Virtually all parks have at

Transcription

1 Get Ready for Arbor Day By John Rainey Virtually all parks have at least one thing in common: Trees. When a person goes to a park, whether it s a large city park in a metropolitan area or a small neighborhood pocket park, it will most likely have trees. Just as well-designed and wellmaintained parks are a key part of any successful community, healthy and abundant trees are the key to great parks. National Arbor Day Every spring in the United States, on the last Friday in April, the nation celebrates National Arbor Day by planting and celebrating the importance of trees. Many states observe Arbor Day on different dates throughout the year based on the best tree planting times in their area. For instance, Florida celebrates on the third Friday in January, while Maine waits until the third Friday in May. With more than 90 percent of Americans living and working in towns and metropolitan areas, it s more important than ever to inform people of the value of planting and caring for trees. Many communities across the country host Arbor Day events where they have ceremonial treeplantings and give away seedlings. Parks and Recreation Departments are the perfect resource for these events, which promote environmental stewardship and foster a sense of community pride. The Arbor Day Foundation has many resources and materials to help make the day a success. It s a great way to get people involved through volunteering, and it offers a resource for your Department to promote parks and urban forestry. The Arbor Day Foundation also has several programs to support communities including Tree City USA and the Alliance for Community Trees, which are two excellent programs that are changing towns and cities across the country. For Photo: Pixabay. Creative Commons, Public Domain more information on the Arbor Day Foundation and its programs, visit Healthy Trees are Key to Vibrant Communities In 2010, the United States Forest Service and the New York Restoration Project partnered to launch the Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests Task Force. This group of 25 experts was drawn from across the nation and represented a broad range of disciplines. It convened to advance conversations and bolster efforts that have been taking place for years aimed at developing strategies to more effectively support urban ecosystems, and in particular urban forests. The charge was to define what characteristics make a community vibrant, and how enhancing urban forestry at all levels can positively impact quality of life. These experts examined all the factors that make a community a vibrant

2 place to live and developed strategies that a city of any size could adopt for getting there. The final report, Vibrant Cities & Urban Forests: A National Call to Action, outlined 12 specific recommendations for growing better, healthier communities through a renewed commitment to our urban forests. For parks, along with the people who love them and the professionals who manage them, the report could be summed up as a call to focus on the fundamentals: Parks are first and foremost dynamic ecosystems, built predominantly around healthy trees. The report makes clear that this approach is not only right for parks, but prioritizing the role of trees also has a positive ripple effect throughout the community. What can a tree do for your community? Trees help clean our air Trees contribute to our health Tree provide us with oxygen Tree provide much-needed cooling Trees help reduce the effects of climate change Trees help clean our drinking water Trees help us save energy Trees benefit wildlife Trees help reduce crime Trees are a good investment for our public dollars Trees increase our property values Finding Resources There are many national and governmental programs to help communities develop and maintain urban forest programs. The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) is a Congressionally designated advisory council to the Secretary of Agriculture on urban forestry and related issues. The 1990 Farm Bill created NUCFAC to bring together the wide variety of voices raised about a common concern: the present health and future preservation of America s urban Photos: Pixabay. Creative Commons, Public Domain 2

3 forests. The organization recently published its Ten-Year Urban Forestry Action Plan: , which outlines all the essential elements needed to expand awareness of the benefits of urban forests and green infrastructure provides to communities throughout the nation. NUCFAC has developed specific goals, actions, and recommendations. Download a copy of the plan and learn more about the program at Trees Help the Whole Community Organizations like Alliance for Community Trees demonstrate that trees can play an important role in bringing communities together. Since 1993, the Alliance for Community Trees has worked with groups across the country to plant and care for more than 15 million neighborhood trees. Each tree contributes to the story of communities coming together. social, and economic cases to be made for the conservation of green spaces to guide growth and revitalize city centers and older suburbs. UCF responds to the needs of urban areas by maintaining, restoring, and improving urban forest ecosystems on more than 70 million acres. Through these efforts the program encourages and promotes the creation of healthier, more livable urban environments across the nation. American Forests is working to protect and restore wildland forests and expand urban greenspace. Through its Community ReLeaf program, the organization works with municipal governments and community tree planting groups to conduct tree canopy analyses and sponsor projects throughout the country. Trees motivate volunteers to take action. Cities and citizens recognize that trees are important capital assets that provide tangible economic benefits. That s why more communities are focused on growing and caring for their city s tree canopy as an important part of a sustainable future. The American Planning Association has several programs supporting Urban Parks and Green Infrastructure. The Greater Urban Parks Campaign is a two-year project working with the NRPA and the Low impact Development Center (LIDC) to improve underserved communities through green infrastructure in local parks. Regional Green Infrastructure at the Landscape Scale is another APA project dealing with urban forests, When neighbors join forces to plant trees, they are simultaneously strengthening bonds with one another and participating in community building. When residents in a neglected corner of a city band together to unleash the transformative power of trees and parks in their neighborhoods, their efforts can serve as a catalyst to spark a sense of community empowerment that extends to other core quality-oflife issues like schools, social services, and economic development. Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) is a cooperative program of the US Forest Service that focuses on the stewardship of urban natural resources. With the majority of the nation s population in urban areas, there are strong environmental, 3

