Like many other communities across Virginia, the City of Harrisonburg has embraced the full circle management concept of their urban forest resources. Unlike most other Virginia municipalities, the EAB (emerald ash borer) has certainly tested the limits of their capacity to loyally adhere to this resource management system.
To date the city has removed over 1100 dead ash trees from municipal properties. These trees ranged from not even firewood size to behemoths with logs of sawtimber size and quality. Staff from the Department of Public Works were able to appropriately use these for a variety of products including wood chips in a bioreactor, firewood for sale on public auction, lumber for municipal projects, and also auctioning some of the logs which are purchased by local wood businesses.
Completing the full circle management of the urban forest, Harrisonburg plants hundreds of new trees each year in an effort to replenish the canopy cover that was lost to ash mortality and also to improve the diversity of their urban forests.
Visit the Harrisonburg Urban Forest-Urban Wood website for more information about their program >
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City of Fredericksburg, VA
Fredericksburg Virginia has a truly amazing full circle management urban forestry program! Unique to this city located midway between Richmond and Washington is their powerhouse Tree Fredericksburg volunteer program which provides hours of time and thousands of dollars to assist the municipality with tree care.
Launched in 2002, Tree Fredericksburg has grown into a vibrant organization of well-trained volunteers who plant, mulch, water and prune younger trees throughout the city. Additionally, Tree Fredericksburg helps to sponsor Arbor Day & Earth Day events and conducts tree giveaway programs for city residents. This volunteer program has saved the city thousands of dollars each year in tree care costs and has made Fredericksburg one of the most beautiful and vibrant Tree City USA programs!
Additionally, Fredericksburg has one of the strongest, ever-expanding urban wood economies in Virginia! The city is home for several urban wood businesses which can be found in the VDOF's Urban Wood Business Directory
Fredericksburg is also home to a hands-on, wood skills teaching facility known as The Workshop Under the watchful and skillful eye of Tim Eggers and other instructors, people can plan and make the furniture piece of their dreams on site, selecting from an amazing wood inventory which includes local trees with a story!
Additional information about Tree Fredericksburg and the city's urban forestry program can be found at:
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Full Circle: A Sustainable Approach
to Urban Lumber!
San Luis Obispo, CA
The Full Circle project, funded through an Urban and Community Forestry grant from CAL FIRE, has multiple facets that excite and inspire us on a daily basis. Starting with a robust tree planting initiative spearheaded by ECOSLO, and leading to salvaging and processing urban logs (keeping them out of the landfill) by Deadwood Revival Design, this project leads to an increased supply of beautiful urban lumber in the local market and the creation of incredible heirloom furniture with a local connection to our wonderful community.
Click here for more details >>
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