What’s a tree worth?

Posted on 2011-08-05 by admin

You can quantify the relative benefits of an individual tree, and project its future benefits as it grows through the years, with i-Tree Design:

i-Tree Design (beta) allows anyone to make a simple estimation of the benefits individual trees provide. With inputs of location, species, tree size and condition, users will get an understanding of the benefits that trees provide related to greenhouse gas mitigation, air quality improvements and storm water interception. With the added step of drawing a house or building footprint—and virtually “planting” a tree—trees’ effects on building energy use can be evaluated.

This tool is intended to be a simple and accessible starting point for understanding individual trees’ value to the homeowner and their community.

Using it is straightforward:

Enter a street address.
Select the common name of the tree species or genus.
Enter the size, indicated by DBH: diameter at breast height (5′ off the ground).
Select the general health or condition of the tree, from “Excellent” to “Dead or Dying.”

The results are returned quickly. Details are available from the different tabs.

The application requires Flash to be supported and enabled in your browser, so it won’t work behind many corporate firewalls.

[goo.gl]

Links

i-Tree Design benefit Calculator

Happy Arbor Day from Brooklyn’s Trees

Posted on 2011-04-29 by admin

Many thanks to all the great Brooklyn photographers and tree-lovers who continue to contribute to the Flickr photo pool I started a few years ago.

Links

Brooklyn’s Trees (Flickr photo pool)

Street Tree Walking Tour, Sunday 4/17

Posted on 2011-04-07 by admin

Update 2011-04-16: As nasty as the weather is as I update this on Saturday night, it will be beautiful tomorrow for the tour, windy, but temperatures reaching into the upper 50s and low 60s. Added a Google Map of the tour below.

The Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour of April 2009. Photo: Sustainable Flatbush (Flickr)

The 4th Annual Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, April 17, the day after the Plant Swap. (It’s a busy weekend for us!) We’re following the same route as past tours, so if you’ve only been able to enjoy our fall foliage in the past, come enjoy the spring blooms!

Once again tours leave from Sacred Vibes Apothecary at 11am and 12noon. Your tour guides will be Sam Bishop of Trees NY, neighbor and gardener Tracey Hohman, and me. On the tour, you can see:

Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
Amelanchier, Serviceberry
Betula nigra, River Birch
Cercis canadensis, Redbud
Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
Pinus strobus, White Pine
Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
Styphnolobium japonicum (Sophora japonica), Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
Taxodium distichum, Bald Cycpress
Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.
When: Sunday, April 17. Tours set out at 11am and 12noon. The tour lasts 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Where: Tours leave from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, just down the corner from Cortelyou Road, across the street from the Tot Lot, catty-corner from the Greenmarket. The route is about a mile in length, looping back to where we started.
Suggested Donation: 5$

View 2011 Spring Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

April 2009. Photo: Sustainable Flatbush (Flickr)

[goo.gl] [bit.ly]

Links

4th Annual Street Tree Walking Tour!, Sustainable Flatbush
Sacred Vibes Apothecary
Trees NY

Dad’s Dogwood

Posted on 2010-11-10 by admin

The Dogwood which my family sponsored, and I helped to plant, outside the 3rd Street Playground in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

My father’s birthday was November 2. He would have been 79. He died almost two years ago, early in the morning of December 1, 2008. I’ve been going back over what I wrote about his death. But the best thing to read, to get a sense of who he was, is in his own words: How Old Will I Be?

This morning, Blog Widow and I helped plant a tree in his memory in Prospect Park. The Prospect Park Alliance Commemorative Giving program provides opportunities to sponsor an existing tree or plant a new tree. There are no plaques or signs on the trees themselves or in the park; their Web site provides an online register, indexed by commemoration name, of the sponsored trees, their locations, and the season they were planted, going back to 1983. My father was born and raised in Brooklyn, so this seemed an appropriate way for the family to remember him.

My Dad’s favorite tree was the native Dogwood, Cornus florida, so that’s what the family selected to commemorate him. Luis Lemus, the Prospect Park arborist who coordinated this morning’s planting, told me he purchased it from a nursery in Pennsylvania. Just three days ago it was in the ground. And now it is again. Luis was joined by his Parks colleagues, Eric and Jose. The three-man crew made quick work of planting. It was all over in a little more than a half-hour.

