April 2024

Urban Tree Risk Assessment- Perceptions, Reality, and Reliability. (Part 3)

Dr. Andrew Koeser

University of Florida

(To read Part 1 and 2, see our February 2024 and March 2024 issues.)

Lesson Four: It is extremely rare for a tree to harm a person, but it is near certain a person will harm a tree - often out of misplaced fear.

Death by tree is rare. The story about the child in New York that started me on this journey was newsworthy because it was such an uncommon and tragic event. However, statistically, U.S. residents face a significantly higher risk of death from bee stings, slips and falls within their homes, or traffic accidents compared to tree-related fatalities. Interestingly, despite the prevalence of these latter situations, they are often accepted with greater ease due to their familiarity.

Conversely, urban trees frequently face an unfortunate end due to vandalism, development projects, challenging growing conditions, and unwarranted safety concerns. This trend is particularly concerning considering that mature trees offer the greatest ecological benefits. Therefore, it's crucial to prioritize responsible management and avoid unnecessary removal of trees based on unfounded fear.

Lesson Five: We need more research!

Our global literature search for post-storm data sets yielded only a dozen or so relevant studies focused on urban trees. Even within this limited pool, less than half included data on defects and their impact on storm failure. A significant portion of the defects currently assessed within our profession remain unstudied. Our industry is doing what it can in this absence of research, but we can surely improve our practices with more information covering a wider range of storms, species, and conditions.



The TREE Fund plays a critical role in this pursuit. They stand out as a consistent and dedicated supporter of applied arboriculture and urban forestry research, particularly studies related to tree biomechanics, storm management, and risk assessment. Their unwavering support over the past decade and a half has been instrumental to my work, and their continued contributions are essential for fulfilling the TREE Fund's vital mission.

Lead Donors

We are deeply grateful to the following people and organizations whose accumulated contributions to TREE Fund in 2024 surpassed $2,500 or more as of March:

International Society of Arboriculture

Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC

See the full list of lead donors who make our vital tree research and education work possible on our website.

TREE Fund Liaison Spotlight

Every ISA chapter recruits a volunteer to serve as their TREE Fund Liaison. These volunteers spend extra time attending meetings, spreading the word about TREE Fund happenings, events, and news, and often being the point person for TREE Fund fundraisers at their local chapters.

We'd like to highlight these wonderful volunteers and let you know a little more about them.

New York Liaison: Lori Brockelbank, Liaison Committee Chair

Q: Work title, business, and numbers of years as a liaison.

A: Area Manager, Davey Resource Group. 8 years as liaison.

Q: Why do you enjoy being an arborist?

A: Making communities and individuals happy through the benefits of trees.  

Q: Why did you choose to be the liaison for your chapter?

A: I wanted to support the TREE Fund more after completing a couple rides on the Tour des Trees. The ride changed me physically, mentally, and spiritually. I wanted to encourage others to ride plus support the many great scholarships and grants through the TREE Fund.

Q: Why do you feel the need to communicate TREE Fund’s mission and events to chapter members?

A: I don’t think our members truly understand all that the TREE Fund does and by sharing the information they will support it more during our fundraising events.

Q: What would you like to learn more about in your field or what research would you like to see done?  

A: I would like to learn more about the healing of wounds on trees. More and more of our trees are being damaged in urban settings, learning how they heal and if there is anything we can do to save them would be useful.  

Q: Why is new research important to you?

A: This is why I love arboriculture, it is always changing with new research and understanding. What we think is impossible today could be possible tomorrow.

Ride With Us In New England! Tour des Trees 2024

We are looking forward to a beautiful route at this year's Tour des Trees in New England and we want to see you join us!

Join your fellow tree enthusiasts for five days of riding, September 22 to 28, and join us in spreading the word about tree research and education. Our journey this year will start with a dinner at the Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens in Stamford, CT where we will celebrate ISA's 100th anniversary in the place where it all started.

See our website for the latest information about where we'll be and what we'll be doing.

Registration and information can be found at www.treefund.org/tourdestrees.

Can't join us in New England? Show your support for TREE Fund by registering for the Virtual Tour des Trees at home and completing your fitness goals on your own time. See website for details.

Be a Tour des Trees Sponsor and Show Your Support

As a nonprofit organization, we depend upon the generosity of our corporate sponsors and individual donors.

Tour des Trees sponsors have the ability to interact directly with riders and community members during the Tour and show that tree research is important to them.

If you or your company would like more information on becoming a TREE Fund or Tour des Trees sponsor, please contact Paul at pputman@treefund.org or Jonathan at jcain@treefund.org for more information or to see a sponsor kit. 

Free Webinar Series

Back again this year, TREE Fund is proud to partner with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to bring you free education offerings.

Next Webinar

July 23, 2024. Noon CT.

Presenter: Jose Delpiano

Presentation: Computer Vision for Hazard Tree Identification and Assessment

Registration will be available two weeks prior to the webinar. See our Webinar page for more information. https://treefund.org/webinars

TREE Fund’s 1-hour webinars are free and offer 1.0 CEU credit for live broadcasts from the International Society of Arboriculture and the Society of American Foresters. Registration and information will become available on our website approximately two weeks before each webinar date.

Upcoming Webinars (registration opens about two weeks prior)

• July 2024. Jose Delpiano. Computer Vision for Hazard Tree Identification and Assessment
• November 2024. Dr. Greg Dahl. Tree Caused Outages – What we know and what we have learned.

Missed a webinar? Watch it anytime on our website.

CEU Credit for Recorded Webinar

TREE Fund offers ISA CEU credits for one recorded webinar: "Loading of a Tie-in Point While Climbing." If you missed this webinar, you can now watch the recording and earn ISA CEU credits by completing a 20 question quiz with 80% accuracy. Learn more on our website.

TREE Fund

Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund

1755 Park St. Suite #200, Naperville, IL 60563

(630) 369-8300

treefund@treefund.org

www.treefund.org

TREE Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to support scientific discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry.

TREE Fund recently earned our 2024 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency! Check out our nonprofit profile to keep up to date with our impact. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/shared/17bf1c65-c913-4096-8695-11f0dc3fa73f.

Keep this link handy, we want to make sure you always have the information you need to support our work with trust and confidence.