The Leaflet — April 2011

Casey Trees News

leaflet

the

April 2011

In this issue...

2 Casey Trees celebrates Arbor Day

With three tree planting events and Open House.

4 The volunteers of Casey Trees

Citizen Forester spotlight: Ulrich Hewer.

6 Latest edition of i-Tree software

New staff and the Spring Almanac.

7 Spring CTP update and schedule

367 trees in the ground, with 344 left to plant.

8 Donate for Arbor Day

Spring programs and classes.

9 Kids Corner

Apply for Summer Crew

Casey Trees launching monthly online chat

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asey Trees has developed a free online chat series open to the public. The new series, called Tree Talk Thursdays, is a live Q&A forum to highlight issues affecting the District’s tree canopy and answer specific tree questions posed by the general public.

The chat series, hosted on Casey Trees’ website, will air on the second Thursday of every month from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST and kicks off with a discussion on how to properly select and plant trees on April 14.

Elizabeth Philbrick, Manager of Frager’s Hardware Store’s Garden Center, will join Mike Galvin and Sara Turner, Casey Trees’ deputy director and urban forestry manager respectively, on the chat.

Individuals can participate in live sessions or replay past chats online.

Questions are accepted prior to and during the chat session. To submit a question in advance or suggest a

topic, email us.

The spring/summer 2011 Tree Talk Thursdays schedule is: April 14 — Prepping to Plant Trees Shopping and planting smart.

May 12 — Tree Report Card Grades are in. Reporting on how D.C. did.

June 9 — Certified Arborists Why you want one, where to find one.

July 14 — Summer Tree Care A tree survival guide.

August 11 — Trees of Note Discovering, appreciating notable trees in the D.C. September 8 — Weathering Storms Minimizing damage to trees and property.

April is the last full month to apply for Casey Trees’ High School Summer Crew program. Washington, D.C.-area high school students 16 years and older can apply. The 2011 session runs from June 20 to August 12.

Summer Crew members earn $9 an hour and work 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

Applications must be completed and submitted online in one sitting by May 1.

In-kind Donations Casey Trees would like to thank Starbucks Coffee Company for their in-kind donation of coffee and tea for Community Tree Planting events.

The caffeine is much appreciated on those early weekend mornings!

Thank you to Hunt Smith Design, which provided nearly $5,000 of design services for Casey Trees’ great new print products.

ARBOR DAY

2011

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rbor Day was conceived by Julius Sterling Morton, a journalist, politician, arborphile and native of Michigan who moved to Nebraska and wanted to add trees to its open prairies. The first official celebration was in his adopted state in 1872 and, by the turn of the century, Arbor Day was legally recognized as a national holiday. Since then, thousands of individuals and groups have marked the occasion by planting trees in their communities, including Casey Trees.

Through its Community Tree Planting (CTP) program, Casey Trees will commemorate Arbor Day by planting 39 trees on April 30 at three locations in the District: Orr Elementary School, Congress Heights Community Park and Ballou Senior High School. Visit our calendar of events page to register to volunteer for these plantings.

April 29 is National Arbor Day. The District and 32 states will also have their own celebrations, occurring on various days in April.

Following the plantings Saturday morning, Casey Trees will host an Open House at its new headquarters in Brookland. Learn more on page 3.

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April 2011 | theleaflet

Casey Trees’ Open House

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asey Trees will celebrate Arbor Day on Saturday, April 30 with the official opening of its new headquarters at 3030 12th Street NE in Brookland.

The Casey Trees Open House is scheduled from noon to 5:00 p.m. and will feature family-friendly activities, program spotlights and demonstrations, building tours and neighborhood tree walks.

Remarks from Casey Trees staff, members of the Board of Directors and officials from the District government will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Because of the three planting events that morning, activities at the Tree

Yard will not begin until after 1:00 p.m.

Casey Trees staff will lead multiple presentations throughout the afternoon, including: •

Building Tours: 12:30, 1:00, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00

•

Building Presentation: 4:30

•

Tree Walks: 2:15, 2:45, 3:15, 3:45, 4:15

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Tree ID Presentation: 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30

Each Casey Trees program will have its own table. The Tree Planting and Planning & Design (P+D) departments will be outside, Education tables will

Casey Trees Open House Restrooms Pedestrian Routes Food & Dining Staff Assistance Program Activities

Tree ID Presentation

WWM Tree Planting Station

Moon Face Bounce Painter P+D

Stage

R.s.v.p. today!