The location is lovely, just outside the 3rd Street Playground, behind Litchfield Villa. Prospect Park lost hundreds of trees over the past year, in a winter storm, and this summer’s tornado-macroburst storm. A few large trees were taken down in this location, opening up the canopy. Countless thousands of park visitors, a few of whom we met and spoke with during the planting, will enjoy this tree for decades to come.

Slideshow

[goo.gl]

Links

Prospect Park Alliance: Commemorative Trees

Local Leafin’: Street Tree Walking Tour Sunday 10/24

Posted on 2010-10-18 by admin

Japanese Maple leaves (red), with Linden in the background (yellow), at the corner of Rugby Road and Cortelyou Road in Beverley Square West, Flatbush, Brooklyn, November 2007.

The Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour will be this Sunday, October 24. Tours begin at 11am and 12noon. I’m proud to once again be one of your guides. Your other guide will be Sam Bishop, Director of Education of Trees NY. As in the past, tours will start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, our other community partner. This is also listed as a NeighborWoods Month event.

After a dry summer, October brought ample rains just in time to salvage some fall foliage. Dogwoods, Locusts, and Ash Trees are showing strong color. The neighborhood should be at near-peak foliage conditions for the year for the tour.

On the tour, you can see:

Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
Amelanchier, Serviceberry
Betula nigra, River Birch
Cercis canadensis, Redbud
Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
Fraxinus americana, White Ash
Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
Pinus strobus, White Pine
Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.

Map

View Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brooklyn, NY October 17, 2010
SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH FALL 2010 STREET TREE WALKING TOUR
Sunday, October 24, 2010

Ever wanted to leaf peep without leaving NYC? The Sustainable Flatbush 2nd Annual Fall Street Tree Walking Tour is a perfect opportunity to enjoy beautiful — and local — fall foliage in Brooklyn’s historic Victorian Flatbush! The neighborhood is filled with an incredible variety of breathtaking street trees—including some that are more than 100 years old! This year, our tree-expert tour guides will be Sam Bishop of Trees NY and neighborhood resident Chris Kreussling, aka Flatbush Gardener.

Throughout the tour, your street tree guide will…

identify trees and their characteristics
share interesting facts
explore local tree history
discuss the beneficial role of street trees in the urban environment
explain basics of street tree stewardship

and much more!

Location:
Tours start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, just south of Cortelyou Road.

Directions:
Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road. As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.

Time:
Tours depart at 11:00 AM and 12:00 NOON.
Tours take about 2 hours to complete and are 1 mile in length.
This is a rain or shine event — please dress for the weather!

Suggested Donation: $5

CONTACT: info@sustainableflatbush.org / (718) 208-0575

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate,
and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and
beyond. For more information, please visit http://sustainableflatbush.org

[goo.gl GMAP]

Links

Sustainable Flatbush
Sacred Vibes Apothecary
Trees NY
NeighborWoods Month

Citizen Pruner Training Fall Schedule

Posted on 2010-09-10 by admin

The London Plane Tree in front of my house.

TreesNY’s Citizen Pruner Tree Care Course is being offered in Brooklyn and Manhattan this season, covering basic tree biology, street tree identification and care. Upon successful completion of the final exam, participants receive a license that certifies them to legally prune trees owned by the City of New York. In New York City where there is limited money for tree maintenance but significant need, Citizen Pruners provide a tremendous benefit to our urban environment.

The twelve hour course consists of four weekly two-hour classes and four hours of hands-on experience in the field. Participants may miss up to one classroom session. The weekend field outing is mandatory. Specific dates vary by location. Locations and Dates for classes in the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island are still to be determined.

The course fee is $100 and includes a comprehensive manual and other materials. Course fee is non-refundable.You can register and pay online with Visa, Mastercard or Discover. To pay by check, make your check payable to Trees New York, and indicate the course location on the check

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Borough Hall
Borough President’s Conference Room
209 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Wednesdays, 6-8pm, Sep 15, 22, 29 and October 6, 6 – 8 PM
Saturday, October 2, 10 AM – 2 PM

Downtown Manhattan

51 Chambers Street, Room #501
New York, NY 10007
Thursday, September 23 & 30, and October 7 & 14, 6-8pm
Saturday, October 9, 10am-2pm

Uptown Manhattan

The Arsenal in Central Park, Third Floor
830 Fifth Avenue, at 64th Street
New York, NY 10065
Mondays, Oct 18 & 25, and November 1 & 8, 6-8pm
Saturday, November 6, 10am-2pm
[goog.gl]

About Trees NY

Trees New York is an environmental and urban forestry nonprofit organization. Our mission is to plant, preserve and protect New York City’s urban forest through education, active citizen participation and advocacy.

