Milledgeville Living Spring-Summer 2023

52 Engineering Heat & Wind With Trees

The Wonder of Trees in the Right Places

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR:

Jane Robinson

DESIGNERS: Heidi Rizzi

Beth Diersen

COVER PHOTO:

University of Georgia Athletic Association

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Cayla Franzman

Melissa Pulliam

Edward Morrow

Georgia College & State University

University of Georgia Athletic Association

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Maria de Guiseppi

Rick Franzman

Dana Lowe

Edward Morrow

ADVERTISING SALES: Maria de Guiseppi

Jane Robinson

Dan Smith

OFFICE MASCOTS: Oliver and Willow

MASCOTS EMERITUS: Pooh

Panda Tinkerbell Beau

If you would like to advertise with us or if you have feature ideas, please contact Jane Robinson wjr@ieservicegroup.com

Milledgeville Living Magazine published by Infinite Endeavors Service Group, Inc. P.O. Box 272 Good Hope, GA 30641 770-789-8189

Cara Turner

Joey Waddell

Stacy McCoy

Marshall Lee

The Renewal of

Flannery O’Connor’s Home Place

by Rick Franzman

On March 24th, the Georgia College and State University (GC) Historic Museums Department, headed by Director Matt Davis and Curator Cassie Munnell, cut the celebratory ribbon for the new Andalusia Plantation Interpretive Center. This ceremony marked the GC expansion and upgrades completion to the museum commemorating the life and works of famed southern writer Flannery O’ Connor. O’Connor lived and worked at Andalusia for 13 years until her untimely passing in 1964 due to lupus complications.

Davis, a GC graduate, holds a Master of Public History degree. He began his career as a graduate assistant involved with the 2005 Georgia’s Old Governor’s Mansion renovation. This assignment led him to another seven years with the Museums Department followed by a move to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 2012. The following year, Davis returned to Milledgeville and accepted the GC Director of Historic Museums position. His directorship includes oversight of Andalusia, Georgia’s Old Governor’s Mansion & Gift Shop, and The Sallie Ellis Davis House; all under the purview of GC.

As Davis’s responsibilities mounted with the Andalusia project, he recognized the need for a Museum Curator to manage daily activities and selected Marietta native, Munnell, from a field of candidates.

Munnell attended Agnes Scott College and Texas Tech University. She holds a Master of Museum Science degree and pursued an early career path developing her skills in museum related positions in Houston and Dallas.

Munnell notes, “The chance to come back to my home state and be involved in this project from its inception was a dream opportunity.”

The original Flannery O’ Connor Family Foundation gifted Andalusia to the college in August of 2017. The site now features a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose, interactive exhibit hall and welcome center chronicling both the history of the property and O’Connor’s work and writings while living there.

Crediting the original Andalusia Foundation, created and funded by O’Connor’s maternal family members in 2003, with “passing the torch seamlessly to the college,” Davis adds, “Former

President Steve Gorman’s endorsement, along with the continued support of GC’s current President Cathy Cox, provided the impetus to propel the project forward.”

After GC took charge of the museum, Davis initiated a one year closure to complete much needed maintenance on the 19 buildings and structures that facilitated a dairy and beef farm during O’Connor’s time there.

Re-opening for public tours in 2018, Andalusia attracted nearly 10,000 visitors a year. Davis hopes to eventually triple this visitor tally once the Interpretive Center and restored museums are fully actuated in marketing and function.

“Tourism is one of the key industries in Baldwin County returning $5 to the local economy for every $1 invested,” Davis notes. “We have a wealth of historic sites, and history in Milledgeville, that bring people from all over the world. We anticipate the enhancements at Andalusia will reinforce our reputation as a tourist destination, and significantly increase visitations.”

Until now, the main family house situated on a high plain toward the rear of Andalusia’s nearly 500 acres has served as both museum and administration building. Davis points out, “The new Interpretive Center will house

the administrative functions, leaving the remainder of the house to accommodate a complete and authentic representation of O’Connor’s day-today life and circumstances.”

A combination of public and private resources procured the budgeted $7 million for the building and renovations, and construction began in the fall of 2021. Davis recalls the construction priorities, “With the importance so closely associated with Andalusia, we wanted an aesthetic design that would merge with its surroundings and reflect the natural state of the land and buildings that were already here.”

