act (UFPA) of 2002 are being addressed by the D.C. Council, with pending legislation to make this law more effective in

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Thank you for your continuing support. Regards,

Mark Buscaino Executive Director

Advocacy City receives Incomplete grade on Fourth Annual Tree Report Card For the first time ever, Casey Trees has issued an Incomplete grade for the District on the Tree Report Card, highlighting deficiencies in the Urban Forest Preservation Act (UFPA) of 2002. Since 2009, in conjunction with Arbor Day, Casey Trees has assessed the District’s trees on public and private lands using four performance metrics — Coverage, Health, Planting and Protection — to determine the overall grade. Tree Protection, which evaluates the effectiveness of the UFPA, received an Incomplete, preventing an overall grade from being determined. An Incomplete was assigned to credit progress being made to address the inadequacies detailed in the Office of the D.C. Auditor Report of the Urban Forestry Administration begun in 2011 and that remain underway. Of particular note is Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s introduction of the Urban Forestry Administration Reorganization Act (UFARA) of 2011, which proposes the transfer of management and enforcement of the Tree Fund to the District Department of the Environment and strengthens additional provisions with the intent to grow D.C.’s

tree canopy to 40 percent by 2035. Collective Tree Planting efforts — more than 13,200 trees were planted across D.C. in 2011 — earned the District an A+ for the second year in a row. Tree Coverage and Tree Health remained flat, receiving a B+ and B- respectively – the same grades received for three consecutive years. “This year’s Tree Report Card shows signs of progress,” said Mark Buscaino, Executive Director of Casey Trees. “Tree planting numbers have far exceeded targets, overall canopy decline appears to have halted and significant efforts have been made to correct deficiencies in D.C.’s tree protection law. While more work lies ahead, we are confident that these gains will lead to improved conditions over the ensuing years.” Buscaino will discuss the Fourth Annual Tree Report Card during Tree Talk Thursdays, Casey Tree’s monthly online chat series, on May 10 at noon. Participants can submit questions or comments live during the chat or in advance via email. Event reminders may also be scheduled. This Fourth Annual Tree Report Card and those from previous years may be viewed in their entirety, along with recommendations for how to improve D.C.’s grade.

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The District’s overall Tree Report Card grade is determined by scores given to four performance metrics: Coverage, Health, Planting and Protection. These metrics help us understand if we are on pace to fulfill the District’s ambitious but attainable tree canopy goal.

TREE COVERAGE A measure of the surface of a tree’s crown, also referred to as canopy, viewed from above. Casey Trees’ analysis found that tree canopy coverage remained unchanged since 2006, coming in at 35 percent.

TREE HEALTH A measure of the overall health of trees that make up D.C.’s tree canopy. While this rating has many implications, fundamentally, trees in “Poor” condition generally do not live as long as those in “Good” to “Excellent” condition.

TREE PLANTING Refers to the number of new trees planted annually to expand the canopy. Trees planted to replace removed trees, such as those done through the Tree Fund, are not included because the intent of those trees is to replace lost canopy, not expand it.

TREE PROTECTION This metric evaluates the effectiveness of the UFPA. While significant deficiencies in protecting trees still continue, the Council’s strong commitment to passing the UFARA must be recognized, which is why Casey Trees gave D.C. an Incomplete for this metric.

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Advocacy Executive Director Mark Buscaino testifies at DDOT-DDOE budget hearings There has been marked improvement of the state of D.C.’s tree canopy over the past two years, including a stablilizing of the percentage of tree cover at 35 percent compared to the decline it has been on since the 1950s. Though there are encouraging signs, it is important to remember that less than two years ago, the city redirected $539,000 from the Tree Fund to help fill a $5-million gap in the District’s General Fund, and diligence is required to ensure D.C. retains its moniker City of Trees. On April 23, Executive Director Mark Buscaino testified before the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Environment, Public Works and Transportation FY13 budget hearing on behalf of the District’s trees. Buscaino presented the council with the following budgetary recommendations: 1.

Ensure that money is used as intended — to plant replacement trees, not to offset general operating shortfall.

If passed, the Urban Forestry Administration Reorganization Act of 2011 will shift responsibility for administration and enforcement of the Act from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to the District Department of the Environment (DDOE). To do this job DDOE will need approximately $750,000 for staff, equipment and materials, and; at minimum, some of these

resources should come from the agency that is doing this job now, DDOT. 3.

D.C.’s rights-of-way can support 140,000 street trees. Approximately 18,000 spaces are vacant and each year the number trees planted exceeds the number of removals by about 1,500 trees. At that rate it will take 12 years to fill all the empty spaces. Casey Trees asks the D.C. Council to consider increasing tree planting expenditures over current levels by $1 million per year for the next five years, which will add 3,500 additional trees per year, achieving full stocking by 2018.