Trees New York • 51 Chambers Street, Suite 1412A • New York, NY 10007 • (212) 227-1887 • www.treesny.org • info@treesny.org

Not just for Tree-Huggers: Street Tree Tour Sunday, 5/2

Posted on 2010-04-20 by admin

RESCHEDULED: The Tree Tour has been rescheduled for the rain date of Sunday, May 2, same times and location.

340 Argyle Road, Beverley Square West, April 2007

Sustainable Flatbush’s 3rd Annual Spring Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, May 2. I’m proud to once again be one of your guides.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That’s me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka (Flickr)

Tours start at 11am and 12noon from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, between Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads, and loop through the historic neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and landmarked Prospect Park South. In addition to architectural beauty, the area boasts a rich variety of street trees, as well as ornamental trees and shrubs.

View Sustainable Flatbush Spring 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

On the tour, you can see:

Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
Amelanchier, Serviceberry
Betula nigra, River Birch
Cercis canadensis, Redbud
Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
Pinus strobus, White Pine
Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.

The suggested donation for the tour is $5. From the Sustainable Flatbush Web site:

On Sunday, May 2, Sustainable Flatbush will host our fourth Street Tree Walking Tour! Join tour guides Chris Kreussling (better known as Flatbush Gardener) and Tracey Hohman (professional gardener) for a fun, fulfilling and enlightening tour of Brooklyn’s diverse canopy.

On the Street Tree Walking Tour, you will learn to identify a variety of trees (think of how you can impress your friends!), examine local natural tree history and tree lore (no textbooks needed!), explore the way street trees benefit urban areas (you’ll become a tree’s best friend), and find out how you can obtain and care for street trees yourself!

Become a street tree defender as you walk your way around Victorian Flatbush! The tour (recommended by Brokelyn as a great cheap date!) will take about two hours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the weather and the walk!

The Street Tree Walking Tour is about “connecting people to streetscape,” according to Chris Kreussling. Street trees remind us that we are not separate from nature, but instead dependent upon it for our survival and safety. So grab a friend — or three! – for the walk of the season, and fall more in love with the beautiful foliage of Brooklyn!

What: Street Tree Walking Tour
Where: Begins and ends at Sacred Vibes Apothecary (376 Argyle Road, btwn Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads)
When: Sunday, May 2 — two tours are scheduled: one at 11 a.m., one at noon

Suggested donation $5

Keep an eye out for Sustainable Flatbush’s Street Tree Walking Tour next fall!

Directions:

Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road Station and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road.
As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.
Buses that stop on or near Cortelyou Road include the B23, B103, B68, and BM1,2,3,4 and x29 express busess.

[goo.gl]

Links

Street Tree Walking Tour April 25th!, Sustainable Flatbush

Put Down Roots: Million Trees NYC Tree Giveaway

Posted on 2010-04-08 by admin

Once again, MillionTreesNYC is offering free trees, first-come, first-served, at limited locations around the city. Trees must be planted in the ground, not a container or planter, within New York City. They can be planted on private property, with permission of the property owner.

Here are some Brooklyn locations. Check their Tree Giveaway page for the latest updates and other locations and dates around NYC.

SOLD OUT – All 200 trees were claimed in 1/2 hour
Green Fort Green and Clinton Hill & FAB Alliance Giveaway
Saturday April 17th and Sunday April 18th 10 am – 3 pm
Putnam Triangle (Putnam Avenue & Fulton Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Grand Street Campus Giveaway
Saturday, May 1st and Sunday May 2nd 10 am – 4 pm
850 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

April is MillionTreesNYC month. In addition to the tree giveaway, there are many other events and activities scheduled.

Earth Day Corporate Challenge (Thursday, April 22, 2010) – To
celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, NYRP and City Year are
joining forces for a second year to challenge some of New York City’s
corporate leaders to plant more than 100 street trees in Upper
Manhattan’s Washington Heights. To get your company involved, contact
Jimmy Owens, NYRP Corporate Giving Manager, at (212) 333-2552.

