Tree (of) Learning Blog Spot

Leveraging Huge Public Investments Using Trees

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

This post originally appeared on the DeepRoot blog, Green Infrastructure for Your Community.

I read a lot of news stories about development projects described by words like sustainable, walkable, dense, and multi-use. These characteristics are experiencing a real surge in emphasis from both a design standpoint and from media coverage, and rightly so. They are some of the pillars of community design that support the physical and economic health of individuals, of towns, and countries.

Still, when I read stories about these developments, it often feels like something is missing. Are we getting maximum value out of them? As far as green utilities are concerned, the answer is often no.

Many of these projects — for example, Better Market Street, which is underway here in San Francisco — are tremendous public investments. They provide brawn to the local economy while they’re being created, but residents are left holding the bag on long-term maintenance costs. If the public can’t afford to support them, these tremendous public investments, whose champions tout them as important community assets, can become liabilities. (This is one of the main messages of the folks at Strong Towns, who espouse design principles and planning logic ”to support a model for growth that allows America’s towns to become financially strong and resilient.”)

I’m not trying to pick on Better Market Street, whose design has not even been finalized, much less built. I’m just using it as an example to explore the idea of leveraging huge public investments for maximum revenue and longevity. There are many ways to achieve that from design standpoint. At DeepRoot, we focus on how to do it using green infrastructure, namely trees and stormwater.

If all this makes sense to you, and you agree that public investments should be leveraged for maximum value, there is no reason to continue planting trees in 4 x 4 cutouts and replacing them every 13 years. We already know we can do better than that.

One of the core elements of our work is trying to convince people of the true value of the urban forest. Sometimes this means putting trees in the context of otherwise dissimilar urban infrastructure, such as pipes or cisterns, to emphasize thinking of trees as utilities. Pipes and cisterns have their place, but trees are unique in their ability to actually appreciate considerably in value and function, performing on-site stormwater management and enhancing community assets such as home and property value, traffic safety, public health and wildlife habitat (among other things).

Planting trees in conditions that will support long-term growth is the first way in which we need to revise our assumptions about trees as utilities. For trees to live to 60, 70 or 80 years old they need adequate amounts of high-quality loam — usually around 1,000 cubic feet per tree. Our estimates indicate that trees planted in 1,000 cubic feet of soil (28 cubic meters) pay off their investment after around 20 years. And those trees could be around — and contributing substantial economic value — for many, many decades beyond that.

Properly-planted trees also play an important role in stormwater infrastructure. This is arguably where they have the greatest value. The soil trees grow in alone is capable of managing daily rainfall events of up to 2″, which is greater than the “P” (90%) storm event for many, many places.

As my colleague Nathalie’s original blog entry explains, as the tree grows bigger and its canopy fuller, its capacity to manage stormwater will increase further as a result of interception (the amount of rainfall temporarily held on tree leaves and stem surfaces). Interception is not typically included in stormwater calculations but can provide significant additional stormwater benefits beyond storage in the soil.

The point I’m trying to make here is not that trees and soil obviate the need for pipes and drains. Instead, it’s that we should bring the same commitment and rigor to planning for green infrastructure elements like trees and soil as we do to buildings, streets, lights and pipes.

We make massive investments in “gray” infrastructure with the expectation that it will perform as efficiently and effectively as possible, even though we know it loses value as soon as it goes online. Trees work in the opposite way and require us to plan a little differently, yet the potential payback is enormous. Designing conditions for trees to grow and thrive, especially on major public projects, will maximize their revenue and longevity, and should be an imperative in all of our communities.

Image: Wouter Kiel

Bird Watching at the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline

2012-01-16T21:55:00.000-08:00

Last week Ellyn and I joined a bird-watching bike tour atThe Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline in Oakland. A world away from the City, yet only a five minute pedalfrom the Fruitvale BART station. It is an amazing place; so beautiful and tranquil and so full of life –bird life especially! Our tour leader, Kathy Jarrett, listed50 species that we encountered that day. 50!!?? I do believe I missed a few. It was an incredible and informative day; I learned so much. At the start of the day I had no ideathere were such a variety of ducks, right here in our bay. Everyone knows Mallards, right? Well, at the MLK Regional Shoreline,one can also become familiar with Pintails,

Widgeons, Green Winged Teals,Cinnamon Teals, Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, and the very interesting-looking SurfScoter, to name a few.

