Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 3 years, you know that California is having a major drought. According to the Institute for Public Policy, the three-year period between 2011 and 2014 were the driest on record since record keeping began in 1895, made worse by record high temperatures in 2014. It’s… More
Authorized by Congress in 1996, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, DC is a groundbreaking project. Following nearly 20 years of development and construction, it is the first memorial on the National Mall to be dedicated to an African American, and one of only a few dedicated to non-presidents. The site, a… More
Research shows that tree stormwater control measures (SCMs) provide excellent stormwater benefits. With trees, however, come leaves – and leaf litter that falls on impervious street surfaces can actually add unwanted nutrients to stormwater runoff (leaf litter provides many benefits on pervious surfaces). The contribution of leaf litter to nutrients in stormwater runoff is more… More
What’s happening in Texas? As far as we can tell, a lot. The Lone Star state is making some huge investments in sustainable development, including green infrastructure. L. Peter MacDonagh, FASLA – who has visited the state many times over the years, and twice in the last few months to speak about using trees and soils… More
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS) – aka drones – are all over the news. As they get lighter and more affordable, the applications for their use widen. Brian Ritter, an ISA Certified Arborist, Registered Forester, and current PhD candidate in Forest Resources at Clemson University, studied their applications in urban forest inventories, summarizing his research in… More
Located at the base of the Rocky Mountain foothills and home to the main campus of the University of Colorado, the City of Boulder is a vibrant town with a long history of smart growth, citizen driven investment in public spaces, and alternative transportation such as bike lanes and pedestrian-only thoroughfares. In recent years a… More
OpenTreeMaps are collaborative, crowd-sourced projects where citizens help inventory urban trees, learn about the environmental benefits trees provide and explore nature in their city. Kelaine Ravdin, owner of Urban Ecos, has worked as the project lead on OpenTreeMap projects across California, including Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Kelaine’s work blends a deep… More
In February I had the opportunity to speak with David Dockter, an arborist with the Department of Planning and Community Environment and Public Works in the city of Palo Alto, CA. As someone expert in trees who works within the building permit and planning department role. Dave has a unique perspective on working with developers… More
Humans have been managing plants for thousands of years – watering, saving seeds, protecting plants from herbivores. We began learning about horticulture initially through observation. Some of our observations were correct, such as which plants needed lots of sun and which could grow in the shade. Others, such as adding sugar to the soil for… More
Regular readers may have followed our articles on the monitoring results of the two Silva Cell systems in Wilmington, North Carolina by Dr. Bill Hunt’s lab. Jonathan Page is an Extension Engineer in Dr. Hunt’s lab and was involved in the data collection, analysis, and writing for this project. He holds a B.S. degree in Civil… More
I recently presented a webinar where I discussed three high-impact design decisions that affect long-term tree performance: tree spacing, sizing the tree opening, and water harvesting into soil below paving. Attendees asked a lot of good questions, and by far the most asked one had to do with the use of tree grates. As anyone… More
Cities are the cultural and economic centres of the world whose progress depends upon effective management and evidence-based policy making.” – ISO 37120 Briefing Note “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not” – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax Cities are growing rapidly and we all have a… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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