Rain Garden Presentation

Education Station

12th Street

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Street parking and bike valet will be available. The building is a tenminute walk from the Brookland-CUA Metrorail station and is accessible by the H8 Metrobus route.

Irving Street

Check-in

Buffet

Building Tours

Casey Trees will release the third annual Tree Report Card on Arbor Day. Electronic copies of the report will be on Casey Trees’ website and print versions will be available at the Open House.

Bike Valet

Metro

Geographic Resources

Tree Walks

be set up both inside and outside and Geographic Resources will have computer stations inside.

Education Station

Picnic Area theleaflet | April 2011

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CASEY TREES

N AT I O N A L V O L F

or one week beginning April 10, Casey Trees will join other organizations across the county in celebrating National Volunteer Week.

Volunteers are essential to the success of Casey Trees and its programs. In 2010, 1,779 volunteers planted, pruned, watered and inventoried trees across the District, accounting for more than $105,000 in volunteer hours worked. New faces are showing up every weekend during this spring’s Community Tree Planting season. We hope they will become regular volunteers.

“At every Community Tree Planting, we tell our volunteers we couldn’t do it without them,” said Carol Herwig, volunteer coordinator. “We don’t say that just to be nice.”

Additionally, in February, Casey Trees graduated its 1,000th Citizen Forester (CF). The CF program, which started in 2002, trains volunteers on proper tree planting and care techniques and how to become urban forestry advocates.

Casey Trees has created an advertising campaign that will run during the recognized week in the City Paper, Express, Blade and others. The ads feature some of our CFs and thanks all of the volunteers that have helped us.

To register to volunteer, visit the Casey Trees calendar of events and select a date that works for you. To become a CF, you must enroll in one of three qualifying courses, which will be offered again this summer.

See our volunteers in action by checking out our Flickr page and the Casey Trees blog, Tree Speak.

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Hundreds of volunteers have planted this spring at (clockwise from right): Fort Mahan Park, Tait Triangle Park, Tait Triangle Park, Sherwood Recreation Center and at the Embassy of Indonesia with Restore Mass Ave.

April 2011 | theleaflet

CELEBRATES

UNTEER WEEK

Citizen Forester spotlight: Ulrich Hewer

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n a rainy Arbor Day several years ago, Citizen Forester Ulrich Hewer planted trees along the Anacostia River. At the same planting, Hewer, a 30-year resident of the District, met fellow Citizen Forester Gregg Serenbetz, who told him about Casey Trees and our volunteer opportunities.

Hewer’s first volunteer role was helping with the second part of the District tree inventory in the summer of 2003. He was impressed by the organization, theleaflet | April 2011

its eagerness to educate the public on the benefits of urban forests and the commitment to trees displayed by its staff and volunteers.

One of the benefits of leading the school events, Hewer said, is witnessing the enthusiasm of children planting trees.

“Our love of trees made me and the other Citizen Foresters want to get dirty and dig holes all over the city.”

Hewer has volunteered in more than 150 planting events since 2003 and has been especially present at Casey Trees’ school plantings.

“Even if only a small fraction of them remembers and follows up on this experience in their later lives,” Hewer said, “it will be worth getting up early on Saturday mornings and suffering from a bad back once in a while.”

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Latest version of i-Tree software identifies the benefits of urban trees

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he U.S. Forest Service and its partners, which include Casey Trees, recently released the newest edition of their free i-Tree software suite.

The program is designed to quantify the benefits of trees and assist communities in gaining support and funding for the trees in their parks, schoolyards and neighborhoods.

“The goal of i-Tree is to put urban forest management tools into

the hands of professionals and laypersons alike so urban residents can benefit from abundant, healthy tree canopies,” said Mark Buscaino, executive director of Casey Trees.

“Version 4.0 achieves that goal by allowing homeowners to virtually plant trees and watch the benefits accrue in real-time on their computer screen.”

