KUDO ALERT - MAYORS ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARD

Casey Tree is racking up the kudos.

Today Mayor Adrian Fenty and District Department of the Environment Director, George Hawkins, presented Casey Trees with the 2009 Mayor's Environmental Excellence Award - Partner of the Year. Casey Trees was one 19 businesses and non-profit organizations recognized for their environmental stewardship, innovative best practices, and resource conservation.

Casey Trees Director of Tree Planting, Jim Woodworth, and Volunteer Coordinator, Carol Herwig, look simply overwhelmed by the honor and size of the award. Lift with your knees Carol!

Check out all the winners by clicking on the picture above.

IN THE NEWS - WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

Thanks Washington Business Journal! Don't be the last person to read the results of the First Annual Tree Report Card - click here.

FIRST ANNUAL TREE REPORT CARD - FIRST IN THE NATION

Report Cards. You got plenty of them growing up - some of them good and some of them not so good. No matter how you fell in the mix, the report cards always gave you a pretty good sense of what your strengths were and what areas you needed to work on.

Cities are no different. DC is a wonderful place to call home and do business but there remains a lot that we can collectively do to better safeguard our environment and our most precious resource - our trees. The Tree Report Card will provide Washingtonians with a yearly and easy to understand way to gauge the overall condition of the City's trees and practical ways they can help to restore the tree canopy of the District.

The Tree Report Card uses five metrics - Coverage, Health, Planting, Protection and Awareness - to generate the District's overall grade. Only one metric - Tree Health - received an "A". Tree Protection received the lowest grade, a "C".

Read the full Tree Report Card here.

IN THE NEWS - WASHINGTON POST

Great write up by Adrian Higgins in today's Post. Yay us. Click the image to read the full article and be sure to forward it onto a friend, colleague, person you just met on the metro, or friendly toll booth worker.

IN THE NEWS - CASEY TREES UTC GOAL

Be sure to visit caseytrees.org this Saturday, April 25 at 12 noon to learn more about the Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) Goal, try out Casey Trees' new interactive UTC and tree finder maps, AND read up on the findings of the First Annual Tree Report Card.

To read the full Washington Business Journal article, click here.

YOU'RE INVITED - FIRST ANNUAL TREE REPORT CARD PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT

We would love for all Casey Trees supporters to attend this special press announcement but space is limited.

To r.s.v.p., email jpowell@caseytrees.org by April 22.

EARTH DAY ON THE NATIONAL MALL

Casey Trees is on the Mall this Sunday, April 19 from 12 noon to 6 p.m. for Earth Day Network's large-scale Earth Day 2009 event. Stop by and visit our booth!

The event will feature top talent The Flaming Lips, moe., Los Lobos and Dj. Spooky. Confirmed speakers and celebrities include: EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Chevy Chase, Matthew Modine, Representative Edward Markey, Majora Carter, Reverend Yearwood of The Hip Hop Caucus and Steve Thomas, former host of This Old House.

The event includes an Eco-Roadshow with exhibits from non-profits, companies striving to go green, government agencies and foreign embassies. Exhibitors will be located in the main event area, between 4th and 7th streets on the National Mall, and also on the corner of Maryland and Independence avenues, right by the Museum of the American Indian.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

I loved camp growing up. Unfortunately, mine didn't include matching waders like these two girls are enjoying.

Casey Trees is proud to offer scholarships to two high school students to attend the Natural Resources Career Conference presented by the Maryland Association of Forest Conservancy District Boards.

Applicants must be DC residents and entering at least the 9th grade. The 2009 session will take place from July 19-25, 2009 in Garrett County, MD.

I cannot promise that waders will be provided but I certainly hope so.

If you are interested in applying, know a student who might be interested, etc. contact Christina Escobar, Education Coordinator, at 202-349-1896 or cescobar@caseytrees.org.

WHAT DOES .40" OF RAIN LOOK LIKE?

The answer is - this.

According to the National Weather Service, .40" of rain fell this past Saturday. The 16 volunteers and 15 Citizen Foresters who planted 30+ trees at Common Good Community Garden would argue 4" fell.

Despite the gloomy skies, everyone had a great time. The added benefit of getting these trees in - better storm water management for this site is well on its way.

KEEP GRANT AT HOME - $50 REBATE

Times are tough but Casey Trees is making it affordable to get "green".