In additionto the multitude of duck species, one will also encounter different kinds ofgrebes,

avocets,

willits and turn-stones,

pelicans,

sandpipers, egrets, blue herons, and well,more than fifty species! So,dig out those binoculars, get on your bike and go.

There are many places to see birds in our bay area. Kathy’s next tour will be February 4^th, startingat the El Cerrito BART at 8:35 am. Check out the full event listing:

http://www.goldengateaudubon.org/field-trips/field-trips/

100 Little Tree Movies

2012-01-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

Next time you have 2 minutes to spare - yes! you do... check out one of these little tree movies featuring Donald Leopold, SUNY Professor of Dendrology. Each video focuses on a single tree species, showcasing the tree form, leaves and bark while Dr. Leopold describes the tree and its contributions to our environment, our landscapes and our economy. There are 100 or more trees to learn about, alphabetized by common name. Watch these videos online or download free through iTunes U.

I've seen about half a dozen of them and so far, I like everything about this series. The theme music is pleasant and folksy. The camera work is simple but professional, using camera motion and focus rather than edits to keep things interesting. The scripting is suitably brief while conveying all the useful information. Dr. Leopold is easygoing yet scientific. You can easily imagine taking one of his classes and enjoying it.

Most of the trees featured are native to the Eastern U.S., where I grew up. I saw these trees as a child but never learned to identify them. My professional training has all taken place in California. Thanks, Dr. Leopold, for formally introducing me to these trees. Perhaps I'll meet you too one day.

New Year, New Blog!

2012-01-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

The New Year's Resolution may be a bit of a cliche, but certainly the old brain has come up with some new ideas for the new year during the slow winter season. Among them - revive this blog.

Anyone reading this blog will certainly notice that I don't post very frequently. Although life and work constantly bring new experiences, distilling them into frequent blog posts can be overwhelming. Many of my busy colleagues share the same frustration. How can one person sound knowledgeable, interesting and fresh on a regular basis? The answer: She gets some help.

This blog will become a community creation, featuring several contributors on a wider variety of topics, as described in the title above. Follow this blog in 2012 for new voices, new content and more variety. Learn, along with us, something you didn't know yesterday.

Not Just for Would-Be Arborists: Arboriculture Boot Camp

2011-08-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

We're getting a real diverse crowd going here at Arboriculture Boot Camp that includes landscape architects, city gardeners, employees of big landscape companies and small garden business owners. Some of them want to take the ISA Certified Arborist Exam but others simply want to expand their knowledge about trees and woody plants. You're all welcome here! The topics covered on the exam are practical, everyday horticulture including Pruning, Diagnosis and Treatment, Soils and Biology, so the Exam Study Guide you'll get with the class makes a good reference book as well.

For this reason, Arboriculture Boot Camp offers Continuing Education Units for the following:
- California Urban Forest Council (CAUFC) Registered Urban Foresters
- Association for Professional Landscape Designers (APLD),
- International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborists
- CA Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). DPR Units are offered for 2 hours for the evening of October 20th only.

Whether being a Certified Arborist is your goal or not, you can benefit from Arboriculture Boot Camp, and get to know other dedicated professionals as a bonus. Hope to see you there!

Arboriculture Boot Camp Revised Flyer

2011-07-30T19:25:00.001-07:00

Hello,

If you downloaded or received a flyer before August 1, please discard it and use the revised version, now shown on this website. Thanks!

Arboriculture Boot Camp this Fall

2011-06-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Arboriculture Boot Camp is both a prep course for the ISA Certified Arborist Exam, and a great source of information for anyone in the green industry. If you want to know more about trees, you'll get a lot out of this course.

The ISA exam is in San Francisco on October 29th, and this class ends just a few days before the exam.