Tree box expansion efforts, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Revolving State Fund, have been highly successful. Casey Trees encourages continued funding of this effort to control stormwater and improve the health and longevity of D.C.’s street trees. Tasking DDOE and DDOT to coordinate efforts to continue this work city-wide would represent an enormous benefit for District residents for the long term.

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Giving Give a gift that lasts a lifetime “It’s sunny, let’s sit in the shade.” The words themselves are simple enough, but when they’re uttered by three-year-old Alex van den Broek, they seem to take on a whole new meaning. “He seems to appreciate, at an intuitive level, the role that trees play in the city’s ecosystem,” said his proud mother, Lisa Pearlman. It’s exactly this personal connection to trees — sometimes found in people as young as Alex — that inspired our Tree Dedication program. It is Casey Trees’ way of providing an opportunity for friends and supporters to celebrate and honor the people, pets and events that have touched and shaped their lives in a lasting and meaningful way. And when Lisa was thinking of the perfect gift for Alex and his younger sister Aline this past holiday season, a tree dedication seemed like the perfect option. “We were able to contribute something to the local environment in which we live, and at the same time give our son the experience of selecting and planting ‘his’ tree,” said Lisa, who helped plant Alex’s yellowwood and Aline’s sweetgum at a Community Tree Planting (CTP) event at Tregaron Conservancy this spring.

public event or a private ceremony. Commemorative trees are then included in our online interactive map with their names, tree species, planting date and coordinates added. Tree dedications only take place during our CTP planting seasons that run in the spring (March to May) and the fall (October to December). Individuals interested in dedicating a tree this year and helping build a green legacy in our nation’s capital, are encouraged to go online or call the Development Department at 202.833.9125. With several different dedication options available to you, Casey Trees wants to ensure your gift — and your tree — is a perfect celebration of life and joy.

Alex van den Broek plants a yellowwood with his mother, Lisa Pearlman, who gifted the tree to him.

So as we reach the end of spring, and as the warm weather brings some of life’s most celebrated happenings — births, graduations, weddings, anniversaries and more — consider making a gift like Alex’s, one that will last for years to come.

As part of our dedication programs, all our honorees have the option of participating in the planting of their tree — whether that be a

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Spotlight Community advocate and Lead Citizen Forester Xavier Brown talks trees Xavier Brown has his father to thank for being pulled out of bed on a rainy Saturday morning last October to plant trees at The Catholic University of America. The Tree Planting class that morning was his first exposure to Casey Trees and his first step toward becoming a Citizen Forester (CF), but it wasn’t his first time appreciating the District’s trees. “When I was younger, my father and I would walk the trails [of Rock Creek Park] for hours and enjoy everything Mother Nature has to offer,” Brown said. Today, Brown is the director of The Green Scheme, an urban agriculture that he and some friends started that works to educate citizens about their role in local environmental issues and promote sustainable, healthy communities. Similarly, he said he believes native Washingtonians have a responsibility to go out into their community and get engaged with groups like Casey Trees. Xavier Brown made his first contribution after seeing Casey Trees’ work around the city.

“As people who have lived in D.C. our entire lives, I feel that we should be involved with a positive cause that is helping to reshape all neighborhoods in a positive way,” Brown said, “one tree planting at time.”

I feel that we should be involved with a positive cause that is helping to reshape all neighborhoods in a positive way, one tree planting at time. Brown, who also enjoys gardening, playing basketball and reading, is well into his second season as a CF leading teams of volunteers at Community Tree Plantings all over the District. He said it is the interactions with the other participants that he most enjoys. “By far my favorite thing about a Casey Trees planting is the people that you get to meet and converse with,” he said. “D.C. is such a crossroads that you always have the opportunity to meet different people who have good stories to tell.” Are you interested in becoming a Citizen Forester? Qualifying courses begin again in September.

