If you caught our Tree Talk Thursday last week, you were treated to an engaging discussion on planting fruit trees in the DMV. Joining us for the conversation was Jeff Wankel, Garden Coordinator for Bread for the City, who told us all about the nonprofit and the fruit tree planting workshop they will be holding March 25.
Volunteers will spend the morning learning the fundamental skills that lead to a fruitful orchard and putting those skills to use planting fruit trees in Bread for the City’s orchard. The fruit that is grown will go to the organization’s food pantry, which provides healthy food to D.C.’s most underserved residents.
The workshop is happening in Beltsville, MD, but there’s still some room in the carpool! To make sure you get your spot, RSVP today.
We joined the Crestwood Citizens Association for a Community Tree Planting in their residential neighborhood in Ward 4 last Saturday. Nearly 70 volunteers braved the bone-chilling morning that gave way to a mild sunny day — perfect weather for adding 30 shade trees to the neighborhood.
Joining us at the event were the White House Fellows, the White House interns and a group from Central Michigan University on an alternative spring break. We had 15 of our Citizen Foresters at the event, headed by Lead CF Jeff Furr, who all did a great job guiding the volunteers as they planted the trees. And it could not have been done without the hard work of our Project Organizers, Frank Samuel and Doug Barker.
We were so pleased to have such an enthusiastic group of volunteers at our second Community Tree Planting this spring. Let’s keep it up through the season!
If you’d like our help adding shade trees to your yard, consider our other tree planting programs, like RiverSmart Homes and our Tree Rebate.
Casey Trees went to Kingsbury Day Center on March 8 to plant fruit trees and ornamental shade trees with some of their high school science students.
The nine trees planted will beautify the campus, as the species planted include persimmon fruit trees, hawthorns, a katsura tree and cherry trees, the three of which were sponsored by the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Casey Trees staff and twenty-eight students planted the trees, and the School Tree Planting could not have been done without the help of Project Organizer, Anne Hedman.
It’s always great when students are able to incorporate their lessons from the classroom in the world around them, and we were happy to be able to help the Landscape Architecture & Botany students at Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School in Ward 5 do just that. Working from designs drawn by the students, Casey Trees staff with 12 students added seven shade trees to a steep hillside next to the school’s parking lot.
Tree species planted include three blackgums, two nuttall oaks and two northern red oaks on the steep slope. The trees will help filter stormwater runoff and reduce the amount of stormwater running into the parking lot.
Big thanks to our Project Organizers, Brandi Hopkins and Olatundun Teyibo, for putting in the work to make this School Tree Planting project happen!
Warming weather means its time to spruce up your yard by adding trees to it. To make purchasing trees a more affordable option for you, Casey Trees offers Tree Rebates up to $100 per tree for those planted on private residential or commercial property in the District.
Participation is simple. Purchase a tree from a vendor of your choosing, plant it in D.C. and submit the rebate with a purchase receipt for each tree. There is no limit to the number of rebates per property.
Seven genera and 27 species — mostly native hickories and oaks — chosen for their large canopy and environmental benefits qualify for rebates up to $100 per tree. Most small and medium canopy trees continue to qualify for rebates up to $50 per tree. Invasives, dwarf and ash trees do NOT qualify for a rebate of any amount.
Casey Trees recently distributed Tree Rebate materials – rebate forms, signage and tree tags - to D.C. area nurseries and garden centers to help customers select rebate eligible trees and encourage individuals to add trees to their property. Know of a store not listed below that you think should display Tree Rebate materials? Ask them to contact us at treedc@caseytrees.org or email us their contact information so we may reach out to them.
Remember Casey Trees will accept Tree Rebates for trees purchased at any nursery or garden center, as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.
Point of sales Tree Rebate materials can be found at these D.C. area nurseries and home improvement stores:
- Frager’s Hardware Store, 1115 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, D.C.
- Ginkgo Gardens, 911 11th St. SE. Washington, D.C.
- Johnson’s Florist and Garden Center, 4200 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.
- American Plant, 5258 River Rd., Bethesda, Md.
- American Plant, 7405 River Rd., Bethesda, Md.
- Behnke Nurseries, 11300 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, Md.
- Behnke Nurseries, 9545 River Rd., Potomac, Md.
- Lowe’s, 8755 Branch Ave., Clinton, Md.
- Patuxent Nursery, 2410 North Crain Hwy., Bowie, Md.
- Nature by Design, 300 Calvert Ave., Alexandria, Va
- Burke Nursery & Garden Centre, 9401 Burke Rd., Burke, Va.
- Cravens Nursery & Pottery, 9023 Arlington Blvd., Fairfax, Va.
- Meadows Farms Nursery, 6461 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.
- Meadows Farms Nursery, 4808 Backlick Rd., Annandale, Va.
- Merrifield Garden Center, 12101 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, Va.
- Merrifield Garden Center, 8132 Lee Hwy., Falls Church, Va.
The Tree Rebate Program is funded by the District Department of the Environment.
Young volunteers plant trees at the Washington British School
This past week we kicked off our Community Tree Planting season, including an event on Wednesday, March 7 at the Washington British School. Volunteers of all ages help us plant at more than 45 events this season.
This session was originally held live online on March 8, 2012. Check out the most current Tree Talk Thursdays session.
Tree Talk Thursdays is an online chat series held every second Thursday of the month at noon to discuss urban forestry and tree care topics. Participation is free.
Suggest a topic to cover. Email your suggestion to treedc@caseytrees.org.
It’s that time of the year again! That’s right, our spring tree planting season officially kicked off on Saturday with a Community Tree Planting at none other than the National Zoo. A foreboding forecast did little to keep away about 100 dedicated volunteers who attended the planting expecting to brave the elements, earning their Citizen Forrester stripes and planting 30 trees on the grounds of the zoo. Luckily, we had a beautiful sunny day instead. Like every season, our opening event serves as a training and educational session for volunteers interested in joining the ranks of our loyal Citizen Foresters.
But this event marked only the beginning of an ambitious Community Tree Planting season for Casey Trees – one that will bring more than 700 trees to the District. Hundreds of volunteers from throughout D.C. will come out this spring to lend a hand, but you don’t need to be knee-deep in mud to make a difference. Instead consider becoming one of our loyal Tree Champions.
Some of our most dedicated supporters, Tree Champions make monthly contributions of $10 or more and help provide us with the funds we need to continue our planting and education initiatives throughout the year. For just 82 cents a day, you can provide Casey Trees with the resources we need to bring trees – and their many benefits – to neighborhoods around the city.
And if you act now, you’ll receive a limited-edition Casey Trees tote bag made by our friends at the Bare Tree! This season we’re showing our appreciation to our newest Tree Champions by offering this stylish, eco-friendly bag to the first 50 Tree Champions who make a pledge of $25 or more. Hand printed on recycled cotton, these bags are great for a trip to Trader Joe’s, the library, or even just a day on the town. So pledge now to get your tote bag and to help us make this Tree Planting season our best yet!
0 comments:
Post a Comment