The Providential Gardener

Trees 2020 Initiative ~ Training Date September 24, 2008

Please pass the word, those of you who live and/or work in Providence

Trees 2020 is a new tree planting initiative that aims to initiate the planting of 40,000 trees in Providence by the year 2020 to improve our environment.  Our tree purchase program offers trees at a sharp discount to Providence property owners to encourage them to plant a tree in their own yards.  A training date for volunteers with or without tree knowledge is planned for Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 5pm. See below for brief invitation or the flyer and signup form.

From Doug Still, Providence City Forester:

Come be a part of the Tree Team!  Volunteers are needed for Trees 2020, a new program to increase tree cover and improve the environment in Providence by encouraging homeowners and property owners to plant trees.  Whether or not you have experience with trees, we need you!  To learn more and get involved, please read the attached flyer.

TRAINING DATE for Site Assessment volunteers:

When:     Wednesday, September 24, 2008 from 5:00 - 6:30 pm.
Where:    Chamber of Commerce auditorium, 30 Exchange Terrace (downtown)
Given by:    Doug Still, Providence City Forester

Send us your volunteer signup form, or contact Ray Perrault at 351-6440 x14 or by email.    Our website www.trees2020.org will be on-line in late September.

T-Shirts and much appreciation for all volunteers!

This is a joint effort of the City of Providence and Groundwork Providence, funded by the Helen Walker Raleigh Tree Care Trust and the Rhode Island Foundation.

Newport Tree Society Tree Sale

Everyone who loves trees will be interested in seeing the Newport Tree Society's list of Specimen Trees for sale this year.

They are taking orders now, and you may find more information on their website and at their lecture, Planting Trees in Newport: Sustaining our Unique Urban Forest, on January 23, 2008.

Here's the Tree_Sale_Order_Form.

Providence Neighborhood Planting Program Seeks Director

From Doug Still (Providence City Forester):

The Providence Neighborhood Planting Program is a street tree planting and maintenance partnership between the City of Providence, the Mary Elizabeth Sharpe Street Tree Endowment, and the people of Providence, Rhode Island.

Providence's innovative citizen planting program, established in the fall of 1988, offers tree grants to neighborhood planting groups, twice a year. Purchase of trees for qualifying groups is funded jointly by the City of Providence and the Mary Elizabeth Sharpe Street Tree Endowment, an Advised Fund of the Rhode Island Foundation. Groundwork Providence serves as PNPP’s Fiscal Agent.

Over 6000 street trees have been planted through the program, at a current rate of 450-500 trees per year.  Plantings are scheduled on Saturdays in or around April and October.  The full job_description gives the duties and required skills. Applications must be received by January 7, 2008.

A Flare for Planting Trees

Planting trees was one of the topics on the Garden Guys show on March 18, 2007. Read on so you can develop a flair for planting trees. The secret is the tree trunk's flare.

(By the way, the Garden Guys' program is now streamed" which means that if you are away from the local airwaves that carry  their show,  you can hear it live from anywhere by clicking on the little radio on their website, www.garden-guys.com. So now every Sunday from 8 to 10 am you can hear The Garden Guys through any online computer, even if you are in Europe or Nebraska! Great news, and thanks for implementing this, WHJJ!

Most important is FLARE CARE. Trees are ALIVE and need to BREATHE in their own way. Folks, the FLARE is where the TREE BREATHES. When the Garden Guys explained that the trunk flare had to be exposed, NOT covered with mulch, the caller with the tree question asked what the flare of a tree is. Here are some links to more information, and some great pictures.

Tree Organizations in Rhode Island

I've just received notice of the Newport Tree Society's lecture, Protecting, Preserving, and Rejuvenating Newport's Aging Urban Forest, to be held on March 6, 2007, 7:00 p.m. at The Pell Center. You may not have realized it, but because of Newport's mild climate and wealthy residents who have been planting trees for more than one hundred years, Newport has a spectacular collection of extraordinary, enormous trees from all over the world.

Following the meeting, a few low-cost specimen trees, grown at local nurseries, will be for sale (pick up at a later date). This is a fabulous list of trees! Red Oak, Dawn Redwood, Rivers Purple Beech, Blue Atlas Cedar....

Many organizations care about the trees in Rhode Island. Of course there is the Rhode Island Tree Council, TreeLink (which is somewhat out of date), and the RI Division of Forest Management. Several cities have tree codes and regulations, and some have tree wardens. Providence has a City Forester. Nine Rhode Island towns/cities are recognized as holding the official title, Tree City USA. The Land Trusts also actively care for our forests and woodlands.