The 5,500 square foot center is located in the open field to the forefront of Andalusia and features a pine exterior and black roof top on a ‘shotgun’ structure. It also includes a ‘lean to’ shed reminiscent of bygone era farm buildings. A sleek row of high windows, centered by a large

sliding glass entryway along the building’s north wall, provides generous natural light.

Davis says, “The experience at Andalusia will now begin at the Interpretive Center with its abundant parking and multiple walking paths that lead up to the main house. Rotating and permanent exhibits, in digital presentations, will provide a timeline of the property. The timeline includes Andalusia’s Creek Indian origins, to its first western development as a cotton plantation in 1814, to the construction of the main house in 1854, and eventually to Dr. Bernard Cline’s, O’Connor’s maternal uncle, 1931 purchase as a country retreat.”

Most significantly, the Interpretive Center will be the review of O’Connor’s works, life and contributions to the community and wider literary world while living at the Andalusia estate with her mother from 1951 until her passing in 1964.

Mary Flannery O’Connor was born in 1925 to Edward and Regina Cline O’Connor residing in Savannah, GA. O’Connor achieved a measure of early notoriety co-starring for newsreels with a family chicken that possessed the unusual characteristic strutting backwards. She later described the episode as “the highlight of my life,” likely because it began her lifelong affinity with all manner of bird species. This affinity for birds resulted in her association with the Peafowls that eventually numbered around 40 roaming the grounds of Andalusia.

After a brief stay in Atlanta during the late 1930s, O’Connor moved to Milledgeville to be near her maternal Cline family members who were settling in at Dr. Cline’s Sorrell Farms, (later re-named Andalusia) and a downtown residence. Here, she was graduated from Peabody High School and GC, then titled Georgia State College for Women, where she developed

proficiency in both writing and illustrating. Sadly, her father, Edward O’Connor passed away during this period from the same lupus disease, which would also claim her life.

O’Connor’s talents earned her a scholarship at the University of Iowa’s Creative Writing Workshop and an invitation to The Yaddo Community of Artists and Writers in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Interacting with prominent literary figures such as Robert Penn Warren, Robert Fitzgerald among others, thrust her into the preliminary stages of a career she envisioned playing out in New York while circulating in unique literary company.

However, in 1950, her plans changed during a Christmas trip home to Georgia when O’Connor developed symptoms of serious illness. Within a year she was permanently residing in Milledgeville under the care and attention of her mother Regina at Andalusia. Dr. Cline had willed his sprawling estate to Regina and his brother Louis after he passed away in 1947. Uncle Louis kept a room at the main house but was rarely present as he traveled extensively for his business. Dr. Cline had converted his horse farm to a dairy and beef farm O’Connor’s mother would manage.

As O’Connor contemplated her career, considering her disability, and change of scenery at the now re-named Andalusia,

she gradually turned her focus to those surroundings, and drew heavily upon her immediate environment for inspiration as well as settings for short stories she wrote.

In time, she developed the literary theme consisting of evil in the world being confronted by grace and spiritual truth. The confluence of her authentic Catholic faith and a keen understanding of the culture in her midst, revealed a voice in her extraordinary writing skills delivering a uniquely compelling message that continues to resonate decades after her passing.

At the same time, O’Connor’s stories contain autobiographical overtones as Davis points out, “There are clear metaphors that refer to her own sense of time and place that

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may not have been expressed if she had remained in New York, and not had this workshop to create these masterworks.”

Visitors will also learn, while O’Connor’s condition required constant care, it did not restrict her exclusively to life in a room with a typewriter. With lupus often in remission, it allowed her to develop a daily routine of morning mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church followed by several hours of work, and downtown for lunch at the Sanford House usually topped off by proprietor Mary Jo Thompson’s Peppermint Chiffon Pie.

Afternoons were generally used for rest, but just as often could be spent hosting book club meetings or entertaining local students with readings and reviews of their work. She also traveled to writers’ symposiums and gave lectures at universities, traveled overseas in 1958 to visit the sacred Catholic site in Lourdes, France, and received an audience with Pope Pius XII during her return to the states.

