Protecting, Sustaining, Advocacy |
|
Hi all,
Back in February in this column I told you all about the excellent videos we have over on YouTube and encouraged everyone to check them out and “like and share.” As I said then, the three recent videos promoting careers in arboriculture are some of my favorites. They're not just my favorites because of my sophisticated good taste or how excellently the videos turned out (though both things are true), but because of how much the tree care industry is hurting for good employees and needs people to learn how cool the jobs are.
When talking with colleagues about how hard it is to fill vacancies we all agree that this is a major problem and it’s not getting better. So when I was looking at the “likes and shares” and the comment sections for the videos it was a little spooky how quiet it was. Sure, Urban Forest Council videos aren’t as dramatic as some YouTube content, but it’s hugely important to get the word out to our friends and families (and their friends and families) about how cool it is to work with trees and how desperate the need is to find good people to take care of them. So I’m calling on you (yes you) to navigate right now to the NCUFC YouTube Channel.
The trees and the industry that cares for them need you to “like and share” the heck out of the videos on becoming an arborist. Some insightful and interesting comments would be excellent too. When you get done, come on back and read the rest of this month’s newsletter too please. Thank y’all.
Mark Foster
Board Chair, NC Urban Forest Council
City Arborist, City of Asheville
|
|
North Carolina
Urban Forest Council
P.O. Box 37416
Raleigh, NC 27627
|
|
Making Urban Forests Equitable: Evidence and Strategies for Community Engagement
Presenter: Dr. Christine Carmichael
Webinar
May 26th
10:00 - 11:15 a.m. Eastern
|
|
|
NC Trees and Storms- Readiness: Getting Your Trees Ready for the Storm (Free Webinar)
Hosted by NC Forest Service, Urban & Community Forestry Program
June 8th
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
|
NC Trees and Storms- Response & Recovery: Now that the Storm has Passed, Plan for the Future (Free Webinar)
Hosted by NC Forest Service, Urban & Community Forestry Program
June 17th
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
|
NC Green Industry Council Technology Symposium
June 17th
McKimmon Center, Raleigh
|
|
|
MAY 2021 NCUFC
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
Bill Leatherwood
|
My interest in urban forestry and arboriculture began with my career with the North Carolina Forest Service. In the late 1990’s while County Ranger in Henderson County I had the opportunity to serve on the review committees in Raleigh for the NCFS Urban and Community Forest grant programs and the Tree City USA program. I have been a Certified Arborist for over 16 years and retired from the North Carolina Forest Service almost 14 years ago. At Leatherwood Wildland Management we focused mostly on Plant Health Care practices such as preconstruction planning, insect and disease evaluation and management, non-native invasive plant management, etc.
This spring we have completed Hemlock Woolly Adelgid management practices on about 1000 hemlock trees. Many of these have been in our hemlock inventory for 10 to 12 years, however over 500 of them were added to 1200 already being managed in one of our hemlock restoration projects. I am in my fifth year by providing professional arborist services to the city of Hendersonville. We manage and maintain over 350 street trees made up of 77 different species along Main Street and around the downtown area. Within this young urban forest, we have invested a lot of time in pest management, structural pruning, and soil management. Most work begins at 5:00 AM or earlier to avoid the conflicts with implementing the various plant health care practices and traffic flow and people.
I do not know how long I have been a member of the NCUFC, but I have always used and continue to use this council for information and education for myself and others. Anyone in the tree care industry or others involved in urban tree management should continue to explore and participate in all the educational opportunities that this council and others offer. We may think we know everything about planting, pruning, and growing healthy trees but as I have found with all the research in urban forestry and the growth in the field of arboriculture there is always something to learn to make your job better and safer while maintaining a healthy urban forest environment.
My favorite tree is probably the white oak, Quercus alba. And yeah, it's not a street tree, but it's an important part of the urban tree canopy in a lot of our mountain urban communities.
|
|
|
NC ARBORICULTURE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM - FALL REGISTRATION
NOW OPEN
|
A new certificate program, available through coursework at Alamance Community College in Graham, NC, provides training opportunities for those interested in arboriculture or those who are already in the arboriculture industry and would like to expand their knowledge base. The certificate was developed in conjunction with the NC Urban Forestry Council, NC State University and F.A. Bartlett Tree Experts. Many topics will be covered such as pest management, introductory and advanced arboriculture, tree climbing, business communications, equipment operation and maintenance, conversational Spanish, and more.