NYC Parks Reforestation Day (Saturday, April 24) – more than a
thousand community volunteers will join the NYC Parks Department in
planting 20,000 trees in a single day at 16 park sites across the
city’s five boroughs. To register to volunteer, visit
www.milliontreesnyc.org.

NYC Grows (Sunday, April 25) – NYRP and the NYC Parks Department,
along with presenting sponsor Organic Gardening magazine, invite New
Yorkers to this annual, free outdoor festival that promotes community
gardening, tree planting and care, urban farming and sustainable
living. Tree-planting and care demonstrations will be provided
throughout the day in the MillionTreesNYC pavilion area. To learn
more, visit www.nyrp.org/nycgrows.

Arbor Day Celebration (Friday, April 30) – To commemorate Arbor Day,
MillionTreesNYC lead sponsors The Home Depot Foundation, Toyota and
BNP Paribas will bring their employees out to dig in and green a
Brooklyn residential development. New York City residents are invited
to celebrate Arbor Day by planting a tree in their yard or by adopting
a street tree and watering and protecting it all year long. To learn
more, visit www.milliontreesnyc.org.

MillionTreesNYC Lecture Series (Mondays in May) – To keep the
MillionTreesNYC momentum moving beyond April, a series of lectures
focused on innovations in tree planting and maintenance, public policy
and urban forestry research will be presented each Monday throughout
the month of May. For dates, times and locations of lectures, visit
www.milliontreesnyc.org.

Links

MillionTreesNYC

Free Trees in Clinton Hill, GreenBeat Brooklyn, 2010-04-07

BK DECAY: Brooklyn Community Leaf Composting, 11/7&8, 11/14&15, & 11/21&22

Posted on 2009-11-06 by admin

Update 2009-11-21: In just 4 hours over 2 days, the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden diverted 1,740 lbs of leaves from landfill to compost which will enrich the Garden and more of Brooklyn’s urban farms and gardens. As Director of the Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative of Sustainable Flatbush, I want to thank everyone who participated, whether by planning, volunteering, or dropping off leaves.

Cherry Leaves, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, November 2008

Until 2007, NYC collected and composted residential leaves. For the second year, 20,000 tons of leaves will be treated like household garbage, added to the City’s already-overburdened waste stream. Sign the petition to restore leaf composting to NYC.

Stepping into the void left by the City’s abandonment of leaf composting, more than a dozen Brooklyn community gardens, as well as gardens in other boroughs, have banded together in partnership with the GreenBridge Community Garden Alliance of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Council on the Environment of NYC, bk farmyards, Vokashi, and the Neighborhood Open Space Coalition,

Over the next three weekends, from 11am to 1pm, Brooklyn residents can bring leaves, free of trash, twigs and branches, in clear plastic or paper bags to one of the locations marked with a blue pin on this map. Not every garden is participating on all dates, so check the garden nearest you to see when you can drop-off in your neighborhood.

View larger map

Information will be available at many of the participating gardens about how to make compost in your own garden or apartment and about efforts to encourage the City to reinstate its municipal leaf collection and composting program.

The Flatbush CommUNITY Garden is participating on two dates: this Sunday, November 8, and Saturday, November 21. The drop-off will be at 1550 Albemarle Road, near Buckingham Road (East 16th Street). The Garden is a project of Sustainable Flatbush, part of the Urban Gardens & Farms initiative.

In 2008, a pilot project at 6/15 Green garden in Park Slope, Brooklyn, collected over a 1 1/2 tons of leaves, indicating a deep desire in the community to keep their residential leaves out of the overburdened wastestream and recycle them into rich “brown gold”. NYCLeaves expects to break that record by building a network of gardens that will offer to take in leaves in neighborhoods throughout the City. Bringing bagged leaves to a LeafDrop site will lighten the City’s load of trash, save the City the money it would spend collecting and getting rid of the leaves, and redirect this precious natural resource to its best use – as compost that will enrich the soil of vibrant, active community gardens or the City’s stressed and hungry street trees.