While maintaining this schedule, she produced two full

length novels, 31 short stories and over 100 book reviews of serious theological works, for Catholic journals, authored by world renowned philosopher/writers.

This beautiful window of life closed when O’Connor finally succumbed to her disease while undergoing an unrelated surgery for a fibroid tumor triggering a severe lupus reaction and resulting in her death August 3rd 1964 in Milledgeville.

Her mother, Regina, carried on at the farm for another decade before moving back into the Cline family residence on Greene St. and residing there, until her passing in 1995, just short of her 100th birthday.

O’Connor was awarded the 1972 National Fiction Book of the Year Award for her short stories compilation and was ranked the all-time best recipient of this award in 2009. Her life has been the subject of two separate film documentaries, multiple biographies, thousands of reviews, and currently a full-length motion picture is in production directed by actor/ producer Ethan Hawke.

In 2022, the National Park Service designated Andalusia a National Historic Landmark, further affirming O’Connor’s literary significance. Andalusia was also designated a National Historic Site in 1980 and a Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2019.

The more recent Historic Landmark reference is differentiated from the others by a qualifying measure that the site itself has significantly contributed to United States history. Davis notes, “The Historic Landmark designation offers testimony to the influence of place that gave consequence to O’Connor’s writings and vision, that have so broadly affected thought in the American consciousness.”

From the Interpretive Center to the museum house and grounds, that palpable sense of place takes a turn to a meandering hiking trail along Tobler’s Creek offering picnic areas and simple serenity to reflect upon the brief, but brilliant window in time that occurred there just three generations removed.

Owing to both the original Cline Family foundation and the current caretaking by GC’s Historic Museums Departments, the preservation of Flannery O’Connor’s Andalusia home and remarkable literary legacy are secure for future generations to witness, experience and enjoy. HMLM

JAVON BULLARD

by Dana Lowe

Javon Bullard has certainly made his mark with the repeating National Championship University of Georgia’s Bulldogs. In the semi playoff Peach Bowl against Ohio State, Bullard had a phenomenal game with a fumble recovery and was named the game’s Defensive MVP. In the 2022 National Championship against Texas Christian University, Bullard was a dominating force to be reckoned with, catching two interceptions and again named Defensive MVP of the game. Speaking with Bullard, you will never meet a more humble or nicer young man.

Bullard was born in Milledgeville and attended Blandy Hills Elementary, Oak Hill Middle School and then Baldwin High School. As a young boy playing football at Baldwin County’s Recreation Department, Bullard had dreams of playing college football. Bullard notes, “In my junior year of high school, I began to get letters from schools. I was recruited by Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina State. My senior year was in 2020, so COVID limited visiting college campuses for recruitment. I was familiar with Georgia, and it wasn’t too far from home. They had lost several defensive backs to the NFL, so I thought I might have a shot of playing early on. I also wanted to major in Broadcast Journalism, and UGA has the well-respected Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.”

Bullard didn’t expect to see much playing time as a freshman on UGA’s high-powered 2021 defense, and he was surprised when they called him into his first game. He saw action in 14 of 15 games and finished with 12 total tackles. “The transition from high school to college football was more of a

mental challenge than a physical one for me. Everyone playing at the college level is physically well conditioned, but breaking down film and translating what you have learned to the field took some getting used to,” Bullard adds.

Playing for UGA has been a surreal experience for Bullard, now a sophomore. During his first game run on to Sanford Stadium’s Dooley Field, Bullard said he had never seen so many people and certainly never played in front of such a large crowd.

Bullard recalls, “The Tennessee game was my biggest game of the 2022 season. There was so much hype about Tennessee, and they came in ranked #1. I had experienced a couple of hard weeks prior to that and was doubting myself. I used that game as a stepping stone to regain my confidence, and I

A Letter From Our President

The times we live in are very interesting, to say the least. Even with all the great things going on in Milledgeville and Baldwin County, there is still a lot of confusion in our world today. Political divisions, high inflation, and general uncertainty seem to cloud the picture. There have even been rumblings in the media over the past few months about potential problems within the banking industry, all spurred by the failure of a handful of very specialized, unique banks.

But after serving as a community banker for more than 35 years, I can assure you that community banks, including Century Bank & Trust, are a great source of certainty and security for your financial needs. Community banks in general are safe, secure institutions with many years’ history of local commitment. While there are many reasons for the success of community banks, the primary difference between our banks and the large megabanks lies in two areas.