Homeowners and educators will see more value and easier accessibility in the latest version. People can use i-Tree Design and its link to Google maps to see the impact of the trees in their yard, neighborhood and classrooms, and the potential benefits of adding new trees.

The new software also helps communities and managers lower the costs and time of analyzing the extent and values of their tree canopy

New Staff Member

Katie Heffernan Arborist-Auditor kheffernan@caseytrees.org 202.349.1891

Katie comes to Casey Trees after designing, installing and maintaining small city gardens for the past few years. She has a graduate certificate in landscape design from George Washington University and earned her undergraduate degree in creative writing.

She is excited to put her experience to use while coordinating the RiverSmart Homes program.

Casey Trees partnered with the Forest Service, The Davey Tree Expert Company, the National Arbor Day Foundation, the Society of Municipal Arborists and the International Society of Arboriculture.

All of the software partners will offer free and easily accessible technical support with the new version.

Casey Trees' Spring Almanac offers great post-winter tips by giving trees that have been in the ground less than three years 25 gallons of water a week.

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Remove winter weeds and emerging grasses from around the trunk base.

•

Add trunk guards if lawn mowers or weed whackers will come near your trees. Consider deer guards for tender trunks.

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n the first day of spring last month, Casey Trees published its Spring Almanac. The Leaflet featured a teaser in the March issue, but here is the full list of suggestions.

Make sure to:

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Install slow release watering bags around newly planted trees. Practice 25 to Stay Alive

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Mulch your trees to keep the soil moist and discourage summer weeds. Apply using the 3-3-3- rule - 3 inches of mulch in a 3 foot ring with a 3 inch space around the tree trunk. Keeping mulch away

from the trunk will prevent insects from damaging the trunk base.

•

Inspect for dead or crossing branches. Damaged branches should be pruned carefully.

Dead branches should be removed. For guidance, visit www.treesaregood.com.

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Appreciate your trees. Red maples and elms are blooming now. Serviceberry flower buds are emerging, and cherry and plum blossoms are due soon.

Spring gives us a chance to take a closer look at the evolving leaf, flower and branch structure of trees.

April 2011 | theleaflet

Record planting season running smoothly with 344 trees to go

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asey Trees’ record-breaking spring Community Tree Planting (CTP) season had a successful March and will continue into May with the final planting at Alice Deal Middle School.

The season started off on March 5 at The Catholic University of America’s Raymond A. DuFour Center. Lead Citizen Foresters (CF) led planting groups of new CFs, who had just completed the CF-qualifying Tree Planting class. New university president John Garvey showed up and helped to plant a tree.

A week later, 26 Peace Corps staff and returned volunteers joined the planting at Fort Mahan Park on March 12. The Washington, D.C.area Peace Corps group helped plant trees to commemorate the organization’s 50th anniversary.

Casey Trees planted National Cherry Blossom Festival-sponsored cherry trees at four events in March. There will be four more plantings with NCBF-sponsored cherry trees in Wards 2, 5, 7 and 8.

More than 60 volunteers planted 26 trees at Fort Mahan Park on March 12.

school campuses last month, with seven more left on the schedule.

Spring 2011 CTP Schedule There were 13 planting events on

If you are interested in volunteering, sign up here. Interested groups of five or more people should contact the Carol Herwig, volunteer coordinator, by email or at 202.349.1907. Most school plantings are not open to the public. Events highlighted in pink include cherry trees sponsored by the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

April

Date Time

Group

Registration Location

Ward

1 9A - 1P The Catholic University of America 7th Street & Michigan Avenue NE 5 2 9A - 1P Woodland-Normanstone Neighborhood 3200 block of Woodland Drive NW 3

Association Centennial 4 10A - 2P Golden Triangle BID Foggy Bottom Metro Station 2 5 12:30P - 3:30P The Farm at Walker Jones 1125 New Jersey Avenue NW 6 6 1P - 4P Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys 3640 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE 8 6 1P - 4P THEARC 1901 Mississippi Avenue SE 8 7 10A - 1P Calvary Baptist Church 755 8th Street NW 2 7 9A - 1P Tudor Place Foundation 1644 31st Street NW 2 9 9A - 1P Columbia Heights Village Tenants Association 2800 14th Street NW 1 13 10A - 12P St. Colleta of Greater Washington 1901 Independence Avenue SE 6 13 12P - 3P Georgetown Visitation Prep School 1524 35th Street NW 2 14 9A - 1P JC Nalle Elementary School 219 50th Street SE 7 16 9A - 1P Turkey Thicket Recreation Center 10th Street & Michigan Avenue NE 5 16 9A - 1P Michigan Park Citizens Association 18th Street/Michigan Avenue/ 5

