1st Annual Decatur Arbor Day Festival Announced
Decatur Metro | January 31, 2014 | 10:23 am
Chadwick writes in…
Tree Canopy Goal? There’s a Festival for that!
Ever since the new tree ordinance was proposed, I have been talking with my friends in the design and horticulture community about the issue. Many understood why Mayor Baskett took the tough step of proposing a new ordinance; however, they were pained that a few individuals had created a situation where the community as a whole could face punitive measures for an environment they did not help to create.At the commission meeting on the 21st, Commissioner Drake’s comment about trusting the citizens of Decatur and the commission’s discussion about an incentive based solution to the problem really resonated with my peers. Just like The Brick Store is with beer, or Farm Burger is with hamburgers, or The Kimball House is with oysters, etc. etc. – we have talented people in our community that are at the pinnacle of horticulture, and want to share that with their fellow citizens. It is in this spirit that we have marshaled our talents and resources to launch this initiative.However, it is up to the community to make this a success. Our goal is to plant 366 trees, which is 10% of the commission’s goal for the city to reach by 2039. If we are able to get close to this goal in 2.5 months what the city proposes should take 2.5 years, we hope that it may shift the landscape in the deliberations about the best way forward. And we hope to plant a lot of awesome trees at great value to the community and have fun in the process!TO DO THIS WE NEED HELP! We need volunteers with backs, volunteers with trucks, people to volunteer to work booths, people in the horticulture community that can offer consultations, and sponsors – my email is listed in the flyer attached.
This brings a tear to my eye.
The absolute worst part of what’s happened with our collective tree conversation is that it’s devolved to a position where many people who care deeply for trees, who value their environmental, economic and quality of life contributions, and who are committed to the idea that, ten decades hence, city residents have a canopy of equal value to also enjoy, find themselves characterized as the “anti-tree” camp.
That’s crazy. We don’t typically do black/white, either/or propositions in this town, so I’m glad to see the shades of gray (or in this case, green) making themselves apparent. Plant on!
Well said, Scott. Well done, Chadwick.
Great job guys. This is such a win-win idea that I’m sure it will be a huge success. I’m in!
So we can call you TreeRuss now?
😀 I see what you did there.
Thanks for posting, DM. I just wanted to add that we know the April date is a little late for planting, and are going to do our best to get trees in earlier for those willing to plant them sooner. Next year, we will move the planting event closer to Georgia Arbor Day, but felt it was important to get this in this year. I’m hoping to post the “Tree Menu” next week – so stay tuned… And please contact me if you want to help.
Good work, my man. This is the epitome of my libertarian philosophy.
Is it possible to make a donation (hopefully tax deductible, but not a deal breaker) to the festival or the tree planting?
This was started only last week so are not a 501-3-C yet – but we have been in talks with Trees Atlanta to help us with the effort.They are a great organization, and I could see funneling those type of situations through them – where they would earmark those gifts for Decatur work. We also need sponsors for the effort to defray organizational costs – email me separately for details.
Oops , that would be 501-c-3.
501(c)(3) if you want to be really pedantic about it
sounds like a great plan, I will help in any way I can.
Chadwick Stogner, thanks for organizing this!
WP – thanks. Email me at chad(at)elegantearth(dot)com
As a kid, I always mixed up Arbor Day and Armistice Day, neither a-word being familiar to my generation. Maybe CSD students do better since they start with Spanish (arbole=tree) in kindergarten.
Whoops. It’s “arbol” for tree and “arboles” for trees. I knew that.
At the local level, perhaps both words would apply in this situation. After all, Chad has proposed that we use Arbor day to establish an Armistice between those battling from either side of the tree ordinance.
I admire your chutzpah! A couple of points. End of April is on the later side of the planting season, so make sure the trees are mulched (to help retain moisture) and watered at least several times over the summer. Count me in as a volunteer consultant. I also have tree planting tags on how to best plant that can be printed out with your logo and attached to each tree. Nice! I will be in touch.
Hey treesrock – Thanks and you are right – we are going to try to get as many people as we can to take the trees earlier. Dates will be much earlier next year. We are counting on help from people with your knowledge. Email me at chad(at)elegant earth.com and I’ll plug you in.
Maybe watering bags can also be an option to buy with the trees? I’m in too- for a tree and volunteering. Thanks so much for organizing!
