Newport Tree Conservancy State of the Forest 2022

state OF THE forest 2022

STAFF BOARD

Executive Director

Jon Greenberg

Operations Manager

Olivia Hinsey-Langlais

Horticulture Assistant

Annie Holbert Operations Assistant

Rachel Holbert

Program Director

Joe Verstandig

Living Collections Manager

Kristyn Woodland

Horticulturist

Rocky Steeves

Maureen Whitley

Scott Wheeler

Ex-Officio Advisor

The Newport Tree Conservancy is dedicated to fostering a healthy urban forest in the City of Newport, Rhode Island through a permanent tree management and planting program, for the benefit of present and future citizens of Newport.

Natasha Harrison

Lilly Dick President

Maureen Cronin

Robert Currier Secretary

Lisa Lewis

DEAR FRIENDS AND MEMBERS,

2021 was a very successful and eventful year for NTC. We made great leaps towards a greener Newport and a community that understands and values the trees in our midst.

We successfully worked with hundreds of Newport students through our partnerships with the Newport School System and our fellow organizations and institutions. Elementary, Middle and High School students learned about the trees in their parks and neighborhoods and deepened their understanding of how our environment, science and trees intersect.

NTC created several new public programs to examine and learn about trees and landscapes in our community. From the Island Cemetery to some spectacular private properties to our public parks; these

guided programs proved to be educational and fun for participants and NTC staff alike.

In 2021 we expanded our capacity to care for our public trees through our volunteer initiative: Tree Corps. This dedicated group of volunteers help to plant, weed, mulch and water the trees in Newport’s parks, along streets and in public spaces. This engaging program aims to maintain and improve the health of our urban forest while also deepening our community’s engagement with our shared tree canopy.

In addition, we have continued our efforts to propagate Newport’s most notable and historic trees, with well over 100 individual offspring now growing at our Heritage Tree Center. In partnership with the City of Newport, we have funded and supported over 200 new tree plantings in

our community through our tree giveaway and street tree programs.

Our organization has grown over the past two years and in 2021 we found ourselves in need of office space to accommodate our growing team. We are very fortunate to have a supportive community and the Redwood Library and Athenaeum offered to rent us a beautiful space in the Ballard Annex. We have enjoyed being in our neighborhood and our team is working at peak capacity to continue planting for the future; we hope you will join us in our efforts!

Natasha Harrison Executive Director

FORESTRY

Trees in an urban environment need extra support in order to survive and thrive. Our partnership with the City of Newport ensures that our community forest receives the necessary care to endure and flourish for generations to come.

320PUBLIC TREES CARED FOR

Jenna Keilch, Newport City Forester (L) & Charlie Ridolf, Foreman Parks, Grounds & Forestry (R).

38 SPECIMEN TREE PROGRAM FALL 2021

104 MIANTANOMI PARK REFORESTATION FALL 2021

57 COMMUNITY TREE PROGRAM SPRING 2022

9 COMMEMORATIVE TREE PROGRAM SPRING 2022

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Healthy trees make healthy communities, and healthy communities make healthy trees. NTC takes pride in offering a wide range of opportunities for residents and visitors to engage with Newport’s urban forest. From monthly guided tours, to technical workshops and hands-on volunteer projects, we want everyone to be able to explore, care for and learn from Newport’s trees. The awareness, advocacy, and support of our community is essential to creating and maintaining a healthy and vibrant urban forest.

213 ADULT PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

11 SITES

5 WORKSHOPS

8 TREE WALKS

Our work is only possible thanks to the tremendous community of volunteers who donate their time for the benefit of Newport’s trees.

We owe special thanks to our steadfast volunteers who join us week after week to care for our shared tree canopy.

80VOLUNTEERS

38WORKPROJECTS

235SERVICE HOURS

EDUCATION

In our second year of NTC’s new education program, youth engagement became considerably more flexible as participants were vaccinated against Covid-19. Teachers and students still wanted to get outside for engaging programs, but NTC staff were able to enter classrooms and community center buildings more safely. As a result, youth programs shifted from being entirely outdoors in 2020 to split nearly 50-50 with indoor learning in 2021.

