The Decatur Minute announces that Trees Atlanta and volunteers will be planting trees in Decatur right-of-ways on Saturday, February 28th.

Through a partnership between the City of Decatur and Trees Atlanta‘s NeighborWoods program, volunteers will be planting trees on Saturday, Feb. 28 in city right-of-ways. Trees Atlanta has been planting and caring for trees in neighborhoods across metro Atlanta for about 30 years. The organization waters the trees diligently for two years, and mulch and prune the trees for three years after planting to insure that the trees are well-established.

If you’re interested in volunteering to plant trees in Decatur, gather at Glennwood Elementary, 440 East Ponce De Leon Ave., at 9 a.m. on Feb. 28.

If you have any questions regarding your right of way tree, do not want a right-of way tree, or would like to add an additional shade tree in your front yard, contact NeighborWoods Program Manager Susan Pierce Cunningham at [email protected] or 404-681-4896.

Atlanta tree sign photo courtesy of Trees Atlanta

From the Decatur Minute…

Trees Atlanta will use a herd of about 75 sheep to help control Japanese hops, kudzu and other invasive plants on the steep slope between Section 14 and the creek at the Decatur Cemetery.

“Sheep offer a low-impact solution for controlling invasive plants on sites,” said Trees Atlanta Forest Restoration Coordinator, Brian Williams. “As long as the sites do not contain sensitive or endangered plants that we want to keep safe, sheep can graze and help us eliminate invasive plants until they are gone,” he continued. Trees Atlanta is completing a 5-year woodland restoration effort in the stream corridor on the east side of the Cemetery.

Photo courtesy of The Decatur Minute

You know when you find a clean $10 in your pocket after your jeans have been through the wash?  This is sorta like that.

An inventory project by the Georgia Urban Forestry Council has discovered that the original estimate of 3,200 city-owned and managed trees inside the Decatur city limits is likely too low.  Here’s the blurb from the GUFC’s newsletter…

When data collection was completed in downtown and the NW quadrant, it became clear that there were many more city trees than the 3,200 originally estimated. With only 40 percent of the area completed, we had inventoried nearly 60 percent of the budgeted number of trees! While this abundance of trees is a very good thing, we had to discuss with city staff options for how to complete the inventory since the total budget was for 3,200 trees maximum.

Some other interesting Decatur tree facts from the study…

• Of all 1,578 trees, 18 percent are flowering dogwoods, 15 percent are willow oaks, another 15 percent are crapemyrtles, and 9 percent are red maples; water oaks, flowering cherries, and Chinese elms account for an additional 4 percent each of the tree population in these two (2) sections
• 41 percent of the  trees are less than 6 inches DBH, and 76 percent are less than 12 inches DBH, verifying that there have been a lot of new trees planted in recent years, and that many of the trees are small maturing varieties; many of these new trees have been established through the efforts of Trees Atlanta, a strong advocate for increasing tree canopy cover in the Atlanta area
• The largest tree inventoried is a 49 inch DBH water oak located on West Ponce de Leon Avenue

Photo courtesy of GUFC newsletter

h/t: Patch

At last night’s Decatur City Commission meeting, Commissioner Patti Garrett announced that she had just received word that Trees Atlanta will be planting 100 trees in Oakhurst to commemorate the neighborhood’s 100th birthday.

According to Ms. Garrett, Trees Atlanta will begin by planting 50 trees at the Oakhurst Birthday celebration on October 30th from 9a-12p.  Trees will be planted in memory of Oakhurst Community Garden founder Sally Wylde, so fittingly planting will begin at the corner of Oakview Road and 5th Avenue, where the first Oakhurst Community Garden plot was located.

Trees Atlanta is helping the Lenox Place neighborhood plant 30 trees in a “neglected green space” near the intersection of Hibernia and Adair on Saturday, January 16th, but they need a few more thumbs (green or otherwise) to help get those babies in the ground.

Diane writes in…

What greater satisfaction can a nature-loving person have than planting a tree? For decades to come, you will be able to watch the tree grow and spread its limbs, a living testament to our connection with nature.

Our neighborhood, Lenox Place, has been developing a neglected green space, and we have a rare opportunity to plant a number of trees on January 16, which is the Saturday of the weekend of MLK Day. On that Saturday, Trees Atlanta is going to help us plant 30 trees in and around the neighborhood, especially in the area we call Corley Commons. This is a green space near the intersection of Hibernia and Adair. Not only are we getting the trees at a deep discount, but the city is paying for half of the cost of the trees.

But WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS. This is an opportunity to get some exercise, contribute to the neighborhood and have a lifelong testament to a day’s work. This is a great family project — children will be able to help us dig and spread compost.

Read the rest of this entry »

A concerned Left Wing writes in…

I, personally, am going to be cutting down a gigantic oak tree in my backyard because the root systems are so damaged from the drought, that it is not worth my families safety to leave a gorgeous but potentially lethal tree in my backyard.

Most of us find ourselves in similar situations around Decatur.  Pre-WWII developers didn’t subscribe to the clear cut methodology so often employed these days.  Therefore, large, ancient oaks, maples and pine stretch mightily over our rooftops, shading us from intense summer heat.

But of course there’s another aspect of trees that turns people’s awe to nervousness: they eventually fall down.

We all certainly saw this in full force on Monday.

If you have a confirmed case of a damaged or dying tree, you should have it removed.   But even if your trees are healthy, you should still show them the same amount of attention and care.   This Trees Atlanta page, “How to Protect Trees in Your Yard“, is a good place to start to learn about routine care and maintenance.  Also the “Storms – Don’t Panic” page can be useful if you’re looking for a list of Trees Atlanta-recommended arborists.

Oh and BTW, to the tree service company that left a business card on my mailbox yesterday: very classy.

Wheatley informs us that Atlanta won the American Express “Root For Your City” contest, which awarded the major U.S. city with the most credit card usage $300,000 to plant native trees.

Pretty cool!  The more carbon-dioxide sucking trees the better!