First of all, community banks operate under a relationship banking model, not a transaction-based model. The most important part of that for you as a consumer is that our deposit structure and lending decisions are based on our knowledge and understanding of our customers and communities, not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Community banks are able to tailor unique banking solutions for our customers because we live, work, play, and worship together in our local communities. We personally know and understand our customers and

are accountable to them to meet their banking needs. And while technology allows us to serve our customers with the same state-of-the-art mobile and online banking products you find at larger banks, we are able to couple those products with personal, available, and courteous customer service.

The second primary area of difference lies in the fact that community banks take the word “community” in our names very seriously. We take local deposits from people we know and understand and use those dollars to invest in our community by making loans to the individuals and small businesses that we know and understand. Community bankers are not simply deposit-takers who then funnel that money into loans for large commercial projects in major metropolitan areas. We support local charities and events with our time and money, unashamedly committed to giving back to and growing our communities and our customers.

But please don’t just take my word for it. In an uncertain world, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to love and trust your bank? I and all of our staff invite you to come to Century Bank & Trust and experience this level of personal, tailored banking for yourself. Talk to real people who can answer your questions and show you that your money is safe with us and your needs are our foremost concern. We are confident that your experience with us will make you a true fan of community banks, and a satisfied customer of Century Bank & Trust, for life.

“But after serving as a community banker for more than 35 years, I can assure you that community banks, including Century Bank & Trust, are a great source of certainty and security for your financial needs.”

Derek B. Williams, President/CEO

had some big plays (seven unassisted tackles, a pair of quarterback sacks and a pass breakup). The Georgia fans were so loud, and it’s a game I will never forget.”

“Winning the first National Championship in 2021 was huge. That’s the kind of accomplishment you dream of as a kid. I knew we had won the game, but once I saw the confetti falling, it really sunk in that we were THE National Champions. Repeating as National Champions in 2022 was more difficult. We had so many doubters because we had 15 players drafted into the NFL in the year before. Our defense was questioned, and it gave our team a lot of satisfaction proving them wrong.”

When asked about being named Defensive MVP of both the Peach Bowl and the 2022 National Championship, Bullard says he always just tries to make plays, and the game is not always fair. “I don’t try to make it bigger than it is. You’re out there with your brothers,

“To be recognized in this way by your community is a blessing. I enjoy being a role model and giving back. I am extremely blessed that God has enabled me to play football and be a role model to others.”

–Javon Bullard

you’re out there with your blood, sweat and tears. It gives you confidence, and a sense of calmness. The preparation we get at practice makes the game so much easier,” he adds.

In the days leading up to the 2022 National Championship, there were many people sighted wearing UGA jerseys with number 22 on the front and “Bullard” on the back. Milledgeville is proud of Bullard and it means so much to him to have that hometown support.

There was a hometown parade to honor Bullard on March 11, 2023 (appropriately called Javon Bullard Day) through downtown Milledgeville. Bullard is honored and humbled to be recognized. “To be recognized in this way by your community is a blessing. I enjoy being a role model and giving back. You have a lot of kids who look up to you, and seeing their smiles and the joy that you bring is an inspiration to me. I am extremely blessed that God has enabled me to play football and be a role model to others.”

Bullard’s parents, James and Shonda Bullard, still live in Milledgeville, and he is the baby of his family with an older

brother and sister. He gets back to Milledgeville every chance he gets because he misses the people that make up the town and the connections and friendships that he still has here. Of course, no trip back home is complete without a trip to Cook Out, his favorite Milledgeville restaurant.

There is no doubt that Bullard will be a top target for the NFL in a few years. In the meantime, as his junior year approaches, all eyes in Baldwin County will be on #22 in the fall. He has made us all proud, and certainly deserves the title of a hometown hero. Go Javon, and as always, Go Dawgs! HMLM

Home Services Guide

Therapy Dogs

A Valuable Service for Healing

by Maria de Guiseppi

Dogs have a remarkable way of transforming our lives for the better. These smart and instinctive creatures have an endearing way of weaving themselves into our hearts and lives with affection and unconditional love. Their ability to bring a smile with a mere wag of their tail, or a connected bond through their expressive eyes and behavior, forms a strong connection between us and our loving animal companions.

This bond is unique and gives rise to the inevitability of these loyal companions not only serving as loving companions but also as valuable service companions for individuals with mental, emotional or physical disabilities. Service companion animals are adept at helping those with disabilities or mental trauma maintain an independent lifestyle. Traditional service dogs assist individuals with hearing and vision difficulties as well those with whom have mobility impairment. For example, specific training may include animals with the ability to activate an emergency distress device if their owners experience a seizure.

Today, trained therapy dogs are assisting people in impactful ways. They may provide emotional support for those who are experiencing challenging life changes, whether someone is struggling with anxiety, a physically disabling challenge, prior emotional trauma that may have led to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or emotional distress related to the passing of a loved or other distressing life experiences. Additionally, therapy dogs may serve as a comforting presence for a courtroom witness.

Animal therapy is an effective movement that is gaining popularity and the mental health and medical fields are recognizing the wonderful healing effect therapy dogs and other animals have on human beings.

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The Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD), founded in 1990 by Jack and Ann Butrick, is located in Cheyenne Wyoming. The organization is an international registry consisting of more than 15,000 certified therapy dog teams. The handler/dog teams are located within the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ATD provides testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance for members volunteering animal-assisting activities. Their mission is to form a caring network of handlers and their special dogs who are willing to encourage and bring joy to all ages.

ATD focuses on the dogs’ contentment and behavior regardless of age or breed. Dogs must be well-mannered, well-behaved and enjoy meeting new people. Although obedience training can be an asset in a therapy environment, ATD only requires their certification training and doesn’t require other formal training, certifications, or tests. Dogs tested for ATD’s certification must have up-todate vaccine records. ATD allows registration of any dog breed except for wolf or coyote mixes.

ATD utilizes a unique testing process involving handlers working with their dogs. Testing is designed to ensure the handler and their dog possess the temperament and qualities for therapy dog service. After the test, the Tester/Observer (T/O) will observe the handler and their dog for three visits to facilities including two visits

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to a medical facility. During these scheduled and monitored visits, the T/O will provide guidance for the handler and their dog in the practice of dog therapy. This process leads to recommendations for dog certification with ATD. In addition, handlers must pass a background check.

In Milledgeville-Baldwin County, the two ATD T/O trainers, Judith Keim and Pattie Allison, belong to The K9 Angel Therapy Dogs Team. This association has provided training in the Middle Georgia area for nearly two decades. Countless dog therapy teams have been certified in Baldwin County, Putnam County, Greene County and Bibb County.

“I was the ‘happy mom’ of Cupid, a miniature poodle, says Keim,” he was my very first K9 Angel. It was my good fortune that I met Pat Hester and her yellow Labrador, Dixie. It was Pat Hester who encouraged me and Cupid to become an official Therapy Dog Team.”

Hester, a T/O who had become close friends with Keim, eventually moved to Florida. She encouraged Keim to test for her prior T/O position.

Keim accepted the challenge. During the past fifteen years, she has certified over seventy therapy dog teams, including her husband Harry. “Many therapy dog teams are still active. Some have moved on and others have had to bid farewell to their beloved therapy dogs as they journey over the Rainbow Bridge.” (The place where all four-legged fur babies eventually go.) explains Keim.

The K9 Angel Therapy Dog Teams ranging in size from ten to fourteen, visit schools, camps, nursing homes, hospitals, colleges, assisted living communities, veterans’ homes, churches, hospice facilities, and patients’ homes. These teams have visited the following local facilities: Savannah Court,

The Fellowship Home, Green Acres, Chaplinwood, Georgia War Veterans Hospital, Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin Hospital, Georgia College & State University, Lakeview Academy, Midway Hills Academy, Oak Hill Middle School, Mary Vinson Library and Camp Good Grief.

On Valentines Day, this year, the K9 Angel Therapy Dog Teams visited the Georgia War Veterans Home. This special event brought joy to many veterans. The veterans enjoyed the company and were delighted to pet these caring and engaged dogs.

Later in February, the teams visited Georgia College & State University where anxiety was paramount due to the upcoming mid-term examinations. This was especially noticeable in the first-year class. The turnout was remarkable, and the students enjoyed time with the dogs. Fourteen of the K9 Angel Therapy Dog Teams participated in this event.

