What an Animal!

A new batch of tree planters will be earning their Citizen Forester stripes with our first event of the Community Tree Planting (CTP) spring season, a Tree Planting Workshop at the National Zoo on March 3.

All the tree planting basics will be covered, including selecting and preparing a tree planting site, choosing the appropriate species and maintaining tree health in an urban environment. After lunch we’ll be putting our new skills to the test, planting 30 trees near the seal habitat.

Sign up online for this Tree Planting Workshop event.

A class and planting like these are the first step toward becoming a Citizen Forester, but we ask students to volunteer for two more CTP events throughout the season to become Citizen Tree Planters.

American Elms Get Pruned. Check Out the Video Montage!

Casey Trees loves an American elm! Each winter we plant approximately 200 American elm cultivars through our American Elm Restoration program along designated corridors and provide structurally pruning to those we've planted in years past. The result? A healthier tree canopy for the District. 

Barry Stahl, U.S. National Park Service Horticulturist, demonstrates a pruning technique.

To help our staff and Citizen Foresters fine-tune their pruning skills, we also partner with the Barry Stahl, Horticulturist with the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) at Daingerfield Island on the George Washington Parkway. The on-site American elm nursery is unique since it provides the NPS with a continuous supply of native elms, as well as disease resistant and historically significant elm cultivars that are not commercially available.

Those lucky enough to get a spot in last Saturday's pruning workshop learned about the history of American elms in the U.S. and D.C., Dutch elm disease (boo!), proper pruning tools and techniques and much more. Immediately afterward, participants practiced their new and/or strengthened pruning skills on five-year-old American elms grown from seed right at the nursery.

We've put together a video montage profiling the workshop (below) and uploaded some great photos onto our Flickr page. Check them both out.

If you would like to learn more about trees, consider registering for one or all of our Citizen Forester-qualifying courses - Trees 101 (Sat., Jan. 21), Stand Up for Trees (Sat., Feb. 4) and Tree Planting (Sat., March 3). Already tree savvy or a Citizen Forester? Think about Trees 201 (Sat., Jan. 28). All classes are free but require advance registration.

Be like John, become a Citizen Forester

Just who in D.C. helps to plant trees and advocate for greater tree protection? People like John Clary.

In this month's Leaflet, we profiled John, a Citizen Forester since 2011. Get to know John by reading the feature below and then train to be a Citizen Forester yourself by registering for one or all qualifying classes - Trees 101, Stand Up for Trees and Tree Planting. All classes are free but advance registration is required and space is limited.

Thanks for all your help John!

________________________________________________________________________________________

John Clary wanted to know the difference between scarlet and pin oaks.

In fall 2010, the first-year Citizen Forester took a forest ecology class with some people who had volunteered with Casey Trees. They told him about the Casey Trees’ street tree map and that’s where he started his search.

After learning more about Casey Trees, he enrolled in Trees 101 in February 2011 and attended a few pruning events during the summer.

The 27-year-old Shaw resident grew up near Chicago and moved to the District in 2008 for work. Some of his fondest tree memories include rope swings, tree houses, and diving platforms. As an adult living in the District, Clary realizes trees offer more than just recreational benefits.

“Without our shade trees, we couldn’t survive the brutal D.C. summers,” he said.

Clary enjoys waking up on Saturdays to plant — do not forget the coffee! — but the community aspect of the Community Tree Planting program is what makes him excited for next season.

“The opportunity to see new parts of the city and meet other tree enthusiasts, including the outstanding Casey Trees staff, has been most enjoyable,” he said.

D.C.’s trees mean a lot to Clary, who testified in a D.C. Council public hearing in December on the Urban Forestry Administration Reorganization Act of 2011. Again, community is at the heart of Clary’s service.

“It’s humbling to think that a tree you’ve planted has the potential to survive well beyond your own lifetime,” Clary said. “That’s a long-term investment in your community.”

Fall In Love with Casey Trees Classes

Casey Trees is gearing up for a busy fall season! In addition to our signature Community Tree Planting (CTP) program, we will also offer several free continuing education programs over the next few months, two of which qualify participants to be a Citizen Forester (CF). As a CF you can effectively advocate for the District's trees, gain hands-on experience in urban forestry and help teach new volunteers how to properly plant trees.

All classes are free so what are you waiting for? Sign up for one (or two or five!) of our upcoming fall classes. Advance registration is required; space is limited.

Trees 101 - Instructors Shawn Walker and Priscilla Bocskor will teach you the tree basics. Learn about tree anatomy and tree identification. Only a few spots are left in Trees 101 so register today. Trees 101 is a CF-qualifying course.

Saturday September 10, 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Casey Trees Headquarters

Tree Planting Workshop - This in-depth workshop will teach you the necessary skills to properly plant and maintain healthy trees.Your techniques will be put to excellent use when you help plant 30 trees on-site in the afternoon. Tree Planting is a CF-qualifying course.

Saturday October 1, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at The Catholic University of America

Growing Fruit Trees in the D.C. Area - Dr. Walsh, professor at the University of Maryland, College Park and an expert in sustainable fruit production, will host this class. Learn more about edible fruit trees, their growing popularity in urban communities and the role they can play in providing food security.

