Post by melody on Apr 15, 2013 19:19:42 GMT -5
DCNR ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE EXPANSION OF TREEVITALIZE
By Kimberly Hess, PLS
4/15/13
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) this morning held a press conference beneath the tree canopy of Capitol Park to announce the statewide expansion of the TreeVitalize program and to tout the many benefits of trees.
Highlighting the theme “trees pay us back,” DCNR Secretary Richard Allan stated TreeVitalize was launched on Arbor Day 2004 in Philadelphia and since then more than 350,000 shade trees have been planted in 14 metropolitan areas around the commonwealth. “With today’s announcement of expanded grant opportunities, those benefits will be extended across the state and residents will enjoy them in every county,” the secretary stated.
TreeVitalize is a DCNR-led community tree planting program that partners with a number of groups, including the Pennsylvania Community Forest Council, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association. Sec. Allan noted more than 3,500 volunteers across the state have completed the Tree Tenders training, which strengthens community awareness for community trees.
Sec. Allen pointed out the significance of the location and timing of the event, noting that many of the trees of Capitol Park were planted through TreeVitalize and the month of April includes Arbor Day, Earth Day, and the Flight 93 National Monument Planning Weekend. The plans for the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial include the planting of 40 groves of trees to commemorate the lives of the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93.
Daniel Devlin, Pennsylvania’s State Forester and director of the Bureau of Forestry at DCNR, touted the benefits of trees, stating that they provide energy savings, intercept stormwater and prevent runoff, clean and purify water, sequester carbon, increase air quality, and increase property values. He also recalled fond childhood memories of climbing trees, jumping in leaf piles, and hiking in forests, remarking that trees connect people with nature.
Devlin pointed out a number of trees in Capitol Park had been tagged with information about each individual tree’s rewards and benefits to a community. He said the data was obtained from iTree, a software program developed by the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Davey Tree Company. iTree provides urban forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools to help communities to strengthen their urban forest management and advocacy efforts by quantifying the structure of community trees and the environmental services that trees provide.
“I have worked with dozens of community groups and municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania that have benefitted from DCNR’s TreeVitalize program over the years,” said Pennsylvania Urban & Community Forestry Council President Michael Leff. “I am delighted that the program is being expanded statewide and I am please that the Pennsylvania Community Forest Council will be able to help make that expansion possible.”
Following the announcement, DCNR staff provided a demo of the iTree software and a tour of the tagged trees in Capitol Park.
By Kimberly Hess, PLS
4/15/13
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) this morning held a press conference beneath the tree canopy of Capitol Park to announce the statewide expansion of the TreeVitalize program and to tout the many benefits of trees.
Highlighting the theme “trees pay us back,” DCNR Secretary Richard Allan stated TreeVitalize was launched on Arbor Day 2004 in Philadelphia and since then more than 350,000 shade trees have been planted in 14 metropolitan areas around the commonwealth. “With today’s announcement of expanded grant opportunities, those benefits will be extended across the state and residents will enjoy them in every county,” the secretary stated.
TreeVitalize is a DCNR-led community tree planting program that partners with a number of groups, including the Pennsylvania Community Forest Council, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association. Sec. Allan noted more than 3,500 volunteers across the state have completed the Tree Tenders training, which strengthens community awareness for community trees.
Sec. Allen pointed out the significance of the location and timing of the event, noting that many of the trees of Capitol Park were planted through TreeVitalize and the month of April includes Arbor Day, Earth Day, and the Flight 93 National Monument Planning Weekend. The plans for the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial include the planting of 40 groves of trees to commemorate the lives of the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93.
Daniel Devlin, Pennsylvania’s State Forester and director of the Bureau of Forestry at DCNR, touted the benefits of trees, stating that they provide energy savings, intercept stormwater and prevent runoff, clean and purify water, sequester carbon, increase air quality, and increase property values. He also recalled fond childhood memories of climbing trees, jumping in leaf piles, and hiking in forests, remarking that trees connect people with nature.
Devlin pointed out a number of trees in Capitol Park had been tagged with information about each individual tree’s rewards and benefits to a community. He said the data was obtained from iTree, a software program developed by the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Davey Tree Company. iTree provides urban forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools to help communities to strengthen their urban forest management and advocacy efforts by quantifying the structure of community trees and the environmental services that trees provide.
“I have worked with dozens of community groups and municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania that have benefitted from DCNR’s TreeVitalize program over the years,” said Pennsylvania Urban & Community Forestry Council President Michael Leff. “I am delighted that the program is being expanded statewide and I am please that the Pennsylvania Community Forest Council will be able to help make that expansion possible.”
Following the announcement, DCNR staff provided a demo of the iTree software and a tour of the tagged trees in Capitol Park.