389YOUTHPARTICIPANTS

9 AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS

36 FIELD TRIPS

ROGERS HIGH SCHOOL

37 CLASSROOM PROGRAMS

67 PROGRAM HOURS

9th grade Biology and Newport Project students participated in a year-long learning lab series where every classroom benefited from eight months of programs. Student enrichment included hands-on investigation of DNA, specialized structure and function, biodiversity, visits to Ballard Park and more, all through the lens of tree biology. NTC partnered with teachers to closely integrate our programming within existing classroom curriculum and learning objectives.

EAST BAY MET SCHOOL

10th grade students partnered with NTC for the second year of an engaging science skill-building program series in Miantonomi Park. Students utilized ecology techniques that complimented discussions about climate change and the carbon dioxide that trees take in and sequester each year. Students reviewed tree equity data and engaged in meaningful conversations around environmental justice: who does or does not have access to benefits of trees, including mitigation of dangerous heat island, cleaner air, and reduced energy costs.

PELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

3rd and 4th graders ventured out to Miantonomi Park for local “walking” field trips. Utilizing students’ own sense of place and familiarity of the park, NTC customized programs to focus on teachers’ requested topics. Students explored the ecosystem hidden below mulch surrounding recently planted trees, learned how trees use their vascular system to suck water up from their roots through straw-like structures, and observed native wildlife that depends on a healthy urban forest.

MLKCC AFTER SCHOOL

Continuing our on-going partnership with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, NTC offered free fall and spring after school programming for youth in grades 1-5. Many of our Pell students appeared in MLKCC programs and enjoyed this familiarity throughout their school year. Programs focussed on student enjoyment and interest in aspects of the urban forest: bark texture, flowering trees, and the animals who make their homes in Newport’s canopy. We encouraged social and emotional learning that will carry students beyond their school day and fuel a life-long love of trees.

TREE EQUITY

NEWPORT’S URBAN FOREST PROVIDES A WIDE RANGE OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS:

13.8MILLIONGALLONS

annual storm water interception

20-45ºF

surface temperature reduction

9.2THOUSAND TONS

annual CO2 sequestered

BUT THESE BENEFITS AREN’T EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

Thank to a new tool, the Tree Equity Score Analyzer (TESA), NTC can better identify gaps in our urban forest. By combining census data, temperature readings and satellite imagery, TESA calculates whether there are enough trees in specific neighborhoods for all Newporters to experience the health, economic and climate benefits that trees provide.

The map at right shows Newport’s tree equity scores by census block group. In 2021, NTC began utilizing TESA to focus our outreach and planting efforts. Highlighted in yellow are the neighborhoods that make up Newport’s Health Equity Zone (HEZ). NTC is partnering with HEZ organizers to address long-standing tree inequities in the north-end and ensure that all Newporters are able to enjoy the benefits that trees provide.

HORTICULTURAL PRESERVATION

THE STAR OF MAGNOLIAS

Newport is home to a vast wealth of diverse plant species and genetics, referred to in horticulture as germplasm (genetic identity). In some cases, storied plants maintain the same germplasm for centuries through repetitive clonal propagation. In others, plants evolve unique and notable traits through selection and cultivation in the nursery trade, research institutions and the home garden. It is often difficult to identify germplasm that is “special” with the naked eye. It is important to know the source of the plant, how it was propagated, and differing characteristics that prove its individuality. Sometimes though, you just know, or at least you think you do.

The Newport Art Museum’s star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is one such case. This inspiring tree is one the most important plants in the Newport community. Visitors

from around the world admire its brilliance, maturity, and grandeur. It does not however, resemble star magnolias we normally see in the garden.

Modern star magnolias, often in the form of numerous cultivars, are noticeably different. They are shrubbier, variably fragrant, and have dramatically thinner

tepals that are produced in higher numbers. Many of these varieties, including ‘Royal Star’, ‘Waterlily’, and ‘Centennial’, were all selected in the latter half of the 20th century, long after our tree was planted.