If you buy and plant a tree in the District before May 31, 2009, Casey Trees will mail you a $50 rebate. Not only will you get a Grant back in your pocket, you will be increasing the value of your home and helping to reduce your utility costs.

Are we done there? Oh no. We will also send you a free Ooze Tube watering bag for your tree.

Here is all you need to do:

• Purchase a tree
• Plant the tree on a private residential property
• Pledge to water and care for it for a minimum of two years.
• Mail your signed rebate with tree purchase receipt to the Casey Trees office by May 31, 2009.
• Receive a $50 rebate check (or the full cost of the tree up to $50)

Most trees are eligible for the rebate. Ash trees and invasive trees such as Norway maple, Bradford pear, sawtooth oak and Siberian elm are not eligible.

Now you are saying "But I don't know how to plant a tree!" No problem. Here is a simple step-by-step tree planting guide for you to follow.

The Tree Rebate Program is a win-win. You don't even have to send us a thank you card after you get your rebate! Click here to participate.

WIN A CHERRY TREE

To celebrate the National Cherry Blossom Festival and to give you an added incentive to join Casey Trees online, those individuals who join our Facebook Group AND Fan Page by the end of the festival on Sunday, April 12, 2009 will be entered into a contest to win a Japanese Cherry tree, the same tree thousands flock to the Tidal Basin to see each spring.

No longer will you have to fight the crowds to see a cherry tree – you’ll just have to look out your own window.

We encourage everyone to “friend” us but to support Casey Trees’ mission of restoring, enhancing and protecting the tree canopy of the Nation’s Capital, and for practical delivery purposes, the winner must live and plant the tree in the District of Columbia.

Just click to join: Group Page - Fan Page

Don't forget Casey Trees is also all a Twitter.

WET

While some of you were cozy in bed this morning watching the rain through your window, Casey Trees and residents of Wheeler Terrace were getting drenched planting trees on the grounds of their 113-unit complex. As luck would have it, the sun came out as soon as the last tree was planted. Still worth it.

A lot is happening at Wheeler Terrace. The public housing complex located on Valley Avenue in southeast is undergoing a $32-million green renovation - the first in the District. Casey Trees is stewarding the property's treescaping design plan and with volunteer support will be planting over 30 trees to help with stormwater management and cooling and to help create inviting common areas for residents to enjoy.

Stay tuned on Wheeler Terrace - we'll be back to plant six more trees on-site this spring and the remainder this fall.

SHOUT OUT - WABA

Congratulations us.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) recognized Casey Trees for our re-greening efforts and including two "Susie Trees" along the K Street median during the 2009 National Bike Summit. Susie Trees are named in memoriam for Susie Stephens, a bicyclist advocate who was struck and killed by a vehicle in St. Louis, MO.

Thanks for the shout out WABA.

BLOG PLAUSE - AND NOW, ANACOSTIA

On Saturday, April 18, Casey Trees will helping re-tree historic Anacostia as part of our Earth Day-Week festivities.

It's great to see the Anacostia neighborhood really rally around this planting as shown in the And Now, Anacostia blog. If you are interested in helping to plant - there are 30 trees scheduled to be planted - click here to register.

For those of you looking for an alternative way of celebrating Earth Day consider joining our Tree Walk along the grounds of Ceder Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass. The walk will be led by City of Trees author Melanie Choukas-Bradley and include a tour of the home. Learn more here.

CALLING ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

For the eighth year, Casey Trees is offering high school students the opportunity to learn about trees and tree care, start to build a professional resume, be exposed to "green" jobs, and earn cash.

Casey Trees High School Urban Forestry Summer Internship Program is now accepting applications for its 2009 session (June 23-August 15, 2009). Interns learn how to maintain and identify trees, develop community outreach and organizing skills, and become better acquainted with the City's diverse neighborhoods.

Students earn $9.00 an hour and work 35 hours/week average, Tuesday - Saturday.

Applicants must be:

• A DC resident
• At least 16 years of age
  
• Registered at a DC public, private or charter school

Applications are due Friday, May 1, 2009 and may be completed online or submitted by mail, fax or email.

For questions, contact Christina Escobar, Education Coordinator, at 202-349-1896 or cescobar@caseytrees.org.