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Casey Trees remembers tree champion Sally Boasberg By Mark Buscaino, Executive Director, than when she started trying to improve their lot. Casey Trees | Sally Boasberg was involved in When Sally roared into my office 10 years ago, the many noble pursuits in Washington, D.C., but I will District was planting roughly 1,000 trees a year, remember her most because of her passion for had an enormous backlog of dead and dying street D.C.’s trees. I met Sally in 2002 when I worked trees, a crushing list of maintenance needs, and with the District’s Urban Forestry Administration. only a handful of professional arborists to manage When she introduced herself it all. Compare that to now, I was immediately informed when for more than three that there were things that years running more than 4,000 needed to be done: many street trees are planted each trees had to be pruned (they year, another 4,000 annually looked horrible, she said), the are planted in parks, yards and empty street boxes needed gardens, the backlog of dead new trees, and the standing street trees is largely gone and dead trees — and there were about two dozen professionally many back then — needed to trained arborists work both for be removed and replaced. And the city and other public and finally those power companies private entities throughout the must be hemmed in! I could not District. help but ask myself: who is this Sally Boasberg was a vocal advocate for tree planting tornado? But, even with all that progress and protection initiatives in D.C. Phtoo courtesy of The I know Sally would say Washington Post. Sally pushed, cajoled and something like: “Well that’s prodded, talked and shook hands and smiled. She good Mark but there’s still an empty tree box just had a vision for a city with a green, healthy and down the street from my house you know.” And she vibrant tree canopy, with gardens and vistas and would be right — more still does need to be done, pathways to connect people to what she knew was but it is a lot less than it would be if Sally had not a calming and humanizing force for everyone — helped raise the bar so high for so many years. nature. And she pursued that vision with tenacity, courage and chutzpah. She was hard to ignore Sally Boasberg was, and will always remain, a and harder not to love — for her smile and her beacon of hope and a guide for the future. She friendship and her dogged persistence. intrinsically understood the power of trees, the wonder they bring and the life they give to the In large part because of her hard work, I can sometimes harsh city we all inhabit, and all of us at confidently say that D.C.’s trees are far better off Casey Trees shall miss her dearly.

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Education TreeWise program accepting applications through end of month Casey Trees wants to get youth ages 6 to13 outdoors this summer through TreeWise, its free, nature- and placed-based enrichment program running June 18 to August 3. Any summer camp, school or recreation program site within 25 miles of the District may request a TreeWise counselor work with their youth participants.

To be eligible, groups must commit to having one adult for every five youth present throughout the entire activity or lesson and lend assistance as requested. Activities are limited to 20 youth at a time but multiple sessions may be scheduled for the same day. Requesting programs must be in close proximity to or able to travel to a greenspace where youth can safely interact with one or more trees. Parks and playgrounds are ideal host locations, but youth can also work with street trees.

Formerly known as Arbor Kids on the Go, TreeWise engages youth in tree biology and care activities, including scavenger hunts, leaf and bark rubbings, tree identification, measurement and Requests for a watering exercises TreeWise counselor Casey Trees’ TreeWise program gets youth outdoors and teaches them about the benefits of trees in their communities. and more. Lessons must be submitted and activities are online by May 31. interactive and tailored to be age- and/or gradeGroups are accepted on a first come, first served appropriate. basis. “One of the goals of Tree Wise is to create an opportunity to connect kids to trees and nature,” said Liz Ball, Casey Trees’ Volunteer Coordinator. “Through their TreeWise experiences, these children will grow up to be empowered to take care of trees and the natural world.”

Find out more about Casey Trees’ youth educational programs online.

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Tree Planting New grant-funded program explores large-parcel plantings On April 25 and 26, Casey Trees planted 85 trees along a barren stretch of Ft. Lincoln Drive NE in Ward 5 as part of its Large Parcel Tree Planting Pilot Program. Fifteen more trees will be planted this month. The Large Parcel Tree Planting Program will ultimately add a minimum of 500 trees over two years on large parcels in need of tree canopy across in Washington, D.C. Added trees will count towards the District’s tree canopy goal of 40 percent by 2035, which requires an average of 8,600 trees be planted each year to be met. Additionally, the program will allow Casey Trees and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), a key strategic partner in this effort, to experiment with nontraditional planting stock such as root bag, hand-ball and bare root trees, and seedlings. Maintenance regimes will also be experimented with. Tree care, including watering and mulching duties, will be performed by Casey Trees’ High School Summer Crew. The innovative program is made possible with funding through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund via the Small Watershed Grants Program, which is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. FedEx has provided $20,000 in support of the program as part of its FedEx

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EarthSmart Outreach initiative, which helps to address the most pressing environmental challenges. Additional underwriting is provided by Altria and Casey Trees. “We are thankful to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, FedEx and Altria for providing us the opportunity to pilot a new planting program that will help us add trees to large swaths of land currently void of vegetation,” said Jim Woodworth, Director of Tree Planting.

Tree canopy around Ft. Lincoln Drive NE was depleted because of new development in the neighborhood.

Future planting sites are currently being sought. Ideal locations have large areas of grass and are singular or contiguous properties and can accommodate a minimum of 100 trees such as cemeteries and institutional landscapes (e.g. hospitals, universities, etc.). Preference will be given to locations within Oxon Run and Rock Creek Watersheds. Sites do not need water access. Have a recommendation for a large-parcel planting site? Email Director of Tree Planting Jim Woodworth with the location and details of the site.