Does this mean the Art Museum magnolia is the only one of its kind? Unlikely, similar trees originating from the same source

must be extant somewhere. But in Newport, it stands alone, unable to be replaced by plants at the nursery. Because cultivated Magnolia stellata differ drastically from what we have growing in front of the Art Museum, the importance of preserving this plant becomes so much greater.

In 2021, NTC tried multiple times to root softwood cuttings under mist. While we were able to root a few of the cuttings, they could not be overwintered. In the fall of that same year, we collected and planted seed, and have been quite successful in germinating several plants this spring. This year, we plan to retry taking softwood cuttings, as well as grafting in the form of chip budding to successfully clone the tree and maintain exact copies. Seed will show minor variability, but the progeny will be largely in line with the parent tree.

The primary objective of the Newport Tree Conservancy’s Heritage Tree Center is to preserve Newport’s most significant and noble plants. This magnolia is the poster child for horticultural preservation, for when it goes, there is no replacement. The propagation of this tree is vital to maintain its special germplasm and keep the blooms coming in Newport.

Flower of Art Museum Magnolia (L) compared with the thinner tepals of ‘Waterlilly” (R)

Magnolia softwood propagation trials at NTC’s Heritage Tree Center

INCOME

2021 Arboretum Members:

Bellevue House

Bonniecrest

Broadlawns

Clover Patch

Frederick Law Olmsted Park & Arboretum

Harbor House

Hillside

Maher-a-Lago

Newport Mansions Arboretum

Ocean View

Pax-et-Bonum

Peace Pocket

Rose Island

Salt Marsh

Salve Regina University

Somershome

Stonybrook

Toad Hall

Villa Palona

Walnut Point

Weetamoe

$25,000+

The 1772 Foundation

Bartlett Tree Experts

Prince Charitable Trusts

van Beuren Charitable Foundation

$10,000 - $24,999

Alletta Morris McBean Charitable Trust

Mary Coleman

Virginia Decker

EJMP Fund for Philanthropy

The Gruben Charitable Foundation

$5,000 - $9,999

Anonymous

Maureen Cronin & Mark Marosits

Lilly Dick

Frederick Henry Prince Memorial Fund at Newport Hospital

Bob Gerber & Veronica Rynn

Hamilton Family Charitable Trust

Hartfield Foundation

Ann & Samuel Mencoff

The Petrovas Family Philanthropy Fund

Susan Ruf & Michael Walsh

Dwight & Susan Sipprelle

$1,000 - $4,999

Aquidneck Land Trust Merritt

Neighborhood Fund

Dan & Dory Benson

Barbara Benson

The Blue Garden

Frances & Steve Booth

Sandra & Grenville Craig

Brittain & John Damgard

Kurt & Alessandra Dolnier

Bernard S. Gewirz

Pamela Giannini

Jean & Sid Gorham

Matt & Anne Hamilton

John D. Harris, II & Linda L. Sawyer

Edward & Wendy Harvey

Robert & Angela Healy

Stefani Hulitar

Island Foundation, Inc.

Mike & Patricia Kidder

Igor Kryca & Christina Gee

Lisa Lewis & Bart Dunbar

Edith McBean

Stephanie McLennan

Susan McNally & Doug Sabetti

Robert & Carol O’Donnell

Thomas Palmer & Dominique Alfandre

Bettie & Jonathan Pardee

Lisa & Paul Perrault

Diana Prince

Ginny & James Purviance

Frank & Betsy Ray

Kristin & Tyson Reed

Ernst & Nancy Rothe

State of the Forest 2022

NTC graciously thanks all of our generous members and supporters for calendar year 2021:

Sagecrest

Mrs. Jay R. Schochet

Sarah Schochet-Henken & Darrah

O’Connor

Paul & Carole Steinbrenner

Meg and Don Steiner Charitable Fund

Swinburne Row, LLC

Happy van Beuren

The Watkins-Burnham Fund

The Weintz Family Harbor Lights Foundation

Maureen Whitley & Jeff Singer

$500 - $999

Thomas & Ella Auchincloss

Andrew & Priyanka Bobenski

Bonniecrest

Brigid Finn Fine Gardening

Jane Carey

Kate Chamberlain

Duncan & Barbara Chapman

Donald Christ & Jennifer Booth

Mark Della Volpe

Patrick Dolat

Elizabeth & Emlen Drayton

Edith Fletcher and Bob Cornett

Alexander & Jennifer Gee

Dana & Valarie Gelb

George & Nannette Herrick

Ted & Cheryl Huffman

Edward & Katherine Karle

Pam Kelley

Belinda Buck Kielland

Katherine Kirk

Karen Mahanke

Robert & Heidi Manice

Ward Marsh & Ingrid Henrichsen

Juliette McLennan

Jean Merritt Hertrich

Constance Metcalf

Sue & Peter Metzger

C. Milinaire Cushing

Newport Rotary Club

Roderick O’Hanley & Richard Crisson

Diana Pearson

James Peterson & Katie Emmet

Phoenix Property Management

The Point Association of Newport

Lisette Prince

Pamela F. & Lawrence A. Quinn

David Ray

Realtors of William Raveis Real Estate

Kim Robey

Janet Robinson

Lorna & Jeremiah Shafir

Major General & Mrs. Stephen R.

Seiter

Elliot Stultz

Target

Julie Toland

Kelly Vanicek

Ray Wilson

$100 - $499

Leith Adams

Brian & Deborah Arnold

Margaret Arpin

Mary Ellen Atkins & T.J. Brown

John Aylward

Melissa Bachelder

D. Kim Bakarian-Gaynor & Paul

Gaynor

Blake & Donna Banky

Holly Bannister

Mary Catherine & Brian Bardorf

Joan Beachnau

Bellevue Wine & Spirits

Nicholas Benson & Alexandra Flood

Louisa Boatwright

Richard & Barbara Bohan

Martha Boyle

Kate & Charles Brandeis

Joan & Jim Breakell

The Brennan Family

Edith Brewster

Richard & Nancy Brickley

John & Elizabeth Brooks

Eileen Brown

David Brown

Diana & Josiah Buntin

Michael Burns & Livvy Dinneen

Tim and Lorrie Burns

David & Mary Bush-Brown

Ross & Leah Cann

Richard & Maggie Carmichael

Sally Casey

Sam & Pat Chase

Jonna Chewning

George & Elisabeth Clark

Kelley & Christopher Coen

Jane Colby

Terry & Stephen Conlon

Robert Cowley & Didi Lorillard

Norey Cullen

Dr. Gary Cummins

Rob Currier

The Damon Company

Steven Deery

Matthew & Ramona Delaney

Diana & Peter DiBari

Maisie Dick

Norah Diedrich

Gerard DiRuggiero

Amy Dorkin

Paul & Liz Doucette

Pierre duPont Irving & Kathy Irving

Susan Dye

Alice Ellovich

Dr. Christopher Erstling

Robert Evans & Nancy Cushing Evans

Casey & Larry Farley

Mohamad & Dorienne Farzan

Linda & John Finn

Angela Fischer & Dr. Edwin Fischer, Sr.

Ronald Lee Fleming

Pamela & Ronald Fleming

Marie, Dan, Emily & Jake Force

John French, II & Jae French

Jo Eva Gaines

Kristie & Glenn Gardiner

Jim & Dotti Garman

A.L. Garrison & T.W. Emmett

Rachael Gillson

Pam Gilpin

Pamela Giroux

Warren & Linda Gray

Audrey Grimes

Jessica Hagen

Joseph & Jane Hall

June Halliday-Holden

Jacqueline Hanson

Peter Harty

Michael & Mary Hayes

Patrick Hayes

Rick & Phyllis Higgerson

John & Mary Hirschboeck

Allan Hodges

Kala Horvitz

Mary Jennings

Jessica Hagen Fine Art & Design

Deborah Kelsey & Kevin Kelley

Denise Lawson

Chad Loebs

Lorie Loughborough

John & Patricia Lynch

Ron & Kati Machtley

Darcy Magratten

James Maguire

Joan Mason

Mastercard

James May & Patricia Sweeny May

Puffy & Bob Meikle

Victoria & Joseph Mele

Michael Hayes Co.

