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AUGUST 2012
Planting Prep
With summer winding down, now is the time to start thinking about fall planting season
CASEY TREES NEWS IN BRIEF
Casey Trees to launch new online marketplace Attention shopaholics and Casey Trees fans alike: on Aug. 15 Casey Trees will debut The ColleCTion, its new online marketplace! From signature T-Shirts to limited-edition tote bags, The ColleCTion will be the place to find all your favorite Casey Trees merchandise. The shop will feature some brand new items that are sure to come in handy whether you are planting a tree or just strolling around town. And the best part? All proceeds from your purchase will go towards Casey Trees and its efforts to restore the tree canopy of our nation’s capital. Get ready to shop till you drop!
CASEY TREES NEWS EARLY-BIRD REGISTRATION OPEN FOR CASEY TREES’ TREE CANOPY SYMPOSIUM IN OCTOBER | Registration is now open for the 2012 Tree Canopy Symposium on Thursday, Oct. 18. Join regional and federal agency representatives, elected officials and community leaders in discussing tree benefits, assessments and regional horizons. The early-bird rate of $35 per person ends Sept. 3, after which registration will be $55 per person. 25 TO STAY ALIVE PLEDGES SEE INCREASE THIS SUMMER | Since Casey Trees began issuing weekly watering alerts in May, 60 D.C.-area residents have signed the 25 to Stay Alive watering pledge. Individuals who pledge to water their trees the recommended 25 gallons per week receive a complimentary rain gauge to help monitor rainfall amounts. Watering alerts will continue to be issued until September. TREEWISE PROGRAM LEADS MORE THAN 50 LESSONS AT D.C.-AREA SUMMER CAMPS | Over the past few weeks, counselors from Casey Trees’ summer youth enrichment
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program, TreeWise, have educated nearly 500 children ages 6 to 13. Students have watered trees, made leaf and bark rubbings and learned about the benefits of the District’s trees. BRIAN MAYELL NAMED GENERAL MANAGER OF CASEY TREE FARM | Brian Mayell has been named General Manager of Casey Tree Farm in Berryville, Va. Formerly the manager of the Farm’s six-acre nursery, Mayell now manages all Farm operations. CASEY TREES HOSTS INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY ORGANIZATIONS | Casey Trees hosted two Middle Eastern forestry organizations last month to discuss youth education programs. Representatives from the International Palestinian Youth League and the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative — which received grant funding from the U.S. Forest Service and USAID, respectively — came to Casey Trees’ headquarters to discuss TreeWise and High School Summer Crew, programs that educate youth about the value of trees and . Both organizations are looking to enhance how they engage youth in forestry operations.
August 2012 | theleaflet
URBAN FORESTRY NEWS COUNCILMEMBER CHEH INTRODUCES LAW REQUIRING UNDERGROUNDING D.C. POWER LINES | Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh has recently introduced a proposal to the D.C. Council that will require Pepco to bury power lines in the future. Several councilmembers have come out in support Cheh’s proposal, which would create a commission to identify parts of the city where power lines could be undergrounded. Pepco reports the cost of burying wires in D.C. will cost upwards of $5 billion, which, under Cheh’s proposal, would be paid for through a four-percent assessment on residents’ electricity bills. Casey Trees encourages individuals interested in the powerline situation to register for the Stand Up for Trees class on Aug 25.
of the U.S., has taken its toll on urban trees. The summer’s dry, hot conditions stress young trees, which make them susceptible to disease and, in some cases, death. Help young trees on and surrounding your property by signing the 25 to Stay Alive pledge and giving trees the recommended 25 gallons of water per week. ARLINGTON COUNTY’S OLDEST TREE COMES DOWN | A victim of the June 29 derecho, Arlington Country’s oldest tree, a 250-year-old post oak, was removed on July 9. Crews, including Arlington County urban forester and Casey Trees ally Vincent Verweij, fully took down the tree, which had lived more than a century longer than other post oaks. Portions of the tree were saved for research and display purposes.
DROUGHT-STICKEN CITIES STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN TREE CANOPY | This summer’s drought, which has affected more than half
IN THIS ISSUE... SPOTLIGHT: WANGARI GARDENS MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT IN COMMUNITY............................. 4 GIVING: A REFLECTION OF THE PAST YEAR’S SUCCESS........................................................................ 5 TREE CARE: TEST YOUR SOIL BEFORE FALL PLANTING SEASON......................................................... 6 CASEY TREES’ MORTALITY STUDY TO HELP ANALYZE TREE PLANTING PRACTICES......................... 7 2012 HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER CREW RECAP........................................................................................... 8 CASEY TREE FARM SELECTS FINAL FOUR IN MASTER PLAN DESIGN COMPETITION...................... 9 TWO CASEY TREES STAFF TO RIDE IN STIHL TOUR DES TREES IN OREGON................................... 10 WHAT IT COULD BE: USDA BUILDING...................................................................................................... 11 ARBOR KIDS: SUMMER LEAF SUDOKU................................................................................................... 12
theleaflet | August 2012
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Spotlight New community garden looks to connect a neighborhood This past spring, more than 50 community members, gardeners and Casey Trees volunteers gathered to plant an orchard of 40 fruit trees at Wangari Gardens, a new community garden located in Ward 5 adjacent to the Washington Hospital Center.
Casey Trees volunteers and Wangari Gardens members installed an orchard this past spring.
“Wangari Gardens was created to benefit the surrounding community by providing sustainable and healthy food, educational opportunities and a place for neighbors to come together,” said Josh Singer, a Casey Trees urban forestry crew member and the co-founder of Wangari Gardens. “Trees were always a strong aspect of the project because of their environmental and psychological benefits.” The orchard compliments 60 garden plots, tended to by nearly 100 community gardeners, and recent plantings of berry bushes and smaller vegetation.
and organized women to plant more than 40 million trees across Africa. She passed away last September.
Trees were always a strong aspect of the project because of their environmental and psychological benefits. On Dec. 8, volunteers will plant 15 large flowering trees to attract more beneficial bugs and pollinators to the garden, along with a small medicinal tree grove. Several rain garden trees will be added to help mitigate stormwater runoff. “Neighbors who came to last season’s planting were happy and excited about the addition of the trees,” Singer said. “Many wanted to learn about the trees and how to help maintain them. We have noticed the same level of excitement for this fall’s plantings.” The fall 2012 Community Tree Planting season is set, but if your neighborhood, religious center, school or community garden has space, consider applying for the spring 2013 season!
There will be two tree plantings at Wangari Gardens this fall. The garden will first partner with Casey Trees and the Kenyan Embassy on Sept. 29 to plant a small ornamental grove commemorating Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Laureate and the namesake for the garden. Maathai started the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots which inspired
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August 2012 | theleaflet
Giving Casey Trees marks one year of fundraising success It is not hard to see that the past several years have been more than a little busy for Casey Trees. Since the organization’s founding in 2002, demand for programs has continued to grow exponentially, and this year has been no different. Just this past spring, Casey Trees worked with nearly 1,300 unique volunteers, advocated for increased tree protections in D.C. and planted 816 trees — the most ever — at 27 sites across the District. And while this growth has done wonders for D.C.’s urban forest, it also meant that Casey Trees would be working some serious overtime to get the necessary work done. In order to meet the needs of this growing interest and continue expanding offerings, Casey Trees committed itself to actively seeking external funding as a means to further its mission and leverage the impact of its current work. This time last year, Casey Trees unveiled its Development Department, charged with engaging new constituents and welcoming new opportunities for growth with local and national partners. Almost a year later, the department is happy to report that Casey Trees has seen some incredible progress. Thanks to the efforts of the development team, Casey Trees has tripled donations from individuals across the District — a fantastic achievement to say the least. The added staff have also been able to forge stronger and more lasting partnerships with D.C.-area organizations and businesses looking to make a difference in the tree canopy of the nation’s capital. Check out some of our incredible sponsors, partners and contributors to the right! Donations are accepted securely online or via mail. Make your donation today.
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS FROM THE PAST YEAR Thanks to the efforts of our development team and the entire Casey Trees staff, this year has seen a bevy of new partners and sponsors come through the doors. Thank you to all of Casey Trees’ fantastic supporters for their help in restoring the city’s tree canopy:
ACTrees Tree by Tree • Street by Street
Alliance for Community Trees
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theleaflet | August 2012
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Tree Care Soil testing helps gauge options for fall planting season Most problems found in trees are not the result of pesky bugs or diseases, as one might think, but rather stem from somewhere far more basic and unsuspecting: the soil.
Casey Trees staff and volunteers have encountered a range of soil types over the years.
Urban soils are notoriously tough on trees. Soil compaction, containments, nutrient deficiencies and unbalanced pH levels are just some of the problems trees face in urban environments. But often times the hardest part of dealing with soil problems is diagnosing them in the first place. That is why Casey Trees recommends performing a soil test both before and after you plant a tree. To get an accurate reading from a soil test, follow these simple steps: 1. Dig about six to 12 holes, six to eight inches deep, in each unique area. 2. Scrape the side of each hole to get a sliver, six to eight inches long. 3. Put all the slivers together in a bucket and mix thoroughly, making sure to remove any grass, rocks or debris.
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4. Scoop out a cup of soil and dry it out in the sun. 5. Place the dried soil in a labeled plastic bag, mail it in a box to a soil testing facility* and wait for the results. When the soil test results come back, they will have a series of recommendations. For example, if your soil’s pH level is too high — alkaline — or too low — acidic — it means the roots of your tree will not be able to properly absorb nutrients. Adding lime can increase the pH level while adding sulfur can decrease it. However, if your soil has high levels of heavy metals, you may have to replace it or add sufficient amendment to dilute the containments. If your soil reads low on nutrients, you can either add fertilizers or organic matter, like compost. Organic matter improves nutrient levels, helps with the soil’s water retention capacity, increases soil structure aggregation — which increases water infiltration and prevents soil compaction — balances pH levels and can help prevent soil erosion. While protecting your trees from pests and disease are always important, remember that often times the root of the problem starts in the ground. By following these easy steps you can save yourself (and your tree) a lot of hard work and effort down the line. Check out Aug. 9’s session of Tree Talk Thursdays to learn more about soil types, testing and other related issues as you prepare for fall planting season.
August 2012 | theleaflet
Technology & Research Casey Trees team wraps up tree mortality study data collection By Jessica Sanders, Director of Technical Services and Research, Casey Trees | Established with the purpose of stabilizing and increasing Washington, D.C.’s declining tree canopy, Casey Trees uses important tools such as research and assessment to evaluate past performance and strive for ways to improve.
favorable factors to increase the survival of the trees and decrease tree mortality. The long-term study will track a 50 percent sample of Casey Trees trees planted from 2003 to present. The goal is to each year add more trees to continually evaluate and assess tree planting practices.
Tree plantings achieve one of Casey Trees’ goals — to A total of 2,653 trees will be connect people to trees. visited in 2012 and various However, if no data is data will be collected to collected on whether these determine tree health, tree trees survive into the future, size and socioeconomic then no evaluation of the factors. Using the Urban program’s success in the Forest Effects Model long term can be determined. (UFORE), Casey Trees A common misconception of will assess ecological tree establishment in urban benefits, including carbon areas is that a goal of 100 sequestration, pollution percent survival is realistic abatement and value Surveyors classified this yellowwood — whose seed pods are and ideal. Urban foresters associated with urban trees. browning and leaves are turning yellow (called chlorosis) or dropping altogether — in poor condition. have an expectation of This study will not only help trees dying each year, but a baseline should be advance the knowledge of urban tree mortality and determined to manage expectations. establishment periods, but also provide a means to emphasize the value of urban trees with empirical Casey Trees designed its morality study to track data while lending insight to future planting cohorts of trees to determine an establishment decisions. period and the conditions that affect tree survival Stay tuned this fall for the preliminary analysis of the Technical and mortality. By determining these factors, better Services and Research Department’s Tree Mortality Study. management recommendations replicating the
theleaflet | August 2012
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Education 2012 High School Summer Crew logs more than 6,000 tree touches By Priscilla Plumb, Education Coordinator, Casey Trees | In 30 days of work, members of the 2012 High School Summer Crew program logged 6,050 tree touches — a near record by this year’s group of ten D.C.-area students. The crew, which was made up of two truck crews of six students and two Water ByCycle crews with two students each, performed critical summer tree care: watering, weeding and mulching Casey Treesplanted trees. They endured grueling heat and traveled hundreds of miles throughout D.C. to help keep trees alive and healthy.
Summer Crew member Christine Khoury, senior at Maret School, waters street trees in Capitol Hill.
Not only were staff pleased with Summer Crew’s success and work ethic, but their dedication to improving their communities was really impressive.
Benjamin Carleton, a senior at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School. “It’s nice to come home and know you’re helping to make your city greener.” Newly planted trees need 25 gallons of water a week — equal to roughly 1.5 inches of rain — a week. Over the course of the Summer Crew program, only one week had a rainfall amount that came close to the 1.5-inch requirement, proving just how critical the Summer Crew’s efforts are in maintaining the District’s lush tree canopy cover. In addition to all their hard work caring for trees around the city, Summer Crew members had the chance to work with some experts in the field. They teamed with the National Park Service’s Barry Stahl to learn about elm propagation and planting, joined Steve Nagy of Davey Trees to learn the job of an arborist and how the professionals climb trees, and got a taste of landscape architecture and urban planner from Maisie Hughes and Lisa Morris, staff from Casey Trees’ Planning and Design Department. Overall, it was a great year and the crew members accomplished quite a lot in a short time. On behalf of everyone at Casey Trees, thank you Summer Crew 2012!
“I want to make a difference in D.C. and everyday it is rewarding to go out and water the trees and see your work actually make a difference,” said
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August 2012 | theleaflet
Casey Tree Farm Casey Tree Farm selects final four in Master Plan design competition By Barbara Shea, Board of Directors Member, Casey Trees | In the three years since Casey Tree Farm in Berryville, Va. was founded and personnel started actively managing the farm, a lot of ground has been covered. There are more than 4,000 trees in production at the nursery and staff will harvest 300 to 400 of them to use in Casey Trees planting programs — Community Tree Planting and RiverSmart Homes — this fall. Most of the existing buildings on the farm have been stabilized or renovated and the grounds and infrastructure have been improved. Those associated with the Farm continue to ask themselves how it can help Casey Trees with its urban forestry mission while respecting the rural character of the agricultural community where it is located. And to help answer that, Casey Trees contacted roughly three dozen universities from across the country last fall to see if they would like to participate in a design competition for the land and structures on the Farm. After reviewing proposals from the entrants, a final four were selected: Clemson University, The University of Maryland at College Park, Virginia Tech University and a partnership between University of Illinois at Urbana-
theleaflet | August 2012
Champaign and Syracuse University. Each one of these groups has put together an impressive multidisciplinary team of professors and students from the fields of landscape architecture, architecture, forestry, agriculture, economics, business and related fields.
Casey Tree Farm sits on 730 acres of land along the Shenandoah River in Berryville, Va.
Over the next year, these university-led design teams will be visiting the Farm, studying its unique heritage, pouring over soil and topography maps and coming up with a list of ideas that Casey Trees will be able to consider to make the highest and best use of the farm set within the agricultural and historic backdrop of Clarke County. It’s an exciting time and we eagerly await the results of the each of the teams and their ideas for the Farm’s future. Keep checking The Leaflet and Casey Trees blog Tree Speak for information on activities at Casey Tree Farm.
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Tree Planting Two Casey Trees staffers to ride in 2012 STIHL Tour des Trees On Aug. 5, two Casey Trees staff will embark on the week-long, 585-mile STIHL Tour des Trees in Oregon. Proceeds from the tour will benefit the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund. “The STIHL Tour des Trees will be my greatest ride yet,” said Sara Turner, Urban Forestry Manager at Casey Trees. “I have always wanted to bike a long distance with other people passionate about riding. Now I get to do it with people also passionate about trees.” Turner and Neil Irvin, a member of Casey Trees’ urban forestry crew, will represent Casey Trees in the cycling event as part of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, International Society of Arboriculture (MAC-ISA) team.
I have always wanted to bike a long distance with other people passionate about riding. Now I get to do it with people also passionate about trees. “I’m excited to participate in the STIHL Tour des Trees because planting trees, interacting with the public and educating others about their environment are all passions of mine,” Irvin said. Turner and Irvin have already raised a portion of the $3,500 each required to participate in the tour.
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Both riders are still accepting online donations through Sept. 30. Readers can follow Turner and Irvin on Tree Speak, which will feature daily accounts of the week-long ride, and via Casey Trees’ Facebook and Twitter accounts. Casey Trees co-sponsored last year’s STIHL Tour des Trees, which went from Virginia Beach, Va., to Washington, D.C. Riders stopped at Casey Trees’ headquarters in Brookland for lunch and a presentation on trees in urban settings. Help contribute to Sara Turner and Neil Irvin’s fundraising efforts today!
August 2012 | theleaflet
Planning & Design What It Could Be: U.S. Department of Agriculture streetscape Casey Trees recently partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to conceptualize a few streetscape designs, including the one on the right along Independence Avenue SW in front of the U.S. Department of Agriculture building.
BEFORE
The current sidewalk features average-sized tree boxes and quite a bit of impervious surface. There are several ways to design a sidewalk — notably using Silva Cells or structural soils, the two most popular techniques today — that provide additional rooting space for street trees. These techniques were utilized in the after drawings at the bottom right.
AFTER
Register for a First Fridays presentation or check out the Tree Space Design report to learn more about bioretention and other low-impact development features.
theleaflet | August 2012
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Arbor Kids Leafy racing boats In the spirit of the London Olympics, work with your siblings or friends to build leaf and grass boats and see whose watercraft goes the distance. • Find some tree leaves, bark, twigs, seeds on the ground. • Use the leaves and twigs to make a sail for the boat and attach it to the bottom of your boat, made from a large leaf or piece of fallen bark or large seed shell.
• Place your boat in the water: a pond, stream, creek or your bathtub, sink, kiddy pool, or fill a tub with water to create a little pond!
should you use for yoursail? • Which types of leaves work better for yoursail? How many leaves You can even use a strong piece of grass or cattail to make your boat — check out the instructions below from Woodland Trust naturedetectives. You can even award the winner with an Olympic leaf crown. Just gather fallen leaves and stitch them together!
August 2012 | theleaflet
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