In early March, seven of K9 Angel Therapy Dog Teams participated in a therapy event held at the Fellowship Home at Meriwether. Teams began with a meet and greet and dogs were sniffing and barking at each other. Staff and teams were introduced to each other, and the dogs were off to the Memory Care Unit. Many of the residents, but not all of them, remembered the dogs had visited in the previous month. While the residents didn’t seem quite as engaged with petting the dogs, it was clear they enjoyed watching the dogs’ behavior and antics.

As this visit occurred on Friday, the teams crashed the residents’ Bingo game. The residents are well acquainted with the

teams coming through the rooms, stopping for hugs, pets, and ‘when I had my dog stories.’ The teams visited approximately 25 residents during this visit.

Keim notes, “One of the greatest rewards of visiting regularly is knowing that the residents will remember the teams and ask when we will return.”

Keim fondly remembers, “As years pass, my greatest joy is watching the demand for and the acceptance of therapy dogs not only in Georgia, but the entire country. Therapy dogs provide a permanent part of the healing fabric. In visiting nursing homes, assisted living and rehabilitation facilities, I always ask folks if they ever owned a dog. Stories that come forth are wonderful, some sad as they can’t have a dog where they are residing. This is even more reason for the K9 Angel Therapy Dog Teams to expand.”

Kiem encourages individuals to consider becoming a therapy dog team. The options are limitless. You may visit facilities on your own or join others. If you are uncertain if your dog is ‘well mannered’ or ‘well behaved’ the K9 Angel Therapy Dog Team T/Os are available to help you decide. There is no cost to join the team, only a minimal ATD annual registration fee is required. The K9 Angel Therapy Dog Teams are waiting for you and your precious pup to join us. H

MLM

For additional information, please visit the ATD website www. therapydogs.com.

Summer Recreation Camps Guide

The only one of it's kind on the lake, The Edgewater is a premier event venue available for your next special occasion. Perfect for weddings, family reunions and all kinds of life celebrations - from rustic to elegant - our in-house consulting and coordination can fulfill your ideas of a perfect gathering. Lodging is available in neighboring Oconee Springs Park for overnight guests. (770) 265-8121

email: TheEdgewateronLakeSinclair@yahoo.com

ENGINEERING HEAT & WIND WITH TREES

by Edward Morrow

The Wonder of Trees in the Right Places

You wouldn’t believe it—But there’s a downtown space filled with so many amazing trees. If you’re always on the go, traveling here and there, I challenge you to do two simple things: first, slow down. Next, take a nice walk throughout the crisscross grid of downtown Milledgeville. You will be delighted by an assortment of awe-inspiring trees, plant life, and vegetation—of varied sizes, colors, textures, and growth habits. The biodiversity is immaculate, creating an ambiance flowing through each street with rural charm.

Trees and greenery do so much more than evoke beauty around a home or in an outdoor space. They literally green assets that provide unique heating and cooling benefits through the year. Interesting.

After taking a landscape design course through Emory University last year, I learned a new, yet subtle, aspect of trees.

Quick question. Are you a homeowner? Professional landscaper? Real estate professional? Hobby gardener? Or maybe you just have an interest in improving outdoor spaces. Let’s dive deep into how trees assist with regulating temperature, while learning about a few landscape design principles.

Did you know trees can be strategically located to shield heat to minimize the devastating—and draining— effects of midday and afternoon solar rays. Think about all the outdoor activities you aspire to do but can’t do, or simply shy away from, because of the heat.

Also, trees are granted an uncanny ability: evapotranspiration. This process allows a tree to expel moisture through its leaf surfaces. Basically, this is like converting a tree into a

natural air conditioning unit that cools the immediate area around it.

Trees strategically placed primarily on the southwest/west sides of a home can produce the best level of shade. When considering the shape, or architectural structure of a tree, gravitate towards trees that are broad or have well-shaped crowns and canopies, have enough height, and are gifted with dense leaf cover. The previously mentioned attributes allow a tree to cast more shade than a species that has a more upright, or fastigiate growth pattern.

In the northern hemisphere, maximum sun exposure is key for the months running through late autumn to early spring.