Moeschler-Serafin Family

Carlotta Morris

Jeremiah Morrison

Mark Muetterties, MD & Jacqueline

Colbert

Arthur Murphy

Michael Murphy

Michael & Paula Murray

Newport Garden Club

Lynn & Andrew Nicoletta

Jan Nisbet

Sarah Nolan

Edna O’Connell

Rosaleen O’Sullivan

Rochelle Ohrstrom

David Parke & Sue (Healy) Parke

Christopher & Janet Pell

Thomas Perrotti

Jane & Steve Perry

Brooke Pinault

Susan & Jon Powers

James Quiggle

Ann & Peter Randall

William & Joan Rauch

Christa Reise

Peter & Betsy Rice

John & Peggy Richmond

Barbara & Brooke Roberts

Luther Roberts

Marie Robinson

Jim & Alice Ross

Bayard & Pamela Russell

Salesforce

Turner Scott & Kathy Pratt

Bill & Mary Sizeland

Devin & Carol Skelly

Christie & Ed Smith

David & Deborah Smith

Bill & Judy Souza

William & Elaine Souza

Marjorie Spencer

Diana & Paul Szapary

Susan Taylor

Lydia Biddle Thomas

Donald Tofias & Joanne O’Dwyer

George Tollefson

Gary & Geraldine Vitale

Robert Walker

Kathleen S & Kathleen Wallace

Roger & Eileen Warburton

Mary brown Warburton

Judith Webb

Jay & Kathy Weibel

Diane Wilsey

Up to $99

Charles Allott & Ellen Nichols

Deanna Amorello

Jan Armor

James Baker

Joseph Bardenheier

Sandra & David Barnes

Susan Barnes

Taisiya Battelle

James Behan

Catherine Berluti & Katie Mahoney

Lloyd & Lisa Berntsen

William Boiani

Dennis Bristow

Sharon, Cathy & Steve Brown

Judith Buxbaum

Judy Byrnes

Emily Cairns

John & Sheryl Callaghan

Drew Carey

Charles & Toni Ciany

Kerry & Justin Clougher

Jean Conway

Everett & Carol Correia

Cormac Cunningham

Cynthia Cunningham

Mary Currier

Jeff & Ginny Curtis

Betsy de Leiris

Donald Deluca

Lore Denver-Basil

Kathy & Bill Dickenson

Paul Dolan

Robert & Judith Dudek

Roger & Mary Dufour

Dr. & J. Richard Durnan

Kathryn Farrington

Sharon & Adrian Flatgard

Kathy Foulke

Mary Clare Garcia

E. Ann Gizzi

Patricia Gleason-Claydon & James

Gleason

Darius & Gale Goff

Gooseberry Beach, Inc.

