Murch Elementary Pruning Recap

This past Saturday morning, 12 volunteers attended a pruning workshop at Murch Elementary School in Northwest D.C., the first of four opportunities this summer developed to help Citizen Foresters improve their pruning skills and provide much needed structural pruning to some of the District's trees.

Freshly cut and piled branches.

Casey Trees staff demonstrated a number of pruning techniques - always emphasizing safety - and introduced participants to a number of pruning tools - some familiar, others new. Many of the pruned trees were those Casey Trees' volunteers had previously planted at the school through its Community Tree Planting (CTP) program. Murch has partnered with Casey Trees on four CTP events over the years. This weekend's pruning exercise was another investment by Murch and Casey Trees in ensuring the trees thrive. See more photos from this event on Flickr.

Casey Trees' Urban Forestry Instructor Shawn Walker demonstrates for two volunteers.

Our pruning workshops are intended to be informative but are primarily are work days and as such are reserved for Citizen Foresters who have previous pruning experience and can examine and prune trees properly and efficiently. More than 100 trees were "touched" by Casey Trees volunteers.

If you're interested in becoming at Citizen Forester or learning more about the program, you can visit the Citizen Forester webpage or sign up for an upcoming Citizen Forester-qualifying class, Trees 101, on Saturday, July 25 at 9:00 a.m. The class is free and it is a great way to learn about trees and meet like-minded people.

Sometimes pruning can really draw a crowd.

The second pruning event will take place at Simon Elementary School on Saturday, July from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Southeast. If you are a Citizen Forester and want to sharpen your pruning skills, email Shawn Walker, Urban Forestry Instructor. Those who participate in three or all of the pruning workshops will receive a pair of their very own pruning shears.

If you are not free to attend, be sure to continue caring for trees on and surrounding your property this summer. Check our website for pruning and other tree-care tips.