4 Urban forestry, and the full range of ecosystem services it encompasses, responds to those challenges with a unique set of resources and attributes that can make communities across the country more sustainable, resilient, and equitable. The Arthur Langford Jr. Skatepark is now one of two of its kind located along the Atlanta BeltLine. The park is in an area that historically has been underserved with public amenities and, once the Atlanta BeltLine is complete, there will be direct access to the skate park from the trail. The Arthur Langford Jr. Skatepark is now one of two of its kind located along the Atlanta BeltLine. The which more resilient through an umbrella organization park iscan in ancreate area that historically has been underserved with public amenities and, once the Atlanta landscapes and communities. called the from Sustainable BeltLine is complete, there will be direct access to the skate park the trail. Urban Forests However, forests are facing challenges Coalition to advocate on a national from a variety of factors including scale for healthy urban forests and development pressure, invasive vibrant neighborhoods. species, and climate change. This APA green paper looks at the needs and In his introduction to the Ten-Year opportunities related to addressing plan for urban forestry, National regional green infrastructure at Urban and Community Advisory the landscape scale. In particular, Forestry Council Chairman Liem it focuses on the challenges posed Kavanagh said, The world has by development in the wildlandchanged dramatically since 1990, and urban interface and opportunities no one can be sure what the next 25 for increasing resilience through years has in store. We do know that an integrated approach to green urban communities will continue to infrastructure. The results of this grow and grapple with development, paper will be used to develop a and the impacts of climate change will planning framework for addressing be felt more keenly in our daily lives. multi-hazard resilience through regional green infrastructure planning. A Case for Protecting Trees Stormwater runoff and damaging flooding once plagued the area where Historic Fourth Ward Park now Ultimately, trees are about stands and its surrounding environs. The two-acre lake provides not only an arresting visual and connections. All of the trees dotting natural gathering place, but also serves in a functional capacity as a stormwater detention basin. different parts of a city connect to Stormwater runoff and damaging flooding once plagued the area where Historic Fourth Ward Park now make urban forest and collective standsan and its surrounding environs. The two-acre lake provides not only an arresting visual and tree canopy for communities of all natural gathering place, but also serves in a functional capacity as a stormwater detention basin. sizes. Similarly, groups like Alliance for Community Trees and NRPA connect According to Carrie Gallagher, former Executive Director of Alliance for Community Trees, Equipped with the right information and the appropriate perspectives, residents and policymakers can connect to ensure that the trees in our parks get the care and attention that they need from us so that we take full advantage of all the benefits they provide. Trees and urban parks are the key! According to Carrie Gallagher, former Executive Director of Alliance for Community Trees, Equipped with the right information and the appropriate perspectives, residents and policymakers can connect to ensure that the trees in our parks get the care and attention that they need from us so that we take full advantage of all the benefits they provide. Trees and urban parks are the key! GreenPlay GreenPlay, LLC, provides consulting services for park, recreation, open space, and related agencies by organizing innovative and fresh perspectives that address the needs of administrators and their communities. We utilize a proven set of tools to develop feasibility studies, funding and cost recovery analysis, partnering and sponsorship opportunities, strategic planning, programs evaluation, pricing studies, community outreach, management consulting, and staffing evaluations. Contact us to learn how we can help you achieve your goals. 4 Page 4 of Page 4

5 References: