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Summer’s Canopy Join us in helping trees beat the heat — we’ll find time for summer fun
JUNE 2014
CASEY TREES NEWS IN BRIEF
Casey Trees to host Design Charrette on the Green Area Ratio (GAR) On Friday, June 27, Casey Trees and the American Society of Landscape Architects ASLA National and Potomac Chapters will host a Green Area Ratio (GAR) Design Charrette. The GAR is a new environmental zoning regulation in the District of Columbia that became effective on October 1, 2013. Training seminars by the Office of Planning and District Department of the Environment will provide an overview of the GAR, the plan submittal process, the GAR Guidebook, and the role of the Certified Landscape Expert. Attendees will apply their new knowledge to the pre-selected sites across the District of Columbia. This is a two-part registration process: To sign up for the training seminars, please contact Matthew Espie at matthew.espie@dc.gov or 202-715-7644. To learn more or register for the charrette, visit the Eventbrite page.
CASEY TREES NEWS
PRACTICE 25 TO STAY ALIVE | Young trees
TREEWISE PROGRAM RETURNS JUNE 23 | TreeWise, Casey Trees’ nature and place-based summer education program is set to commence its summer 2014 sessions, which will run from June 23 to August 8. The program was developed to get youth ages six to ten outdoors using fun, hands-on activities. Participation is free for groups within 25 miles of the Casey Trees’ office. For summer camps and schools looking to get in on the fun, there are still open dates available. For more information or questions about the program, contact Priscilla Plumb, Youth Programs Manager, at pplumb@caseytrees.org.
require 25 gallons of water a week — approximately 1.5 inches of rain — to survive the hot summer conditions and Casey Trees makes it easy for residents to know when and how much to water. Every Monday from May through September, Casey Trees issues weekly watering alerts as part of its annual 25 to Stay Alive Campaign, which aims to educate residents on the importance of watering trees, demonstrate proper watering techniques and provide supplies to make watering easier and generate less wasteful runoff. The alerts — Dry, Normal and Wet — will be posted on Twitter and Facebook as well as our homepage.
SPRING PLANTING SEASON CAPPED WITH VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PARTY | On Saturday, May 17, more than 40 volunteers
NEW PLANS FOR SMART BROOKLAND METRO DEVELOPMENT EMERGE | The open
and Casey Trees’ staff alike gathered at the Takoma Recreation Center in Northeast D.C. for a wonderful afternoon of games, activities and delicious food. The event celebrated all the hard work completed by Casey Trees’ volunteers and wrapped up the spring 2014 planting season. Guests brought a wide variety of foods to the potluck and food trucks from PhoWheels and Woodlands Vegan Bistro provided even more culinary options. Casey Trees Urban Forestry Crew Member Jabbari Brew showed us his DJ skills and Arborist Becky Schwartz treated guests to caricatures. Prized Casey Trees water bottles went to the winners of several games.
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space of the Brookland Green is officially safe. The Brookland Green was initially part of the development plan, but the advocacy efforts of Casey Trees and the Brookland community played a large part in instigating a land swap between the District and the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA). WMATA will evaluate bids from four firms who are all bringing their ideas for mixed-use development that will work around the Brookland Green, with a joint development agreement hoping to be reached by late fall.
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URBAN FORESTRY NEWS D.C.’S RIVERS MAY BENEFIT FROM GREEN ROOFS | A new study being headed
URBAN PARK DESIGN COMPETITION FOR 11TH STREET BRIDGE NARROWS | The
by Stephen MacAvoy, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences at American University, will explore how green roofs can work to keep several key pollutants out of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers in the District. Having already studied the impact of green roofs on water pollution for the past two years, MacAvoy is currently collecting data from various roofs at American University. Harmful rainwater pollutants, such as nitrogen and suspended solids, run off of roads and buildings during storms and eventually flow into the rivers. Green roofs offset the pollution by holding on to storm water and absorbing nitrogen.
potential 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C. —part of a plan to connect three concrete piers into one elevated green park linking the Anacostia and Navy Yard neighborhoods — has a taken a step forward as four firms have been selected as finalists to design the park. After receiving 41 design proposals, Scott Kratz, head of the project, along with the Office of Planning, narrowed the field to four finalists and will announce the winning team this October.
IN THIS ISSUE... FROM THE DESK: DDOT REORGANIZATION ACT OF 2014...................................................................... 4 SUSTAINABLE D.C. BOOSTS SPRING CTP SEASON................................................................................. 5 SPOTLIGHT: D.C. STATE ARBORIST JOHN THOMAS WINS CAFRITZ AWARD...................................6-7 WARD 6 TREE CANOPY IN NEED............................................................................................................. 8-9 YOUNG TREES YEARN FOR STEWARDS AND CARE............................................................................... 10 JUNE AND JULY EVENTS, CLASSES AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES...................................... 12-13 ARBOR KIDS: TRAVELING TREE JOURNAL.............................................................................................. 14
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From the Desk DDOT Reorganization Act of 2014 offers unique opportunity to rethink tree management Introduced by Councilmember Mary Cheh (W-3), the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Reorganization Act of 2014 offers a unique opportunity to rethink how the city manages not just its street trees, but trees on all lands both public and private. Casey Trees’ position, explained in our Testimony, advocates for a rational division of labor between DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) that builds on each group’s strengths and responsibilities as follows:
MARK BUSCAINO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
• Retain UFA within DDOT to ensure that street trees remain a priority for DDOT. UFA has made many strides over the past decade and moving them to DDOE as called for in the act would be a mistake.
• Expand UFA’s mission to ensure a full and healthy population of trees on schools, parks and other D.C.-owned parcels, not just of street trees. This dovetails into UFA’s current operational focus and DDOT’s scope of work on right-of-ways and public lands.
• Move the D.C. State Forester’s Office, currently housed in UFA, to DDOE. The office’s focus, like other state forestry organizations, should be all-lands trees, not just street trees, as it is now currently.
• Transfer all tree policy functions to DDOE/ DCSFO. This would include items such as: establishing tree planting goals on public and private lands, tracking the extent and health of DC’s urban forest and acting as a convener for all groups – internal D.C. agencies, federal and local groups – to create a strong support community for achieving D.C.’s 40 percent canopy goal. Since the 1990s, DC has expanded its focus from street trees to trees on all lands public and private through policies, programs and legislation. Casey Trees’ position on the DDOT Reorganization Act will help strengthen this evolution, and in so doing help us all to attain DC’s ambitious 40 percent canopy goal. Thanks for your ongoing support! Regards,
• Shift responsibility for administration of the Urban Forestry Preservation Act of 2002, a private lands function, to DDOE. This supports DDOE’s strengths as a regulatory and private lands-centric administration.
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Mark Buscaino Executive Director
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Tree Planting Sustainable DC plan gives boost to spring Community Tree Planting season By Maxim Lopatnikov, Communications Fellow, Casey Trees | This past spring brought with it much needed warmth after a winter that felt like it lasted an eternity. The spring Community Tree Planting (CTP) season began among late frosts and bitter cold mornings, but ended — as it often does — amid the budding flowers of April and the warm sun of May. Once again, our dedicated volunteers were invaluable as more than 400 individuals of all ages planted 489 trees at 31 sites across all eight wards of the District, as well as in Virginia and Maryland. Especially noteworthy this planting season was the support and sponsorship from the Sustainable D.C. initiative, which helped to fund the planting of 11 cityowned spaces, including schools and recreation centers. Sites that received trees though the initiative include Marie Reed Recreation Center, Langdon Park and Cardozo Senior High School. Langdon Park was the largest planting, with 66 trees being planted across the expansive park. Launched by Mayor Vincent Gray in 2011, Sustainable DC aims to make the District “the healthiest, greenest, most livable city in the United States.” Casey Trees continued to reach out to new neighborhoods and connect with friends new and old
to beautify neighborhoods throughout the city. In Petworth, new local eatery Petworth Citizen, just around the corner from E.L. Haynes charter school, invited planters to a special happy hour celebrating the local planting “This season saw a huge community turn out,” said Casey Trees Volunteer Coordinator Katie Blackman. “From beautifying existing parks to treeing perimeters of schools and community centers; from reclaiming abandoned land to create new gathering spaces for neighbors to enjoy to having local businesses donate food and supplies to make these plantings even better, I was touched and proud to be a part of such an involved and welcoming city.” Coinciding with the spring season, two plantings — Old Soldier’s Home and Kingman Island, took place as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and volunteers helped plant flowering cherry trees, courtesy of Macy’s. Not to be neglected, our trees themselves are of course the stars of the show. This spring, 43 percent of spring CTP trees came from the Casey Tree Farm, a percentage that we hope to increase each year. Favorite species including Eastern Red Cedar, American Hornbeam, Bur oak, Pawpaw and Catalpa were planted throughout the season.
Learn about the many ways you can get involved with Casey Trees as a Citizen Forester.
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Spotlight
Urban Forestry Administration’s John Thomas wins Cafritz Award By Casey Manning, Communications and Marketing
Each year, The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation recognizes five D.C. Government employees for their exemplary service as public servants working toward the greater good of the city. And this year, John P. Thomas, State Forester at the Urban Forestry Administration (UFA), took home one of the coveted awards. He spoke to us about the future of the UFA (it’s data-driven), creating a work culture that employees actually want to be a part of and proving that government work isn’t just what you read about in The Washington Post. Associate, Casey Trees |
THE WORK THAT LED TO THE AWARD Ultimately, it was the change that UFA has undergone since 2005, when I started. As soon as I got here, there was so much need for everything – you could go in any direction and make an improvement. Going from four arborists using a paperbased system, with not a lot of funding or resources, to now, when we have 20 arborists, have doubled our budget, and use a 100 percent electronic and very complex data collection system. Back then we had 4,000 or 5,000 service requests backlogged, to where now, if you call today for pruning, we’re inspecting it today, if not within three days, and then we’re probably delivering actual work service within 60 to 90 days at an over 90 percent success rate. We were planting 3,000 trees in 2005 and have now
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successfully planted over 7,000 the last two years in a row. We’ve seen the canopy increase from 35 percent to 37 percent – we’ve seen the canopy grow.
IMPROVEMENTS FOR D.C. CITIZENS The stuff that government has been talking about for five or six years now, becoming easier, more transparent and customer friendly. We had limited everything when I started – we had contract issues; we had equipment issues; we had dead trees everywhere, and now you’re hard-pressed to drive around and find a stone-dead tree. When we started, there were stone-dead trees on every block. Trees would fall every night, all over the city, and our work was so reactive. I think the most positive thing – what I would say would
be my biggest accomplishment, is changing us from a reactive organization to a proactive organization that does reactive work only when mother nature forces it. 95 percent of our work is planned and executed by a process that’s trackable and reportable. All at the same time, we’ve hardly had any turnover in staff. We have a history now and that really helps in urban forestry. They know their forest now. They’ve seen it so often, so many times, that they’ve developed really good relationships with citizens and people in the neighborhoods, which gets us information quicker. We’ve also been able to do all of this during through mayoral changes and director changes at DDOT. We went through the 2009 economy bump and have still been able to maintain the trajectory of improvements, adapting to technology and having a really happy workforce. They’re happy to be where they are and doing the work that they’re doing, which I think is really important. Work environment has really become more of a focus for me, to create a place where people want to be, where they enjoy coming to work. No one wants to go to a place that’s not fun.
THE ULTIMATE GOAL We want to be the example of what every city should have as an urban forestry program. Be the national standard. We want to use the data that we produce as
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a way to communicate to our citizens and our customers, whether it be organizations like Casey Trees or the Mayor. We want to interact with them through a map or a dashboard so that they can move around in that environment and look for things that they want to see. We also want to use that information and that technology to track problems. Say there’s an outbreak or an issue, we want to be able to use that data and that mapping process to isolate those trees and quickly respond. We want to use it to track trends: when we plant trees, how many die, what’s the mortality rate of those newly planted trees, making sure we replace them. So we want to keep building a database that houses a lot more data in it and can display all the different parameters for all of the different groups that want access to this information.
WHAT THE AWARD MEANS I think the idea behind [this award] is that public servants typically get the bad end – people think we’re lazy, we suck, we’ve stolen money, we’ve run the program into the ground – everything you read about in the paper, basically. I’m not saying that stuff doesn’t happen, but I’m also not saying it doesn’t happen in other industries as well. Private companies just don’t have to tell us when it does. So what the award means to me is that we’re finally getting some recognition. I don’t see it as personal recognition, I see it as recognition for our
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program and everyone who’s worked here, and that they’ve done enough that people recognize the improvement. There is a lot of good work that government is doing, specifically the District government, and the District isn’t a place that’s had a great track record with public service over the last decade. Even with our problems, we do have good employees who are doing good work.
THE FUTURE OF UFA We hope to keep going in the same direction and it’s an exciting time with green infrastructure becoming big and green becoming big again. It’s just an exciting time to be involved in any part of this. Now that we have this data and having the ability to manage it in a proactive way, we have a lot more time to develop these partnerships that we haven’t developed over the past few years. We want to make sure that what we’re doing is good for the citizens and the mayor first and foremost and that we can repeat it. I think that’s the problem with government sometimes – you can do it once, but the real trick is doing it every day for a long time. That’s what we’re striving for.
Follow Casey Trees to read more about the great partnerships that are helping increase the canopy of Washington, D.C.
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Planning & Design Canopy Possibilities: Unmet challenges in Ward 6 By Maisie Hughes, Director Planning and Design, Casey Trees | Located in the center of the District of Columbia, Ward 6 is the only Ward that includes all four quadrants (NW, NE, SW, and SE). Ward 6 also includes some of the District’s most popular neighborhoods: Capitol Hill, H Street, Kingman Park, Southwest Waterfront, Navy Yard, parts of Downtown and some of Shaw and Mt. Vernon. By land area, Ward 6 spans 6.2 of the city’s 68.3 square miles, making it the second smallest ward in the city. There are 76,000 residents in the Ward. Unfortunately, Ward 6 has a tree canopy problem: it has the lowest tree canopy coverage of any Ward: 17 percent. But there is an opportunity to restore that canopy. According to our analysis, the total possible canopy for Ward 6 is 33.9 percent. This means that if all current areas covered by grass or bare earth were instead covered in trees, there would be, overall, almost a 34 percent tree canopy. So what is the future of Ward 6? Casey Trees needs your help to advocate for smarter development. We need you to advocate for site improvements that will incorporate green infrastructure practices and large canopy trees, which will improve the quality of life for all residents, while working helping to achieve our district-wide goal of a 40 percent tree canopy.
To find out more about becoming a Tree Advocate and how you can speak up for the greening of Ward 6, contact us here.
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Mayor's Canopy Goal
What is tree canopy? Tree canopy is the layer of leaves, branches and tree stems that covers the ground when viewed from above. The current average tree canopy coverage for the city is 36 percent (the percentage of tree canopy coverage to overall land area).
Tree Canopy by Ward
2013
0.1 0.2 Cover 0.3 0.4 0.6 Current0 Canopy by 0.5 Ward
Ward 1 - 23% Ward 1; Jim Graham Jim Graham
WardEvans 2 - 26% Ward 2; Jack Jack Evans
- 56% Ward 3; Ward Mary3Che Mary Cheh
Ward 4 48%
Ward 4 - 48% Ward 4; Muriel Bowser Muriel Bowser
Ward 5; KenyanWard McDuďŹƒe 5 - 28% Kenyan McDuffie
Ward 3 56%
Ward 6; Tommy WardWells 6 - 17% Tommy Wells
Ward 1 23% Ward 2 26%
Ward 5 28%
Ward 7 - 36% Ward 7; Yvette Alexander Yvette Alexander
Ward 8; Marion Ward Barry 8 - 28% Marion Barry
Mayor's Canopy Goal
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
D.C.’s 40 percent canopy goal
Ward 6 17%
Ward 8
28%
Ward 7 36%
What is total possible canopy? Total possible canopy is an analysis that can help to indicate opportunity areas for added tree canopy. Total possible canopy includes all grass and bare earth landcover, without discounting sites with recreation fields or future development. Therefore, an analysis of total possible canopy alone (without accounting for site-specific indicators) should not be used to set an area-wide target canopy goal.
Ward 6 Tree Canopy Profile Ward 6 has 76,000 residents* and spans 6.2 square miles. The current tree canopy of Ward 6 is 17.0%. Even as the second smallest ward in the city (by land area), Ward 6 has a total possible canopy** of 33.9% .
*Population data based on 2010 assessment, neighborhoodinfodc.org **Total possible tree canopy is assessed by assuming that Grass and Bare Earth areas have the potential for future canopy cover.
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Education Young trees yearn for stewards and care By Katie Blackman, Volunteer Coordinator, Casey Trees | Young trees in an urban environment have it rough. They have to deal with too little space, too little water and too little quality soil. Add to that pollution, lawn mowers, weed whackers and invasive plants creeping around and you can see that the odds are not in their favor. But all is not lost. According to a 2010 study published in the journal Cities and the Environment, urban trees with stewards to care for them are three times as likely to survive as those without. Casey Trees recommends regular watering and care throughout the first three years after planting to give trees the leg up they need to survive. After all, a lack of water and improper mulching practices are major killers of young trees. This summer, we’re inviting you to help us care for our vulnerable trees at three Thirsty Thursday Tree Care evening events around the city.
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On June 19, we’ll stop at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Northeast D.C., where we planted 40 trees this past spring. On July 10, we will swing down to Southwest D.C. to weed, mulch and water the 18 trees we planted in May at Lansburgh Park. Rounding out the summer, we will head up to Northwest D.C. on August 21 to care for the 29 trees planted this March in Petworth. If you‘re still itching for more ways to help protect our tree canopy, consider joining us for our Saturday morning Summer Invasive Pulls in partnership with the National Park Service, Rock Creek Conservancy and the Anacostia Watershed Society. You can find us removing bamboo in Battery Kembel Park on June 14, pulling Porcelain Berry at Fort Dupont on July 19 and whacking away at English Ivy in Rock Creek Park on August 9. We hope you can join us this summer in helping out young trees in need!
Casey Trees offers a collection of print and video tutorials on how to plant and care for trees.
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Practice Pledge to water your trees & receive a free rain gauge to track rainfall totals at home.
25 TO STAY ALIVE
Follow our Watering Alerts Every Monday
Facebook |Twitter |CT Homepage
Watering is the most important summer tree care task. Young trees need 25 gallons of water — approximately 1.5 inches of rainfall — per week to survive and thrive. Use a slow-release watering bag that holds the recommended 25 gallons of water or improvise with buckets with holes in the bottom. Slow-release watering bags are available online through the Casey Trees shop. theleaflet
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Events Tree care events and programs to enjoy this summer June, July and August offer a chance to take a break from planting and try out this summer’s Tree Care events, Tree Tours, and family programming. Become a Casey Trees Member to receive exclusive benefits, including advanced registration to events like the ones below.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7 Family Program: Tree Detectives at Lincoln Park 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Lincoln Park East Capitol and 11th Streets SE Come join us for Tree Detectives, a tree tour for families, with children in 1st through 6th grade, where you’ll hunt for clues including leaves, flowers and fruit to help identify different trees. Cost: Free
TUESDAY, JUNE 10 Social: Branch Out Happy Hour 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Satellite Room 2047 9th Street NW Celebrate summer at our monthly Branch Out Happy Hour at Satellite Room. Located directly behind the famous 9:30 Club, this 1960s themed bar and diner serves up burgers, beer and some deliciously boozy milkshakes. And if you find it a bit too nice out to hang inside, don’t worry – half the bar is equipped with a seriously cool patio space. Cost: Free **No registration required.
