DC Calling More of Their Trees Special:

In 2003, a law was enacted that began a new future for the trees of the United States’ national capital. The Urban Forest Preservation act outlined specifically, “To establish an urban forest preservation program; to require a Special Tree removal permit and community notification prior to the removal or replacement of a tree with a circumference of 55 inches or more, [and] to establish a Tree Fund to be used to plant trees and defray costs associated with the implementation of this act.”

As with any other urban forestry program, the evidence of benefits in having a healthy urban forest are real and tangible. The Act created in 2003 opened a path for a stronger future for community members to be pro-active and effective in their decisions to support their urban forest’s future.

Coinciding with the birth of the Act of 2003, the non-profit organization Casey Trees was founded by Betty B. Casey, a local resident. Her intent is in this establishment is, “To restore, enhance and protect the tree canopy of the Nation’s Capital.”

Now in 2015, the new Tree Canopy Protection Amendment Act of 2015 is introduced by, “Council member Charles Allen of Ward 6 and co-sponsored by Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh.” In support of the Act and its provisions, Casey Trees promoted and made available to the public a petition to sign in support of the Act passing.

The act makes several significant provisions including bringing DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration into a more proactive position to cover not just street trees, but also ones located on school and park grounds.

In order for these “special” trees to be removed, increased payments must be made to the DC “Tree Fund” unless the tree is considered unhealthy or hazardous. In addition, the original circumference of 55-inches decreases to 47-inches, and fines for removing a “special” tree have tripled.

“Now the Sierra Club of DC and some others would like the Council to embrace new criteria that would bring more trees into this “special” category,” states the Forest Hills Connection webpage.

These clearly outlined acts offer a structure and system that almost guarantee the responsible handling for DC’s forestry indefinitely. In DC, it’s not so bad to be a tree.

AILA champions Green Infrastructure in Australia:

The health of Australians is continuing to decline, with 80% of Australians predicted to be overweight or obese by 2025. This week, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) has taken action, urging the Federal Government to take a global leadership position on Green Infrastructure and acknowledge Australia’s urban landscape as a key driver for improved health, environmental, and social outcomes.

In a submission made to Infrastructure Australia’s 15 Year Infrastructure Plan for Australia, the AILA made four recommendations:

1. A National Green Infrastructure Strategy from the Federal Government to provide guidance on how infrastructure projects can be a catalyst for enhanced landscape outcomes through green infrastructure investment;
2. Minimum ‘SITES’ Ratings for Federally Funded Projects to encourage a global standard of integration of natural and physical infrastructure;
3. A National Green Infrastructure Training Program for built environment practitioners, including engineers, planners and senior level policy makers involved in the planning, design and development of infrastructure across a diversity of asset classes; and
4. A Project Briefing Guide for Integrating Landscape through Infrastructure Development to become the key national resource used to influence project briefing processes on federally funded projects.

According to AILA CEO, Shahana McKenzie, the Government has an opportunity to reprioritise outdoor spaces such as parks, streetscapes, and public precincts, enabling the Australian population to be more active and in turn reducing escalating healthcare costs. The AILA strongly believes that an increased investment in Green Infrastructure would be a minor cost resulting in significant medium and long-term benefits to the liveability of Australia’s urban areas.

For more information on the Australian Infrastructure Audit, visit this page.

Texas Takes Trinity River by the Horns:

Within the city limits of Dallas, Texas, there is an eleven mile stretch of land named the Trinity River Corridor. An urban hardwood forest to rival New York’s Central Park in size, this gem of real estate is the site where years of visions, funding and plans have recently gone under way.

“The Trinity River Vision Authority (TRVA) is the organization responsible for the implementation of the Trinity River Vision (TRV) – a master plan for the Trinity River in Fort Worth, Texas.” Alongside the TRVA, Viridian Energy has made its entry into the entire state of Texas, providing potential green energy services to over 25 million residents. Hand in hand with the TRV, Viridian has already contributed severall hundred volunteer hours to, “remove a total of 2,050 pounds of invasive plants, trash and debris from the Dallas Floodway along Cedar Creek and the Santé Fe Trestle Trail.”

The TRV encompasses a program that will create, “new recreational amenities, improved infrastructure, environmental enhancements and event programming,” as well as a new urban waterfront neighborhood re-named Panther Island. As stated on the TRVA website, responsibility to the urban forestry is a large part of the project goals, including flood control, ecosystem restoration, and sustainability.

The website further elaborates,“While previous channelization and levee construction has provided a measure of flood protection to Fort Worth’s central city, it left much of the Trinity River a broad, straight trapezoidal vessel with little environmental character.”

Since April of 2015, the TRV was given the approval to seek federal funding by way of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Dallas Morning News reported on this huge hurdle overcome, reporting a, “$572 million comprehensive plan that would enhance flood protection, provide a reliever road for downtown highways and create recreational amenities along the river’s path.”

With the collaboration of companies and government with the great city of Dallas, the Trinity River Project is a large, but successful example of urban planning that touches on and addresses essential parts of revitalizing an urban area. For the future of the environment, a key factor in this project is that the redevelopment and redesign can and will continue to respect and successfully coexist with nature.

image courtesy of Jeremy Monin . Dallas skyline with Trinity River

Thousands of street trees to be planted in Greater Geelong to cool sizzled suburbs:

Under a new council plan, Greater Geelong is set to plant thousands of street trees to grow the region’s urban forest and cool its hottest suburbs. These include Corio, Norlane, and Whittington, where new trees are set to mitigate summer heatwaves and provide environmental benefits.

Councillors backed the plan to turn Geelong into a “cool green city for the future” at a recent public meeting. The Urban Forest Strategy shows the city’s budget allows it to plant 1050 advanced street trees a year, but it chops down almost that many (1000) due to old age, disease, and new developments. The net gain of 50 trees is below the stated aim of 400 additional trees per year, so the strategy aims to increase plantings by 500 a year at an estimated cost of $200,000.

Councillors were told suburbs of social disadvantage, such as Corio, Norlane, and Whittington, would benefit from plantings because they had little tree coverage and were among the areas that suffered most on Geelong’s hottest days.

Austin Ward Councillor, Jock Irvine, said Whittington residents had responded well to the trees planted in their neighbourhood, many volunteering to maintain them. “We need to start in the more barren areas,” Councillor Irvine said. “It’s hard to put a value on beautifying a neighbourhood and a streetscape, but it is important. In some cases people might feel like they don’t get a lot in life, so they respond very well when the council comes and gives them another reason to take pride in where they live. Obviously, there’s a cost to council but the problem is that we didn’t plant enough trees in the first place. The leafy streets of Newtown and Herne Hill are only the way they are now because the effort was made a long time ago and now those trees are established.”

The city used satellite thermal imagery to show areas of Geelong that heat up more quickly and then retain that heat into the night. The northern industrial zone was singled out as a hotspot, and therefore a priority for planting. The report also highlighted a variety of benefits trees would provide, including cooling neighbourhoods, improving air quality, saving energy, and leveraging stormwater.