Below are 2 links to the flyer and speaker bios. Email me if you can't open it, and I'll send you a copy:

Arboriculture Boot Camp and Exam Study 2011

Instructor Bios

Join Us for a Stairway Walk March 27!

2011-03-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

This Golden Gate Heights Stairway Walk was inspired by Adah Bakalinsky's book Stairway Walks in San Francisco. (Now in 7th Edition!) It will be a mash-up of horticulture, ecology, geology, architecture and history - and of course lots of stairways! Bring good walking shoes and a camera. Rain or shine. RSVP to sarah@fuf.net

View Golden Gate Heights Stairway Tour in a larger map

Meet 11 am on Sunday, March 27th at Moraga and 16th Avenue, at the foot of the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. (www.tiledsteps.org). The #66 bus goes right there. It connects with the 43 at 9th Ave and Judah. Or take the N-Judah, get off at 15th Ave, go up the 15th Avenue steps, turn right and follow the curve (the road is Lawton then 16th Ave.)

A tale of 2 transplants, part 2: tree fern (Cyathea spp.)

2011-03-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

A client had 2 tree ferns growing close together and wanted to remove one to get more light. Could it be saved from the compost pile? Experts from the San Francisco Botanical Gardens and Flora Grubb said probably. Dicksonia tree ferns are much easier to transplant - apparently you can cut the trunk into pieces and get new sprouts and roots on each piece. But Cyathea is a little more finicky. Here is what our experts told us to do:

Remove the fronds. (We kept the fiddleheads, or unfurling fronds)
Save as much of the rootball as you can. (This was tough: it was growing in a narrow planting bed next to another fern; we did our best).
Transplant immediately. (Done)
Pile wood chips a couple of feet high around the trunk, to encourage roots growing from the trunk. (This is something you could not do with a woody tree, but ferns are very different biologically).

Unfortunately, I was so involved in the process of getting this tree fern out of its tight spot, down a narrow hallway, and onto a truck, that I didn't take many pictures of the transplant itself. Fellow arborists Christopher Altman of Trees Company and Mikey Castello were invaluable. Mikey adopted the tree fern - it's in a pot in a sheltered courtyard - and we have our fingers crossed for its survival. Hope to update you with good news in a year or so!

A tale of 2 transplants, part 1: Purple-leaf plum

2011-03-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

Winter can be a good time to transplant around these parts...rainy, overcast and cool, but no frozen ground. In mid-December I transplanted a purple-leaf plum for a client. He wanted it out of the backyard and in the sidewalk in front. We had a good chance of survival - the tree was young and dormant and this winter was especially cool and rainy.

The tree had been transplanted twice before in its short life, the second time next to a vegetable garden. I dug around and found a shallow (about 6 in.) but wide (2-3 ft.) root system, as I had hoped. We didn't want to carry a large heavy root ball up a flight of stairs, around a hairpin turn, and through the house.

While the guys from Caffrey Landscaping valiantly broke concrete and dug the new hole, I exposed roots by hand like archeological excavation. Because the cutout in the sidewalk was generous, we could retain most of the root length, so I made only small root cuts. We were able to remove most of the soil and easily lift the tree over the stair railing, avoiding the hairpin turn. We brought buckets of the soil it had been growing in to the front and mixed it in with the soil under the concrete.

In January it bloomed its little heart out and it is now in full leaf!

Training Young Trees for Home Gardeners video in 2011!

2011-01-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

UC California Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) is working to update their 1999 video, "Training Young Trees for Structure and Form." The old video was mainly aimed at professionals, but the update will create a simplified 10-15 minute version for home gardeners as well. I'm co-writing the script with Dr. Larry Costello, retired Horticultural Advisor for San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. Hope to shoot this winter and release later this year.

Here's a link to the old video, actually contains 2 separate videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHnv0AstLK4

Arborville now Ready Made for you!

2010-07-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

Ready Made Magazine, the DIY bible, has given Arborville a nod on page 22 of the August/September 2010 issue. Thanks to editor Alexa Fornoff for the writeup, and to Beth at Signal2Productions for the PR.