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SATURDAY, JUNE 14 Tree Tour: Summer at Casey Tree Farm 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Casey Tree Farm 2498 Briggs Road Berryville, VA, 22611 Learn the fundamentals of tree identification on this summer walk at Casey Tree Farm. Participants will get to enjoy the beautiful hardwood forests surrounding our tree nursery situated in the Shenandoah River valley Cost: Free SOLD OUT (Waitlist available) **Advance registration was offered exclusively to Casey Trees Members. Join today to receive benefits such as advance registration.
SATURDAY, JUNE 14 Volunteer: Battery Kemble Park Invasive Species Removal 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 2832 Chain Bridge Rd NW Help Casey Trees and the National Park Service remove invasive plant species – namely bamboo – to make way for native tree plantings this fall.
THURSDAY, JUNE 19 Volunteer: St Joseph’s Seminary Tree Care 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. St. Joseph’s Seminary 1200 Varnum St NE Do your part to improve the health of our tree canopy at our first Thirsty Thursday event of the summer by weeding, mulching and watering the 40 trees planted at St. Joseph’s Seminary during our spring Community Tree Planting season. Cost: Free
TUESDAY, JULY 8 Social: Branch Out Happy Hour 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Nellie’s Sports Bar 900 U Street NW We are headed back to Nellie’s Sports Bar for July’s Branch Out Happy Hour! Join us on Nellie’s newly revamped rooftop to cool off from the summer sun. Cost: Free **No registration required.
Cost: Free
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Volunteer
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9
SATURDAY, JULY 19
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13
Family Program: Tree Detectives at Garfield Park 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Garfield Park 3rd St and South Carolina Ave SE
Volunteer: Fort Dupont Park Invasive Species Removal 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Fort Dupont Park Minnesota Avenue and F Street SE
Family Program: Tree Detectives at Stoddert Elementary 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Stoddert Elementary School 4001 Calvert Street NW
Bring the whole family to Tree Detectives, a family-focused tree tour where you’ll hunt for clues including leaves, flowers and fruit to help identify different trees.
Help Casey Trees, Rock Creek Conservancy, and the National Park Service remove invasive vines in Fort Dupontark.
Tree Detectives is series of familyfocused tree tours styled as scavenger hunts. Kids and their families hunt for clues based on leaves, flowers, fruit, bark and other characteristics and use these clues to identify different trees.
Cost: Free
THURSDAY, JULY 10 Volunteer: Lansburgh Park Tree Care 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Lansburgh Park 1030 Delaware Avenue SW Do your part to improve the health of our tree canopy at our second Thirsty Thursday event of the summer by weeding, mulching and watering the 18 trees planted at Lansburgh Park during our spring Community Tree Planting season.
Cost: Free
SATURDAY, AUGUST 9 Volunteer: Rock Creek Park Invasive Species Removal 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Rock Creek Park 6100 16th St NW Help Casey Trees, Rock Creek Conservancy, and the National Park Service remove invasive plant species to make way for native tree plantings this fall!
Cost: Free
Cost: Free
Cost: Free
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 Volunteer: Petworth Neighborhood Tree Care 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Petworth 7th Street and Webster Street NW Planting trees is a great way to green our city but once those young trees are in the ground, they need our help to get them through their first few years. Do your part to improve the health of our tree canopy at our third Thirsty Thursday event of the summer by weeding, mulching and watering the 40 trees planted on the grounds of E.L. Haynes Public Charter School and around the perimeter during our spring Community Tree Planting season.
Cost: Free
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Arbor Kids
Traveling Tree Journal Going on a vacation with your family this summer? Exploring a new place? Make a Tree Journal with entries of the new & different trees you see while traveling. Not sure where to start? Here’s some inspiration for your Summer Travel Tree Journal!
PAINT
COLLECT
DRAW
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