Macarolina – That’s a great idea – I wonder if you can get them with logos printed on them? I’ll check that out – email me at chad(at)elegant earth(dot)com to sign up to help
Also one last thought. I was bothered how easily people were willing to exchange an existing tree for a replanted tree. I know both are different but the proposed ordinance gives equal credit to 2.5 inch trees as 30 inch mature tree. I was concerned this might create some unintended consequences. Below is a blog I wrote on it:
Existing healthy urban trees with a lifespan of more than 20 years are difficult to replace with replanting or tree banking. An existing tree is like a million dollars that has compounded in value over 100 years, while a fine or actually replanting is like one hundred dollars that has yet to compound. To replace one with the other is like saying 1 million dollars equals 100 dollars (actually 1.4 million using 10% interest). Yes, it is important to invest in the future by replanting, but it is not the same as preserving an existing healthy tree. Does tree value really compound like money and interest? In a recent article published in The Dirt, J. Green states, “Humans’ growth spurts stop by late adolescence, but trees accelerate their growth and get bigger as they age.” Moreover, the ecosystem created around the tree in the soil takes decades to develop. Trees require less roots in good soil than poor soil so you can have healthy trees in less space for when you do plant that tree. While trees are typically easily planted, especially for the enthusiast, but not all trees are planted and maintained equally. If the tree is being planted by a municipality you also have to worry about the management of the tree planting program, which can be expensive. The real kicker is the problem of land. Land to grow large trees with critical root zones that can take up to 6,000 square feet can be very expensive and scarce in an urban area. When such pressure exists on the land, it is difficult for large trees to have enough land to grow on.
Looking forward to seeing the tree menu and further details. I’m in to help in whatever way I can!
Happy to help. If nothing else, I will happily make a donation.
But, I have a serious question. Where are we going to plant the trees? I hope CoD will get behind this effort and make some public land available. Does the city already have areas designated for planting, or do we need to start compiling a list?
No one from the city has contacted me unless you count ESB members. We would love to have some options that they were willing to have planted, but this initiative is really geared toward residents planting in their lots. Contact me by email for donation information.
Hey Chad – My family will be there to support you with our time, money, and labor. I will talk to our neighbors in the community, as well as contact our Neighborhood Associations to make them aware. It is very admirable what you are doing.
I appreciate our city representatives trusting the citizens. Some of us are so busy with our families and professional duties that we don’t even know when there is a need. We can come together as a community to make sure we leave Decatur a better place for our children (and hopefully grandchildren… many, many years in the future).
Great, Marty – I’ll get you a neighborhood captain package.
More trees is great. But as treesrock noted above, one of the points of the tree preservation ordinance was to ensure that large mature trees weren’t being destroyed. It’s great to plant a bunch of 2.5 inch trees, it’s also important to conserve the larger trees that are being lost to development.
There is still a need for an ordinance that will regulate the removal of difficult to replace mature trees.
I don’t think it’s either/or, but the tree canopy fact sheet that the backers of this ordinance put together said the Number Uno cause of tree loss in Decatur was “Aging tree population”. This is so obvious as to be inarguable – there was a wave of plantings of water oaks about 80-100 years ago that got us where we are today, and these oaks are now dying off. For all the hand wringing about developers, THIS is the major cause of the decline, and cannot be stopped.
We know these trees will age and die soon, so the next generation of trees will need to be planted asap. We can complain about how a 3″ tree doesn’t replace a 100 year old oak, but that oak is going to die, so we need to accept that and plan for it. Penalizing the homeowner for being the bag-holder 80 years after a tree was planted is not, in my opinion, the most realistic or mature approach.
My own opinion is that these water oaks led to an unusually high tree canopy for an urban area that is now starting to revert to a more sustainable level. A longterm community target of 40% would be a more realistic guideline for Decatur at our population density, although I must also say that I don’t like setting targets if they are going to be applied to each lot individually.
Anyway, again, bravo to Chad and J_T for finding a proactive and forward looking way to focus our community.
judgebrandeis – this effort is a proactive step to help the city preserve and grow the canopy with high quality trees that will stand the test of time ( unlike the water oaks – which are reaching the end of their life span ). All of the trees in the city were 2.5″ about 80 years ago – their is a long view to this process too – and we really have no control over what the ordinance says. I’m guessing that the proposed ordinance would not have divided the community and been tabled by the city commission if it was a workable proposal. BTW/ go to our Facebook page and see the link to Heirloom Trees, who will be offering residents trees up to 10-12″ in diameter and a solution to save large trees impacted by development.
Chad,
I’m so pleased that you mentioned Heirloom Tree and Gardens. As I’ve been reading these blogs, I was thinking that they would be a wonderful addition to your network. I own a small business here in Decatur where I renovate distressed homes and have called on Heirloom to advise me on the health of some the mature trees on some of my properties. Where many other companies have advised me to “just cut them down”, Heirloom gave me the option to bring these trees back to complete health, which is exactly what I wanted to do. As a resident of Decatur, I was relieved to have made contact with a company that cares about the trees that help make this city so beautiful.