It's weird seeing references to yourself in print written by someone else. I always wonder, if I didn't know "me", would I have used these phrases? Written this way? One of those chicken-and-egg scenarios there is no good answer for. Time-travelers or reincarnated folks, got an insight? let me know...

Urban Tree Key now on www.urbanforestmap.org

2010-07-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

A botanical key helps you identify plants by offering choices about leaf arrangement, appearance, or even smell. Answer enough questions, and theoretically, you can identify the plant.

The beauty of this key is that you don't need a degree in botany to use it. Regular people can identify the most common urban trees of San Francisco using good observational skills. Kelaine Vargas and I designed the logic, and I wrote the tree descriptions. Last December I had a great time with photographer Adam Warmington taking pictures for this key. Most of them were in my own neighborhood within walking distance! The amazing thing is that even at that time of year, most of the trees were in leaf, and many were even blooming. 12 trees or so were dormant and I had to find internet links to appropriate pictures.

We really don't have a good simple i.d. key for trees of Western North America. With the right funding, this key could have so many more trees added to it and be very useful to students, professionals and tree afficionados alike. Right now, if you live in San Francisco, the most popular trees found in sidewalks and parks can be identified.

Excerpt from Pruning 2 now on YouTube

2010-07-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

This segment covers view pruning, the art of pruning trees to highlight the view without totally destroying the trees. Severe "topping" cuts stimulate excessive dense sprouting which actually blocks the view more quickly and completely. View pruning a.k.a. view windowing looks better, lasts longer, and maintains your neighbor's privacy.

Earth Day planting with the Quality of Life Foundation

2010-04-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Confession: For years, I have hated Earth Day events. They often felt like publicity stunts for politicians and corporations to justify their exploitation of the earth the other 364 days of the year.

For the Quality of Life Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, tree planting is not an empty gesture. They are very serious about the continued survival of every tree they plant. They hired me and Roy Leggitt as consulting arborists to help with their Earth Day planting at Fairmount Elementary School as a model for future plantings.

Roy and I focused on these key points:

Visiting the site to determine the best trees for the site conditions
Talking to the school garden stewards about what they could realistically take care of
Inspecting nursery stock for quality
Using good planting technique
Performing follow up visits in the first few years after planting

We had a great time at the school planting. My faith in Earth Day is restored. I look forward to continued work with Lee Hwang, Matt Savage, Larissa Conte and Amber Bieg on future projects!

www.urbanforestmap.org goes live!

2010-04-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

This winter I worked on a website that allows users to identify trees and their locations in their community. The site links two street tree databases for San Francisco and graphically depicts them on a map. Users can also add or update data, so trees in yards, parks or open spaces can be added. The site calculates the ecosystem services offered by the trees - cleaner air and water, just to name a couple. So the more trees in the database, the more services we can see! (We're already feeling their effects).

I helped out with the Tree ID Key and an instructional video on measuring the trunk of a tree. (Knowing the trunk diameter helps us make estimates about its size and age, so we can calculate ecosystem services - it's all in the video!)

Here's a link to two earth day events that debut the site: http://www.earthsite.net/news/urban-forest-map-launch-party/

And soon...www.urbanforestmap.org goes live!

Arborville iPhone app released!

2010-03-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

If you had told me last year that I would create an iPhone app, I would have laughed. What does an arborist need with an app? But when Pamela Lovell and I made these pruning videos last year, she put me in touch with Beth Rogozinski of Signal2 Productions. Beth raised a good point. What if you could have a pocket tutorial on pruning, right in your backyard, when you need it? The first time I ever pruned something, I would have appreciated it.

So check it out at the iTunes app store - under Arborville in the Lifestyle section. Current price is $2.99.
No iPhone? visit www.powerlearning21.com in the Home and Garden section. The video - a slightly different version - is $2.99 for 5 views or $3.99 for 10 views.

Pruning 1: Tools and Techniques introduces pruning tools and their maintenance and shows how to make a good pruning cut.
Pruning 2: Specific Effects covers size reduction, thinning, view pruning and why topping and lion-tailing won't work for you in the long run. (Pruning 2 will hit the app store later this year).