Planning & Design Development Tracker: McMillan Resevoir By Lisa Morris, Planning Associate, Casey Trees | Drivers stopped at the corner of Michigan Avenue and North Capitol might wonder about the concrete cylinders that dot the fenced-off green space just east of the McMillan Reservoir. The 25-acre property is the former McMillan Sand Filtration Site. If the city’s plans are realized, those concrete cylinders will soon adorn a new mixed-use development. The McMillan Sand Filtration Site was developed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1906 to clean the District’s drinking water through the process of slow sand filtration. The process took place in underground cells, where water filtered through two feet of sand before pipes delivered the clean water to city residents. Meanwhile, the surface served as a park designed by the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., until it was fenced off during World War II in response to concerns about the water supply’s safety. In the 1980s, slow sand filtration became obsolete, and the District purchased the property for redevelopment. Now that idea is moving forward with a master plan that proposes a mix of retail, office and residential uses. The current plan shows about a 25 percent canopy cover for McMillan post-redevelopment. We would like to see the city set a goal for the project of 30 canopy cover to help meet D.C.’s tree canopy goal of 40 percent by 2035. Considering the land uses proposed for the site, this goal would be ambitious

An aerial plan of the mixed-use development . Drawing courtesy of Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects.

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yet achievable with the use of best practices such as burying utility lines and installing supported sidewalks to allow for adequate soil volume. Of the 25 acres, about five are proposed to become permanent open space. While this is a welcome part of the plan, a comprehensive approach that opens both the reservoir and sand filtration site to the public and bolsters green space on both sites would best serve the surrounding neighborhoods. This area already acts as a de facto recreation space despite the lack of access; the water, green space and tree-lined hills attract walkers, runners and cyclists eager for a park-like setting. Restoring access would greatly benefit the community and help connect the surrounding neighborhoods. The District can look to Baltimore and Columbia, Md., where city reservoirs serve as public parks, sometimes with fences around the water rather than the entire site.

The historic silos from the old sand filtration site play an integral role in the developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s site plan. Above photo by David Monack. Left photo from M.V. Jantzen on Flickr.

New development on the McMillan site is a welcome prospect. With good planning, proper attention to tree spaces and an ambitious canopy goal, this project will not only enliven an underutilized part of the city but also enhance the existing beauty of the green space. Want to learn more about ways to design public spaces for trees? Register for a First Fridays presentation this summer.

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Tree Care Weekly tree watering alerts aim to keep District’s trees alive Abnormally dry weather conditions this spring prompted Casey Trees to begin issuing its weekly watering alerts in mid-April, a few weeks ahead of schedule. The alerts encourage residents and businesses to ensure trees that have been in the ground less than three years receive 25 gallons of water — equivalent to roughly 1.5 inches of rain — a week to establish their roots and survive severe summer conditions. Each Monday, Casey Trees will post watering recommendations on its website’s homepage and Facebook and Twitter accounts. Precipitation and streamflow data determine the conditions — Dry, Normal or Wet — and the associated watering recommendation — Water, Additional Watering Optional or No Additional Watering Needed, respectively. The weekly alerts are part of Casey Trees’ annual 25 to Stay Alive campaign, which aims to educate residents of the importance of watering trees, demonstrate proper water techniques and provide supplies to make watering easier and generate less wasteful runoff. Residents can also determine when to water their trees by tracking weekly rainfall totals. If less than 1.5 inches of rain falls over the course of a week, individuals should water their trees the recommended 25 gallons of water. Casey Trees provides complimentary rain gauges to individuals

who sign the 25 to Stay Alive Tree Watering Pledge and live within 25 miles of the District. Residents and businesses can also “adopt” newly planted street trees through the Urban Forestry Administration’s (UFA) — the entity charged with planting and maintaining street trees in the District — Canopy Keeper program. Canopy Keepers pledge to water trees for two years after planting and receive a free slow-drip watering device to help them water. To help make watering trees more efficient and prevent water runoff, Casey Trees recommends individuals install slow-release watering devises, such as Ooze Tubes©, that hold 25 gallons of water and apply mulch around the base of trees. Ooze Tubes© are available through Casey Trees for a donation of $15 per device and must be picked up from its Brookland office location during normal business hours. Mulch application and tree watering and care tips can be found at www.caseytrees.org/ treecare. Visit us online for step-by-step instruction on how to properly plant and care for trees and information on programs available to D.C. residents to help offset the cost of purchasing trees. Learn more about proper tree care by taking a class, participating in a Tree Talk Thursdays session or subscribing to the Casey Trees blog Tree Speak.

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Arbor Kids Picture Bits: Tree planting and watering Can you guess all the tools Casey Trees needs for planting and watering trees based on these pictures?

2 6 4

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