Remember how exciting it was to use a microscope for the first time? I remember looking at our own hair in fifth grade (I went to a hippy dippy school where we could design many of our own experiments, and we were obsessed with the idea of conditioner causing “buildup,” which, is that even really… More
We are often asked for research results documenting the measurable benefits of using Silva Cells to manage stormwater on site, so we are thrilled to announce that two Silva Cell systems were installed for this purpose during the summer of 2012 in Wilmington, NC. They are being monitored by an excellent research team at Dr…. More
It’s been over a month since Hurricane Sandy whirled up the eastern seaboard, but its effects remain. Hundreds of thousands of people are still reeling and recovering. I’m from New York City, so for me it was intensely upsetting and scary to see my hometown underwater. On a phone call with my brother shortly after the… More
It’s a common refrain in arboriculture, and you’ve probably heard it before (maybe even here): plant the right tree in the right place. It seems so sensible. It is sensible! But it’s an incomplete rule of thumb, because it doesn’t acknowledge one of the fundamental challenges of growing mature trees in urban environments: the need… More
Today’s post from monthly guest author Ellyn Shea is about a truly important, but often overlooked, issue: protecting existing trees during construction. I’m a sucker for success stories, and this is a great one. -LM Every time we lose a mature tree, we lose those benefits. A young replacement tree takes up to 30 years… More
This video by Australian company Veritasium about how trees create their mass – trunks, branches, so on – was originally linked to by NPR-crush Robert Krulwich. Would it be too embarrassing to admit that I learned something from it?
This post is by Bert Cregg and was originally posted on The Garden Professors. It is reprinted with permission from the author (thanks, Bert!). Initial estimates from insurers indicate that Superstorm Sandy may be the second costliest storm in US history. A large portion of the damage attributable to Sandy and several of the deaths associated… More
After a big windstorm, we who work with and love trees take note of the damage with trepidation. Large trees that have split apart or lost a major part of their structure often cannot be saved and must be removed. Fortunately tomorrow’s urban forest has a better chance – if we act today!
While green roofs have been used for the past 30-40 years in Europe, the spread of green roof technology in North America is much more recent. Need for low impact stormwater management techniques is one of the biggest drivers for green roof technology in North America.
Sometimes, in order to bring new understanding to an issue and cut through the meaningful-but-sometimes-numbing-data, you need to reframe it. There are so many ways that big trees enhance life for people and other living things: air quality, safety, water quality, lower temperatures. These cross environmental, development, and design boundaries. All are fundamentally public health… More
In part 1 of this series, I summarized some of the lessons we learned from those people on the forefront of setting minimum soil volume policies. In today’s article, I will summarize how actual adopted soil volume policies compare to the minimum soil volumes trees need according to research studies.
Trees need an adequate volume of rootable, oxygen-rich soil to thrive, and minimum soil volume policies are a powerful tool for arborists and other advocates to leverage better growing conditions for trees, especially in urban areas. In preparation for Peter MacDonagh’s presentation at the 2012 ISA conference in Portland, OR, “Leveraging Healthy Urban Forests with… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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