One site design concept is engineering a landscape with deciduous trees on the southern end of a home, building, or structure. Deciduous trees provide shade during the summer, but permit sunlight to pass through when leaves are not present during the dormant season. Another strategy is widely placing trees on the southern side of a building so that maximum sunlight is gained.

During warmer months, trees can provide shade over a roof, plus encourage the winter sun to shine through and provide heat. Deciduous trees with open canopies are better for the south side of a home to reduce the number of individual branches that block sunlight. Deciduous trees and plants with dense branches, along with evergreen species should be used lightly. Since evergreen plants retain their leaves year-round, they can completely block sun rays, which translates to less heat for cooler months.

Wind is another consideration, even though it typically lacks the predictability of the sun, there are a few general facts to keep in mind as it relates to wind impacting the sides of a home, building, or structure:

• During the year, the east side is usually the most protected area.

• On an annual basis, the south/southwest/west sides receive the most constant wind.

• Following a cold front, the north/west sides are most exposed.

• During warmer months or during a warm front, the south/west sides typically receive the most constant wind.

Landscape also plays a part in wind direction and patterns; for example, the presence of large bodies of water, terrain, mountains, plants, other structures can modify wind conditions.

A landscape can be engineered to (1) provide protection from west and northwest (cold-season) winds and (2) encourage exposure of south and southwest (hot-season) winds.

Coniferous evergreens, situated on the west/northwest sides of an outdoor space, can combat cold-season wind. Their yearround, dense foliage can slash wind velocity. The leeward side of a group of trees—opposite of the windward side—has a greater protection zone from wind.

Grouped evergreens can be superior to scattered trees, since openings in a mass of trees could increase wind speeds. Evergreen plants can reduce heating costs by up to 30% during the cool season if they are logistically engineered on a property. If trees cannot be planted properly, due to site restrictions and limitations, shrubs can be used.

Switching to encouraging wind during warmer seasons, it would be prudent to design a more open lawn and keep vegetation lower on the south/southwest areas of a home or building. Deciduous shade trees can serve as a complement—blocking the

sun’s heat, while directing wind toward a home for additional cooling. Wind channeled across greenspaces typically remain cooler than wind moving across hardscapes like pavements and concrete.

Shade trees work their best magic when they are located over, or as close as possible to the structure or outdoor space that desires shade. The reason is that the sun’s trajectory is at a higher angle during the summer months.

Another interesting observation is that tree height plays a part in shade coverage. Studies show that 47% of a surface is shaded, when a 52-foot-high tree is located merely 10 feet away from the west side of a home or structure. That same tree only generates 27% shade when located twice as far away, or 20 feet.

Be mindful, that trees are like any other investment, in order for them to provide a payoff—effective shade in this situation—they require simple things like patience, time—years to grow large enough to provide the greatest return on investment.

Hope that you learned a lot about how trees make living more enjoyable and comfortable. Keep in mind, trees planted or grown in a mass can impact wind, temperature, and even things as simple as our moods. If your personal outdoor or public green space is developed correctly, they will become environments conducive to more outside activities, and even yard work. Relish nature. Appreciate all the natural benefits it has to offer us. HMLM

Edward Morrow is an ISA Certified Arborist, Tree Risk Assessor, and author. He holds memberships with The American Society of Consulting Arborists and The Outdoor Writer’s Association of America. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of plant health care and urban forestry with property owners, while helping them see the benefits of their trees. His work can be found at www.edwardthearborist.com.

References:

•Norman K. Booth, FASLA; James E. Hiss, FASLA. Residential Landscape Architecture: Design Process for Private Residence, (Pearson, 2016; 7th Edition)

•Victor Olgyay, Design with Climate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963)

•Anne Simon Moffat and Marc Schiler, Energy-Efficient and Environmental Landscaping (South Newfane, VT: Appropriate Solutions Press, 1994)

•Anne Simon Moffat and Marc Schiler, Landscape Design That Saves Energy (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1981)

•Dr. James R Fazio, editor, “How Trees Can Save Energy, “ Tree City USA Bulletin #21 (Nebraska City, NE: The National Arbor Day Foundation)

•Gary O. Robinette, Plants People Environmental Quality (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Interior, 1972)