Annual Belle Cooledge ice Save the Elms Program looks for cream social set for May 19 Citizen Scientist volunteers to By Kristen Holmes and Denise Holmes
monitor trees with Dutch elm disease
Save the date and mark your calendar for another fun time at the Belle Cooledge Ice Cream Social. The date will be Friday, May 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. This will be the 19th anniversary of this popular event. Once again, we will be providing entertainment with our popular Chicken Lips from our last year’s “rainy social”. Remember that? Our new featured jazz band will be a fun group called the Templetons and they will be performing in the Community Center. Get set for some “divine” scoops of Vic’s ice cream. We took a survey and found mint chip and muddy mocha to be the two top favorites, but there will be four other flavors to choose from as well. Fire Engine #13 will stop by and we all know the excitement we see in the childrens’ faces as the big red, shiny engine pulls up. Thanks to the fire crew for giving of your time and sharing so much with our families. Our book sale will be slightly different this year. We have transitioned to a PopUp Book Sale each and every month, thanks mostly to Pam Kent and Julie Bannister,
By Laura I. Winn
who head up book sales for our Friends’ Board. But no worries. There will be plenty of books, CDs and DVDs for all! Be sure to come early and you will have the very best picks. Prices cannot be beat! This is also a good time to become a member! Stop by and pay a friendly visit to our membership Chairperson, Ellen McCaslin. Every membership counts and we do appreciate your support! And, finally, this is the time to sign up for our fun Belle Cooledge Summer Reading Program. See you all there! Denise Holmes is a board member for the Belle Cooledge Friends of the Library.
The Casa Garden Restaurant & The Old Sugar Mill Of Clarksburg
Present
This summer when you walk your dog, watch for birds or simply enjoy a leisurely stroll, you could also play a vital role in protecting Sacramento’s beloved elm tree canopy. In an effort to preserve the dying elm population, the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the City of Sacramento once again present the Save the Elms Program (STEP) Citizen Scientist project. The app-based program trains volunteers to monitor assigned trees for symptoms of Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease that has killed thousands of local elms since the 1990s, and many thousands more in the last century. Although Sacramento has been shying away from its original “City of Trees” moniker in favor of “America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital” – including the controversial March 9 motto change on the I-5 water tower – for over a hundred years, it was the towering elms lining the streets of Sacramento proper that gave the city its pride. Before disease decimated the population, the city boasted as many as 25,000 elms, many reaching over 100 feet into the sky. Today, that number is just 2,200. Drought, storm damage and other forces of nature have contributed to the decline, but Dutch elm disease has been the overwhelming force. Once it is spread by bark beetles or tree roots, the disease can kill an elm in under 12 weeks, making it the top priority for the Sacramento Tree Foundation and its Citizen Scientists. “At the Sacramento Tree Foundation, we believe the elms in our canopy are one of most valuable things we have in the city,” said Matt Van Donsel, the foundation’s Community Engagement Manager. Preservation is especially important because although hybrid elms can fill the space of the lost trees, the hybrids will never grow to be as grand as the American and English varieties that once stood in their place, explained Van Donsel. The Citizen Scientist program is a “call to action to protect the trees any way that we can.” The program, which launched last year, is a high-tech reboot of the pen-and-paper sys-
tem used by the tree-saving volunteers of the 1990s. Through a two-hour hands-on class, the modern program teaches volunteers how to spot Dutch elm disease and report it using the Greenprint Maps application. Reporting is as simple as snapping a picture and spending a few minutes swiping through the app on a cell phone or tablet. If the photo appears to show evidence of the disease, the City of Sacramento’s Urban Forestry Department will send out a certified arborist to investigate, and the results will be communicated back to the volunteer. In 2016, 50 volunteers monitored 750 trees within their neighborhoods and flagged a total of 100 trees. After all 100 trees were visited, just 10 percent of the trees showed actual Dutch elm disease damage and about half were removed, explained Van Donsel. As a result, this year’s program will focus more on how to differentiate Dutch elm disease from similar looking culprits, such as squirrel damage, drought stress and root damage. Although erring on the side of caution is always best, Van Donsel said he hopes the updated training method increases the accuracy of reporting. For 2017, the Sacramento Tree Foundation aims to enlist 100 Citizen Scientists to monitor 1,100 trees. Each volunteer must commit to monitoring at least 10 city public trees three times throughout the summer, ideally once in each month May through August. Anyone age 16 or older can sign up for training, and families with children are encouraged to participate together. All you need is a smartphone and binoculars. “Volunteering is a good way to get active and take ownership of you neighborhood,” said Van Donsel. “It’s a great way to pay these trees the respect deserve.” If you are interested in volunteering, contact the STEP Citizen Scientist program at volunteer@sactree.com or (916)-974-4310. Training sessions are Saturday, April 8 at Coloma Community Center from 9 to 11 a.m.; Thursday, April 20 at Sierra 2 Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday May 20 at Breathe California from 9 to 11 a.m.
Casa Garden’s
First Spring Wine Jubilee April 21, 2017 5:30pm - 7:30pm
$25 Per person
Featuring premier wines by Clarksburg Wine Company Carvalho Family Wines Three Wine Company Merlo Family Wines & Gourmet appetizers by Casa Chef CC Curran
Reservations recommended
916 452 2809
www.casagarden.org The Casa Garden Restaurant operates solely to support the Sacramento Children’s Home.
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Land Park News • March 23, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com
Bruce Reddick 916-919-7338 CalBRE# 01814263
Pending Excepting Offers
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