TreeVitalize's electronic newsletter shares urban forestry information from across Pennsylvania.


WINTER
2018






2018 TreeVitalize Grant Recipients Announced!

The Pa Urban and Community Forestry Counci l in partnership with the Pa  Department of Conservation an d Natural Resources  announced the 2018 TreeVitalize grant recipients last week. A total of $196,643 will go towards  tree plantings, community forestry management and urban riparian buffer projects in communities across the state.

DCNR Secretary, Cindy Dunn stated "TreeVitalize efforts continue to grow since the program first was launched on Arbor Day 2004...These grants extend benefits to be enjoyed by residents across the state." Read more on the DCNR blog.

Congratulations to everyone!!

Winter Tree Tip:
"Pruning during dormancy is the most common practice. It results in a vigorous burst of new growth in the spring and should be used if that is the desired effect. Some species, such as maple, walnuts and birches, may "bleed"-when the sap begins to flow. This is not harmful and will cease when the tree leafs out." - Arbor Day Foundation


Arboriculture Classes at Rockview State Correctional Institution's Forestry Camp


This Fall, the Pa Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in partnership with the Department of Corrections,  launched a pilot Arborist Short Course at Rockview's Forestry Camp. The Forestry Camp is a minimum security unit where inmates having 4 years or less to serve out can apply to live. The men housed at Forestry Camp carry out community-based projects and/or land-care management on the 2400 acres surrounding Rockview. Several of the men gain tremendous hands-on skills in forestry and tree care.This program seeks to compliment those skills by providing an educational foundation in arboriculture. The program seeks to give participants employable skills as well as empower them to enter into careers in forestry and conservation. 

The class curriculum follows along the International Society of Arboriculture's (ISA) Arborist Certification Study Guide. The ISA graciously donated 20 of the Study Guide books (pictured above) to this program. The books allow the men to study and reread material covered in class between lessons, as well as prepare for ISA exams.

Thank you International Society of Arboriculture!

The success of this program depends greatly on the instructors. We have been lucky to have people from Bartlett Tree Experts, Penn State Extension, Penn State University and DCNR Bureau of Forestry. We are excited to see what the future holds for this program. 

Thank you to all the instructors!


Trees for Johnstown


"Trees for Johnstown" is a community forestry project of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) in partnership with the City of Johnstown, and the Johnstown Shade Tree Commission. The "Trees for Johnstown" project established a comprehensive community forestry program in the city that includes technical support services, education and outreach, tree planting, maintenance plans, and community engagement.

WPC completed an iTree Analysis Report based on the city's street tree data. The analysis includes information on the environmental, economic, aesthetic, and energy savings benefits of Johnstown's street tree population.

Based on the data collected from the street tree inventory, WPC planted 25 trees within the City of Johnstown, focusing on areas that demonstrated the most need. This included plantings in the Downtown area and Point Park. This planting occurred on October 28th and 31 volunteers from the community participated.
To support the short and long-ter m maintenance of these trees, Penn State Extension partnered with WPC and the city to provide a Tree Tenders Workshop to residents. Through this workshop, residents learned about tree biology, identification, pruning and root care, planting techniques and more. 

The Conservancy will continue this partnership through 2018 as well with additional Tree Tender Courses and the planting of 50 new trees. If interested in getting involved with this project, please email  [email protected].  

By: Lauren Fike, WPC
Have a tree-related event?
Email it to Shea Zwerver at [email protected] to have it publicized  on the TreePennsylvania calendar .