Wednesday November 9, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the Casey Trees Headquarters

Climate Change and our Urban Forest - Learn about the connection between trees and climate change. This class will give you an overview of the Urban Forest Effects Model (UFORE) and help you understand the benefits of trees in a changing climate. Dr. Giselle Mora-Bourgeois, Science Education Coordinator from the Urban Ecology Research Learning Alliance will lead the discussion.

Wednesday November 16, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the Casey Trees Headquarters

A Community of Gardeners Film and Discussion - A Community of Gardeners explores the vital role of seven community gardens in Washington, D.C. and shows how these green spaces change lives, communities and the environment for the better. Award-winning film artist Cintia Cabib and guest speakers from local community gardens will lead a discussion immediately after.

Saturday November 19, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the Casey Trees Headquarters

For all upcoming events including CTP events, school plantings and tree walks, check out our calendar! 

Tree Walk Recap: Tudor Place

Nine participants braved the brutal heat on Saturday morning to attend our tree walk at Tudor Place in Georgetown. Suzanne Bouchard, Director of Gardens and Grounds, led the tour. The historic site's large tree canopy not only made for an interesting tour, it also provided much-appreciated shade. The group, which included four Citizen Foresters, learned about the history of the grounds and several unique trees including a 200-year old tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) that was voted D.C.’s Millennium Tree. 

Bouchard talks to the group in front of the mansion at Tudor Place

The enormous tulip tree, planted in 1805

Can't wait for our next docent-led tour? Take advantage of our free downloadable tree walks. Sites maps are currently available for the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land and the NGA Sculpture Garden. A Tudor Place tree walk map will be added in the coming weeks.

Also be sure to visit our Calendar of Events webpage to learn about upcoming continuing education classes such as Stand Up for Trees and rewarding volunteer opportunities. Remember: registration is required and space is limited for all classes and volunteer events.

Casey Trees Celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week

Casey Trees Celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week

Today, we recognize Joseph Bui, a Casey Trees' Citizen Forester since 2007, as part of National Volunteer Appreciation Week.

Joseph wanted to learn about how to prune trees, so he took a class with Casey Trees in 2007. “I heard about it through a friend. Some of my trees on my property needed a lot of pruning.”

His first planting was at Murch Elementary School. These days, he mostly volunteers with Casey Trees as a Citizen Forester at weekday school plantings because of the way his job, with Convio, is structured. It allows him to take time off during the workday to volunteer.

“I like to go outside and get messy in the dirt. It’s nice sense of accomplishment to plant a tree in the morning. The staff is nice.” He finds that most volunteer opportunities that come to him through his job don’t allow him the contact with the people receiving the benefits. “Whereas at Casey Trees, you come into contact with the people who are receiving the trees. I like that a lot.”
He praises Casey Trees’ organization. “You make it very easy to find out about and take part in events.”

And then there’s the benefit of seeing the fruits of his labor. “As I go around the city, I see trees that I planted pretty frequently. … It’s nice to see the results.”

Casey Trees Celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week

Does Patricia inspire you? Register to volunteer at an upcoming Community Tree Planting event.

Casey Trees Celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week

Inspired by Stephen's commitment to building community? Register to volunteer at an upcoming Community Tree Planting event.

Casey Trees Celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week

National Volunteer Appreciation Week

Casey Trees is pleased to celebrate National Volunteer Appreciation Week by profiling members of its Citizen Forester Volunteer Corps. All week we will be running print ads in various publications and profiling them on our blog to say thank you for everything they do. Today we salute Yousef Master and Sara Carr.

Yousef Master and Sara Carr found Casey Trees through Sara’s former colleague at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, long-time Citizen Forester Gregg Serenbetz. Now Citizen Foresters themselves, they are contributing to the next generation of CFs. Their son, Xavier, made his first cameo appearance at the final planting of the 2010 winter season at the Metropolitan Branch Trail event and has become a spring regular.

“We wanted something environmental,” Yousef says. The physical work feels good. “It’s a good way to start the weekend — We don’t sleep in anymore with this guy — And we’re usually done by noon.”

Another benefit: “It’s really cool to see parts of the city, from far Northwest to Anacostia, plus cool places like Tudor Place.”

Consider volunteering yourself. Our spring 2011 Community Tree Planting season runs until May 7.

Community Tree Planting Recap - Met Branch Trail

Our planting this weekend at the Metropolitan Branch Trail was our final Community Tree Planting of the year. If you haven't been to the Met Branch Trail yet, it is an eight mile cycling and walking trail that stretches from Union Station to Silver Spring, Maryland, following the old route of a historic B&O Railroad line. It is a fantastic urban connector path that passes through some great neighborhoods in Northeast DC including our new Brookland home. We planted trees along the off-road section of the trail near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station, where the trail follows the Red Line Metro and existing heavy rail tracks.

Volunteers planting trees alongside the trail.