Bunker Hill Road 20 9A - 1P St. Paul’s at Rock Creek Church Parish Webster Street & Rock Creek Road NW 4 21 3P - 6P Metropolitan Branch Trail 3rd & R Streets NE 5 22 9A - 1P David M. Stemper Memorial Rain Garden Half and L Streets SE 6 22 4P - 6P 13th & C Street SE Community Park & Garden 13th & C Streets SE 6 23 9A - 1P Crestwood Citizens Association 18th & Shepherd Streets NW 4 30 9A - 1P Orr Elementary School 2200 Minnesota Avenue SE 7 30 9A - 1P Congress Heights Community Park Malcolm X Avenue & Parkland Place SE 8 30 9A - 1P Ballou Senior High School 3401 4th Street SE 8

Trees 10 30 3 15 10 10 8 10 30 10 12 15 21 15 25 25 20 6 35 15 10 14

May 7

9A - 1P theleaflet | April 2011

Alice Deal Middle School

3815 Fort Drive SW

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Programs and classes Visit the Casey Trees Calendar of Events page to sign up for our spring tree walks and invasive species class. Those interested in the U.S. National Arboretum walks must register on their website.

Advance registration is required; space is limited.

Tree Walks

All Classes Are

FREE!

L L U F S I

Lincoln Cottage and Rock Creek Cemetery Melanie Choukas-Bradley, Author of City of Trees Sat., April 16, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Intersection of Rock Creek Church Road NW and Upshur Street NW

K L A W TREE

Choukas-Bradley will lead a walk at President Lincoln's Civil War-era summer home and then explore historic trees at Rock Creek Cemetery.

Ornamental Trees Casey Trees Staff Sat., April 23, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

U.S. National Arboretum

Shade Trees of D.C. Casey Trees Staff Sat., May 14, 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

U.S. National Arboretum

Take a walk through the Arboretum’s dogwood, magnolia and Asian tree collections to see what flowering options are offered.

Get to know some of the key representatives of D.C.’s urban forest. We will focus on larger trees found in our parks, streets and home landscapes.

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ith Arbor Day at the end of the month, we hope you will celebrate by joining our Tree Champion Monthly Giving program.

Giving through our Tree Champion Monthly Giving Program provides Casey Trees with an on-going, reliable source of funding for our tree planting, education and advocacy programs. It’s green, flexible and hassle-free.

It doesn’t take much to make a real and lasting difference: •

•

•

A monthly pledge of $25 provides a dozen newly planted trees with a slow release watering bag, mulch and protective trunk guard.

A larger pledge of $50 per month sponsors a High School Summer Crew team member to water, weed and mulch trees for one week.

A more generous pledge of $100 per month allows us to purchase a dozen 15-foot-tall, 200-pound trees to plant in the District.

Invasive Training Mary Farrah, DC Cooperative Extension Service -and- Ken Ferebee, Natural Resource Management Specialist, Rock Creek National Park Thu., May 19, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Sat., May 21, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Classroom Session Field Session Casey Trees Headquarters Rock Creek Park 3030 12th Street NE

You choose your gift amount, starting at just $10 a month — less than 50¢ a day. Every dollar you give helps.

Adjust your donation or cancel any time. Donations of any amount are welcome and can be made online, by mail or over the phone at 202.349.1984.

Learn about non-native plants and how they are threatening our native landscapes. Participants will learn how to identify and control nine species of invasive plants found in the Washington, D.C. area. The classroom session will take place Thursday, with a field component the following Saturday.

Visit our new donations page for more information on how to donate, sponsorship opportunities and workplace giving.

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April 2011 | theleaflet

Kids Corner

Leafy Labyrinth Try your hand at getting through this tree’s canopy down to its trunk!

theleaflet | April 2011

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