Isabel Griffith

Terry & Richard Grosvenor

June Halliday Holden

Kevin Harrington

Beth Herman

Mike & Carrie Hill

Andrea Hollis & Bob Rotondo

Robert & Denise Johnson

Jacquelyn Kanis & Alan Santos

Barbara Kathe

Winkle Kelley

Rebecca Kelly & Rupert Nesbitt

Margaret & Timothy Kelly

Margaret Kimmett

Gordon & Karen King

Roger King Jr. & Sandra King

Andrea Kramer

Yvonne & Gary Lash

Tom, Peg & Marie Leary

Bruce & Marilyn Leish

Allison Lentino

William Leys

Dennis & Susan McCoy

The McDermott Family

Kathleen & Larry McGowan

Elizabeth McStay

Charles Miller & Birch Coffey

Claudia & Jay Miranda

Judith Moore

Kathleen Myers

Ilse Nesbitt

Naomi Neville & Jeff Rothermel

Leonard & Marianne Nihan

Patricia O’Donnell

Patricia Olechnowicz

Linda Oliver Hughes & John Hughes

Susan Olson

Silvia Osborn

Madeleine Panaggio

Kathleen Papp

Barbara Parent

Lauren Parmelee

Nancy Parsons

T.J. Perrotti

Jackie Pickett

Mark Quinn

Elizabeth Reynolds

Paul Runci

Bettie Sarantos

Crystal Sargent

Brian Shanley & Susan Walsh

Adrienne & Eric Shaw

Mark Simmons

Anne Spelman

Dennis Sullivan

Jody & William Sullivan

Libby & Michael Toppa

Robert Vitello & Barbara Winkler

Barnabas & Marnie Webster

Erin Weibel

Margaret Winters

Gifts in Memory of:

Lori Ann Barile

Anonymous

Timothy J. Brown

Mary Ellen Atkins & T.J. Brown

John Aylward

James Behan

Catherine Berluti & Katie Mahoney

Martha Boyle

Raleigh Brennan

Sharon Brown

Tim and Lorrie Burns

Judith Buxbaum

Emily Cairns

Donald Christ & Jennifer Booth

Kerry & Justin Clougher

Jane Colby

Everett & Carol Correia

Rob Currier

Jeff & Ginny Curtis

Betsy de Leiris

The Damon Company

Virginia Decker

Steven Deery

Kathy & Bill Dickenson

Roger & Mary Dufour

Mrs. Angela Fischer & Dr. Edwin

Fischer, Sr.

Dan & Marie Force

Kristie & Glenn Gardiner

Rachael Gillson

Pam Gilpin

E. Ann Gizzi

Patricia Gleason-Claydon & James

Gleason

Gooseberry Beach, Inc.

Jean & Sid Gorham

Jacqueline Hanson

Patrick Hayes

Mike & Carrie Hill

Island Foundation

Robert & Denise Johnson

Jacquelyn Kanis & Alan Santos

Winkle Kelley

Margaret Kimmett

Denise Lawson

Margaret & Tom Leary

John & Patricia Lynch

James Maguire

The McDermott Family

Kathleen & Larry McGowan

Puffy & Bob Meikle

Claudia & Jay Miranda

Emily Moeschler

Judith Moore

Carlotta Morris

Jeremiah Morrison

Mr. Arthur Murphy

Kathleen Myers

Jan Nisbet

Edna O’Connell

Rosaleen O’Sullivan

Patricia Olechnowicz

Mrs. Bettie & Mr. Jonathan Pardee

David Parke & Sue (Healy) Parke

Diana Pearson

Thomas Perrotti

Jane & Steve Perry

Brooke Pinault

Elizabeth Reynolds

Peter & Betsy Rice

Luther Roberts

Bill & Mary Sizeland

Bill & Judy Souza

Dennis Sullivan

George Tollefson

Barnabas & Marnie Webster

Erin Weibel

Jay & Kathy Weibel

Margaret Winters

Edward A. Cunningham, Jr

Cormac Cunningham

Mrs. Marion “Oatsie” Charles

Stephanie McLennan

Lori Merritt

Jean Merritt Hertrich

J Q Murphy

Michael Murphy

George O’Hara

Kathy Foulke

Gardiner L. Sherman

Peter Rice

Regina Slezak

The Newport Rotary Club

Thank you to all of our community partners!

Aquidneck Land Trust

Bike Newport

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center

Friends of King Park

Island Cemetery

Miantonomi Park Commission

Newport Garden Club

Newport Health Equity Zone

Newport Open Space Partnership

Newport Public Schools

Newport Restoration Foundation

Newport Tree and Open Space Commission

Redwood Library & Athenæum

RI Department of Environmental Management

Rhode Island Environmental Education Association

Rhode Island Nursery & Landscape Association

Rhode Island Tree Council

Salve Regina University

The Blue Garden

The Met School

The Newport Project

University of Rhode Island Biocontrol Lab