Some other cities and towns in Rhode Island have their own active organizations dedicated to trees, many of which are city/town commissions. Here are a few of them:

• Bristol Tree Commission
• Middletown Tree Commission
• Newport Tree Commission
• Tiverton Tree Commission
• Warren Tree Commission
• Warwick Tree Commission

These are only some of the groups concerned about Rhode Island's trees and forests. Send news about your town's tree-planning and -caretaking activities.

Arbor Day in Rhode Island, April 27

This is a big day for news from the Rhode Island Tree Council. They are planning an Arbor Day Tree Planting across Rhode Island, "Plant-A-Legacy," on Friday, April 27. Flowering and shade trees will be planted to beautify and preserve the landscape. 

Sponsors of the Day are The Mihaildes Family Foundation, RI Federation of Garden Clubs, RI DEM Forest Environment, and the USDA Forest Service.

More Than One Hill Meets the Eye in Providence

College Hill and Federal Hill in Providence are well known, but you are really in the know if you know where Neutaconkanut Hill is.* It has been a public park in Providence since 1892, rising 296 feet above the bay. You can see nearly forever from there ~ great views of the city and even of the Mount Hope bridge on a clear day. Several of us trekked along the newly marked trails Saturday with Mike Lusi, who has been leading crews of volunteers in reclaiming this neglected but naturally beautiful and wild area of trees, field grasses and wild flowers, valleys, ravines, boulders, natural springs and brooks. Long-time Rhode Islanders may remember band concerts held at the bandstand on the hill, which is steep enough for skiing in the winter. "In the spring and summer the Hill is bursting with wildflowers and berries," says Elli Panichas, who has lived near the Hill all her life.

The Neutaconkanut Hill Association has won a grant to restore trails and clear overgrown brush so that residents can once more enjoy this 88-acre wilderness. They are looking for more volunteers for work crews to continue the cleanup work. Contact Elli Panichas for details.

*It is on the border of Providence, Johnston, and Cranston, in the Silver Lake section of Providence. Plainfield and Killingly Streets meet in front of its steep slope. The park is actually located at 675 Plainfield St., the address of the recreation center at the base of the Hill.

Providence Street Tree Tally News

Doug Still, the Providence City Forester, is analyzing the data collected by more than 100 volunteers who surveyed the street trees in Providence last summer. He expects to announce the comprehensive results in the next couple of months. Providence will be one of the first cities on the East Coast to analyze street tree data using STRATUM, new software developed by the U.S. Forest Service that quantifies the benefits provided by our trees.

9th Annual "Trees In Urban Landscapes" Symposium

Another posting from the RI Tree Council:

The 9th Annual "Trees In Urban Landscapes" Symposium will e held on Friday, November 17, 2006, from 9:30 AM-4:00 PM at Tower Hill Botanic Garden (Stoddard Education Center--Theater), 11 French Drive, Boylston, MA 01505. Sponsored by: Nathaniel Wheeler Trust.

$10 Registration, additional $10 for box lunch PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

This is a day-long symposium on current issues and recent developments in Urban Forestry. Featured speakers include:

• Robert I. Bertin, Professor of Biology at the College of the Holy Cross--speaking on Results of research on Norway Maple and other non-native Trees in the Urban woodlands of central Massachusetts
• Report from the American Chestnut Foundation.
• Multiple speakers on "Maximizing Biodiversity in Urban Woodlands"

More Information: registrar@towerhillbg.org , or call 508-869-6111x24

Rhode Island Urban and Community Forest Plan

Tonight I'm browsing through some Rhode Island government planning pages and found the Urban and Community Forest Plan, dated 1999. Although this is old, it's worth checking the abstract, and then comparing it with the 2005 Final Forest Resources Management Plan available at RI DEM/Division of of Forest Environment website. There are a number of other reports there as well on other aspects of our forests. Particularly interesting is the 8-page USDA/Forest Service report, Trends in Rhode Island Forests: A Half-century of Change dated 1998 ~ page 3: "Few places on earth have as many people living among so much forest..." I wonder if this is still true? This last report also says that the forests are maturing and there are fewer stands of young trees.

Fall is such a great time for walks in the colorful woods, and Rhode Island has many fine trails and state forests to explore. Go enjoy them!