Business of trees, Arboriculture: March 2008 Archives

The City of Los Angeles has the country's largest roadway and sidewalk system with 6,500 miles of streets and approximately 10,000 miles of sidewalks. And Los Angeles also has the largest urban forest with a population of nearly 700,000 street trees.

A successful sidewalk program includes tree planting. Trees shade sidewalks and the adjacent streets to reduce heat.  Urban areas can be as much as 10 degrees warmer than surrounding open areas, so every tree -- especially MATURE tree counts.

The overall goals of the program are to:

1. Provide safer and more accessible transit surfaces for pedestrians.
2. Improve street drainage.
3. Maintain a healthy, safe, and sustainable urban forest.

Los Angeles, CA has a longstanding policy of replacing every tree removed from sidewalk areas with a minimum 2 to 1 replacement ratio. The Bureau of Street Services uses every sidewalk retrofitting opportunity to expand the  future tree canopy coverage by planting every available site within the sidewalk repair area. Where there is no room to replant trees, vacant planting locations are identified on adjacent streets to plant more than the 2 to 1 replacement ratio.

In the City of Los Angeles, replacement street trees must be 15-gallon size containers or larger. Using larger trees minimizes the occurrences of vandalism and gives the trees a much better chance of surviving.

All trees are planted using root deflection devices, which will help reduce future sidewalk damage. However, the most critical decision for reducing future infrastructure damage is proper species selection.

A municipal arborist is invaluable in selecting species that are compatible with each site. Consider hiring an arborist that is knowledgeable with the trees in your area.

Here's your chance to take part in the "growing" TreeVitalize movement,
a program designed by Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources (DCNR) to increase Southeast Pennsylvania's tree cover
and the benefits that trees offer us all. Join us for 9 hours of
hands-on training that will cover tree biology, identification,
planting, proper care and working within your community.

The course is being offered on weekday evenings at five different
locations, and is designed for lay people and experts alike. The course
is free but registration is required. Pennsylvania Landscape
Architecture, PLNA, ISA Certified Arborist, and Act 48 CEUS are offered.

There are several ways to register. See below for a registration form
which could be faxed to 215-988-8810 or mailed in. You can also register
online, by going to www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org, and
choosing "Tree Tenders Training".

Tree Awareness:
* Tree Biology
* Urban Stresses on Trees
* Tree Identification
* Basic Tree Pruning and Root Care
* Tree Planting

Community Organizing:
* Fundraising and Identifying Resources
* Working with Local Government
* Organization Building

The three-part series is FREE

For more information contact:
* Julianne Schieffer, 610-489-4315 or jxs51@psu.edu
* Mindy Maslin, 215-988-8844 or mmaslin@pennhort.org

Tropical American Tree Farms is founded in and guided by the following beliefs:

• Profit can easily coexist with conscience and good values.
• Profit alone is rewarding, but profit coupled with benefit to others is immeasurably more satisfying.
• Specialized knowledge improves success.
• Profit is much more self-perpetuating than altruism alone.
• A successful business relationship benefits everyone involved.
• God gives all of us the ability, and the responsibility, to leave this world and those around us better than when we arrived.
• Out of every problem arises equal or greater opportunity.
• Working together we can accomplish much more than working alone.

Tropical American Tree Farms