The arboriculture certificate program begins in November 2021, and will offer training opportunities in the classroom and outdoors. The course structure will be a hybrid model meeting on Fridays for 12 weeks, with some classes being offered online and some in-person, reducing the amount of travel required to complete the program. Class meeting dates and times are listed here. To learn more about the program, please email Liz Riley or call 336-506-4192.
|
UPDATE ON LEGISLATION AFFECTING NC URBAN FORESTRY:
House Bill 496 Update
|
As a member organization of the NC Green Industry Council (GIC), the NC Urban Forest Council has access to legislative committee updates and has inclusion in discussions when bills are being introduced to NC Legislature that could impact the urban forest statewide.
As you have seen over the last few weeks, we have been keeping an eye on House Bill 496. On May 11, 2021 HB 496 passed the House with a 72-43 vote. The bill will now go into the NC Senate and work its way through the subcommittees, which should start to happen in the next two weeks. The latest version of HB 496 has some new language regarding timber harvesting and development approval, which seems to address the 3-year waiting period for development approval after a timber harvesting operation. The latest version of the bill also has a new effective date of June 2022. What this means is that local governments with ordinances in place regulating trees on private property (i.e.: landscape codes, UDOs, development ordinances, tree ordinances) but do not have the authority from NC Legislature will have until June 2022 to get the authority approved. This does not guarantee approval and the process may prove more difficult for smaller communities, but it at least gives communities a chance to address the change without losing their current regulations. We are still recommending you reach out to your NC Senators to voice any concerns ( Find Your Legislator). You can use the talking points from our position statement to help with your communication. We will continue to update you on HB 496 as it moves through the NC Senate. |
OLD TREE, NEW HOUSE
The year was 1805. Or was it 1825? Either way, a very long time ago in an area just outside Morganton, NC, a small acorn was beginning to germinate. The soil around this acorn was porous with plenty of available sunlight, rainfall, water and oxygen, the perfect spot for an oak tree. The taproot grew down into the soil to help stabilize the seedling and the shoot grew up to start its lifelong journey towards capturing the sun’s mighty energy. Several years passed and a farm was built, or cleared, near the oak sapling and the oak became part of the landscape surrounding the farmhouse. The oak grew as humans started to change the land, sometimes negatively affecting the immediate resources available to trees. As time went on the farmer grew fond of the oak, which supplied shade, acorns, and plenty of fun for the children as they climbed and swung from the branches. The oak continued to grow for the next hundred years until the trunk measured over eight feet in diameter and the canopy was over 100 ft tall. The farm was abandoned in the late 1900s and the oak continued to grow and thrive.
A new owner bought the farm and wanted to modernized the buildings and rejuvenate the farmland into horse pastures, but keep the mighty oak. The new owner did not consult with an arborist or a forester, but only with building contractors and the result was not good. The oak sat quiet as huge machines and excavators crushed and ripped its’ roots driving back and forth to the farmhouse carrying drywall, lumber, and new windows. The oak watched as the gutters were diverted and trenched right through it’s rootzone. The once perfect soil was now compacted into a clay roadway surrounding the oak and water and resources were beginning to have a huge impact on this giant tree’s health. Materials were stored up against the trunk and leached harmful chemicals into the ground where the oak now had limited space and resources.
Two years after the ongoing construction the oak was looking very unhealthy and one of the horse trainers suggested an arborist be brought in to help. After two more years of soil aeration, pruning treatments, compost tea, and a 100 ft diameter mulch bed, the oak began to bounce back. Protect your resources and better yet, ask an expert about protecting your resources. This oak was lucky, but many of our great giants are meeting worse fates as the trend of building new houses and renovating old ones continues to push forward. Remember the trees and know the roots.
Scott Abla
Co-Owner, Black Mountain Arborists
Board Certified Master Arborist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