The planting was attended by 31 Citizen Foresters, 13 Casey Trees staff members and 16 volunteers from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and Gospel Rescue Ministries. We planted 29 trees: Cherokee sweetgum, Kentucky yellowwood, Eastern Redbud, paperbark maple, crape myrtle, golden raintree and saucer magnolia. The CTP was sponsored by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, with grant funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation. We'd also like to thank our Citizen Foresters who came out to help us this weekend and supported our planting efforts throughout 2010.

Finished planting!

Keep an eye out for our Spring 2011 planting schedule in January. We'll have even more opportunities to volunteer than even this past Fall season.

The CTP 411

Our fall Community Tree Planting (CTP) season kicks off this Saturday afternoon with the planting of 25 trees on the grounds of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Rock Creek Parish in NW. Those doing the planting are our new batch of Citizen Foresters enrolled in this week's Tree Planting class. This is the first of 20 tree planting events scheduled to take place this fall between October 2 and December 11. When winter hits, over 400 new trees will be calling the District home.

Thousands of volunteers have helped us plant trees across DC through the CTP program since it launched in 2005 but not everyone knows how planting sites are selected, where the trees come from, the role of Lead Citizen Foresters in stewarding the projects, how all the trees and tools magically appear the morning of the planting, who the saint is that delivers coffee and bagels and so on.

The next two weeks of blog posts will demystify the process and bring much deserved attention to those who make the re-treeing of DC possible. Our very own Urban Forestry Manager, David DiPietro, will author the posts and get us excited for fall - the ideal time to plant trees.

For those of you interested in volunteering to help plant trees, view the complete fall CTP schedule, then sign up to attend. If you would like to become a Citizen Forester, make a day of it and register for the Tree Planting class this Saturday, October 2. All our classes are free unless noted.

CITIZEN FORESTER IN THE NEWS - MARGARET MISSIAEN

Kudos to Casey Trees Citizen Forester Margaret Missiaen, recipient of a Capitol Hill Community Achievement Award.

Margaret epitomizes what one person can do to protect and grow their neighborhood's tree canopy. A co-founder of Trees for Capitol Hill, Margaret has helped plant hundreds of trees and care for countless more throughout Capitol Hill. Just this past fall, Margaret led an inspiring tree tour of South Capitol Hill’s big parks and has served as a guest speaker at Casey Trees.

Many thanks to Margaret and her husband Ed for being educators and tireless advocates for trees in Capitol Hill and throughout the District. The honor is well-deserved.

Margaret will receive her award at the Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s benefit dinner on Thursday, May 6. Click here for information related to the event.

CASEY TREES GIVE THANKS

Contributing Writer - Sue Erhardt, Director of Education

We have all heard that it is better to give than to receive. Casey Trees has had the great fortune to be on the receiving end of people’s time and hard work this year.

It has been Casey Trees privilege to have welcomed over 1700 Citizen Foresters and volunteers over this past year. These dedicated individuals have helped us plant and care for trees all over the District. I would like to thank them for donating over 5300 hours of their precious time to help us advance our Urban Tree Canopy Goal of 40 percent by 2035.


I would also like to highlight the 11 schools that invited Casey Trees to their campuses to plant trees with their students. Schools have different reasons for plantings trees. Sometimes they plant trees for beautification, sometimes they want to incorporate the trees in a science or environmental project, and sometimes reasons can be a combination of both.


The Latin American Montessori Bi-cultural School (LAMB) wanted to plant trees with different leaf shapes to help their students learn about shapes and sizes. For most of the 500 LAMB students this was their first experience planting a tree. It is a great experience to help children feel a sense of accomplishment, and to show them what working together can accomplish. It is truly a powerful experience.

Just below are just two of the many thank you notes we received from LAMB School students following our tree planting with them.

If you like to join the group of selfless people who have chosen to be the change in the District go to www.caseytrees.org and sign up for a class or a monthly Tree Walk.

CASEY TREES WANTS YOU

Contributing Writer - Sue Erhardt, Director of Education

As Casey Trees Director of Education I invite you to make a difference in DC by becoming a volunteer Citizen Forester. Citizen Foresters are individuals passionate about improving the environment. They work with Casey Trees to plant trees, educate the public about proper tree care, and water trees during Washington’s hot summers.

Citizen Foresters are both transplant and long term Washingtonians. Some live in condos and apartments, they might not have any trees, and others live in homes with yards. Some Citizen Foresters are college students who seek to apply their studies to the surrounding community. Other Citizen Foresters are retired people with free time. No matter their age, race, or economic background they all have something in common. They are working to achieve sustainable development, increase the tree canopy, care for trees, and give back to a city that they love. Time commitment is minimal. You determine how little or much time you want to commit serving as a Citizen Forester. Volunteer opportunities exist year round.

Becoming a Citizen Forester is easy. Simply enroll in Casey Trees' Trees 101 class. You will learn about basic tree ecology, identification, and care and strategies for restoring the District's tree canopy. No previous experience is necessary. The next tree Trees 101 orientation class is Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Sign up today. If you have been looking for a way to make DC a more livable and green City, becoming a Citizen Forester is perfect for you. Come alone, bring a friend, just make sure you come on September 30, 2009.

For more information on becoming a Citizen Forester, click here or contact me at serhardt@caseytrees.org.