For more information about NYCLeaves: Project LeafDrop, its activities, how to register your garden for Project LeafDrop, a list of participating gardens and specific drop-off dates and times, contact them at their website:www.nycleaves.org or by email: compost@nycleaves.org

[bit.ly]

Links

BK Decay, NYC Leaves: Project LeafDrop

Leaf Composting This Sunday, November 8th, Sustainable Flatbush, 2009-11-07
NYCLeaves: Project LeafDrop Are Picking Up Where the City’s Leaving Off, Brooklyn Green Team, 2009-11-04
New Community Garden Coalition Takes Lead in Leaf Composting, GreenThumb NYC, 2009-10-27

bk farmyards
Council on the Environment of NYC
GreenBridge Community Garden Alliance, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Neighborhood Open Space Coalition
Vokashi

Trees for the Future, Blog Action Day 2009

Posted on 2009-10-16 by admin

Like Garden Rant, global warming and climate change is a recurring topic on this blog:

It’s too late, but it’s not too late, is it?, 2008-01-16
Gardening as if our lives depended on it, 2007-11-23
Barbara Corcoran Hates the Earth, 2007-11-18
The IPCC Report: Grief & Gardening #6, 2007-02-04
Buying Indulgences: The Carbon Market, 2006-11-23
The Bemidji Statement On Seventh Generation Guardianship, 2006-07-22
NASA Earth Observatory Maps NYC’s Heat Island, Block by Block, 2006-08-01

The impacts of climate change to urban areas, such as New York City, will be extreme. Today, a typical NYC summer has 15 days with temperatures over 90F, and 2 days over 100F. By the end of this century, even optimistic scenarios, in which we reduce emissions and greenhouse gases starting NOW, NYC will have 39 90F days, and 7 100F days. In a typical summer. Some summers will be worse. People will die. If we do nothing, it will be worse.

I’ve written a lot about more immediate benefits of city trees, such as reduced flooding, summer cooling, and improved air quality. There remain opportunities for nurturing our urban forests. Addressing climate change is one more reason to do so:

Urban trees help offset climate change by capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide in their tissue, reducing energy used by buildings, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel based power plants. Our City’s trees store about 1.35 million tons of carbon valued at $24.9 million. In addition, our trees remove over 42,000 tons of carbon each year.
– Benefits of NYC’s Urban Forest, MillionTreesNYC

Planting trees is one thing a gardener can do that will outlive them. But what world will my tree grow into? And what are its chances for survival in that world? I must avoid trees that are already at the southern limit of their range in NYC; by the end of the century, the climate will have escaped them. Trees can’t move fast enough to keep pace with the changes that are coming, that are already happening. They will need our help to survive.

I feel compelled to act as a guardian of my little area of the world, for as long as it, and I, last. Though I have always had, and expect I always will have, a troubled relationship with “community,” perhaps there is one I can be part of which will “watch over a much larger area.” It is my belief, my hope, that collectively we will create, and find in each other, that community.
– July 26, 2006: The Bemidji Statement On Seventh Generation Guardianship

The whole world is now our Ark, and we are its Noah. It’s going to be a long ride.

Links

Benefits of NYC’s Urban Forest, MillionTreesNYC

Ancient Forest to Modern City: Mapping Landscape Change in the United States, NASA Earth Observatory, 2008-02-01

Climate Choices: The Northeast

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

A Tree’s Response to Environmental Changes: What Can We Expect Over the Next 100 Years?, NASA Earth Observatory, 2009-10-06

Flatbush Gardener

Urban Habitat Gardening with Native Plants

Tag Archives: Urban Forestry

What’s a tree worth?

Related Content

Links

Happy Arbor Day from Brooklyn’s Trees

Related Content

Links

Street Tree Walking Tour, Sunday 4/17

Related Content

Links

Dad’s Dogwood

Slideshow

Related Content

Links

Local Leafin’: Street Tree Walking Tour Sunday 10/24

Map

Press Release

Related Content

Links

Citizen Pruner Training Fall Schedule

Brooklyn

Downtown Manhattan

Uptown Manhattan

Related Content

About Trees NY

Not just for Tree-Huggers: Street Tree Tour Sunday, 5/2

Related Content

Links

Put Down Roots: Million Trees NYC Tree Giveaway

Related Content

Links

BK DECAY: Brooklyn Community Leaf Composting, 11/7&8, 11/14&15, & 11/21&22

Related Content

Links

Trees for the Future, Blog Action Day 2009

Related Content

Links