Ellyn's C.V.

2010-02-27T08:31:00.001-08:00

Arboriculture is the science of caring for trees. Arborville is the integration of science, service and society for the betterment of plants and people. What plants need to live and thrive should have been taught to us with our ABCs. Instead, we hear and read a lot of misinformation. Let's get our facts straight. And have fun doing it!

With consultations, classes, hands-on workshops, videos and articles, there's something for everyone - the "green collar" professional, the plant lover, and the savvy property owner. Each project offers a unique opportunity for collaboration.

Educational Projects:

Co-authored script for: "Training Young Trees for Home Gardeners," University of California ANR
Arborville iPhone apps: Pruning 1 and 2
www.urbanforestmap.org: Tree ID key and How to Measure Trunk Diameter video
Staff training, Hartmann Studios Plant Rental Department, Richmond, CA for Tree Management Experts.
ISA Certified Arborist Exam study classes, independently and through Merritt College Horticulture Department, San Francisco and Oakland, CA
Community tree planting and young tree training seminars, internship/mentoring program for horticulture students, Friends of the Urban Forest, San Francisco, CA.

Lectures and Presentations:

Friends of the Urban Forest Citizen Foresters: Diagnosis and Disorders
San Francisco Professional Gardeners Association: Assessing Woody Plants for Health and Structure
San Francisco Botanical Gardens: Pruning, Container Gardening
Merritt Aesthetic Pruning Club Symposium, Oakland, CA: Young tree training
City and County of San Francisco gardeners: Pruning Standards of the City and County of SF
Trees Florida Conference, West Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Young Tree Care, Sidewalk Landscaping
ISA National Conference, Honolulu, HI: Young tree care
EUFORIC European Urban Forestry Conference, Florence, Italy: 25 Years of Friends of the Urban Forest
Forest Hill Garden Club, San Francisco, CA: Pruning
Hillsborough Beautification, Hillsborough, CA: Tree species selection
Zephyr Realty, San Francisco, CA: Value of trees
CANOPY, Palo Alto, CA: Tree walks
American Forests Conference, San Antonio, TX: Early tree care

Selected Consulting Projects for Tree Management Experts:

Cavallo Point Development, Sausalito, CA: Tree Management Plan
National Archives Library, San Bruno, CA: Tree inventory, Planting Plan, Soil Analysis
City of Oakland, CA: Supervise root pruning for sidewalk repair
Trust for Public Land, San Francisco, CA: Tree inventory for 3 parks slated for construction
San Francisco Botanical Garden Pathways Project: Advise on tree protection and root pruning
San Francisco General Hospital Rebuild: Tree Protection plan
University Village at San Pablo, Albany, CA: Tree Protection plan
Housing Authority for the City of Alameda, CA: Tree inventory and Management Plan
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, CA: Tree inventory and special projects

Health vs. Structure: Not the Same!

2009-12-18T08:03:00.000-08:00

Often clients want us to look at a tree to see if it is healthy or not. But that doesn't tell the whole story. A healthy tree could have structural flaws that are hazardous. Here's an easy example.

This tree has two separate trunks, or co-dominant stems, which have been growing thicker over the years and pressing against each other. The resulting stress is causing a crack between the two stems. Eventually this tree will split in half and fall onto the path next to it. There's no way to fix it now, except to remove the tree. The tree is perfectly healthy, but it has to be removed due to this structural flaw.

If we could go back in our time machine and visit this tree when it was young, we could have saved this tree with a simple pruning cut: just cut off one of the co-dominant stems.

Moral of the story: to save tomorrow's forest, train young trees today.
Second moral of the story: to avoid liability, be sure the arborist assessing your tree is trained to look at structure as well as health. A consulting arborist trained in risk assessement is your best bet.

Pruning Tool TLC video on YouTube

2009-10-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sArS7j3G-I

Something we all need to think about especially with the rainy winter ahead! This is an excerpt from the Pruning 1 instructional video.

Stay sharp and clean!