West Atlanta Watershed Alliance and National Wildlife Federation are excited to present the 5^th Annual Urban Forestry Festival. This event invites all families and friends to the Outdoor Activity Center on Saturday, April 2, 2011 from 11am-4pm to celebrate Southwest Atlanta’s urban forests. The festival is free to the public, so bring your family to learn more about Atlanta’s incredible urban forest and its wildlife inhabitants. The festival will feature educational and entertaining exhibits, tours of the 26-acre OAC urban forest, food, giveaways, and hands-on activities and demonstrations by WAWA, NWF’s Earth Tomorrow program and their partners. Transportation to the OAC, located at 1442 Richland Road, S.W. in Atlanta, GA 30310, is easily accessible via MARTA. RSVP to info.wawaonline@gmail.com to be entered into our special drawing. For more information, please visit www.wawaonline.org or call 404-752-5385 or 404-876-8733 ext. 230.

The Trees Atlanta TreeKeepers Certification Program is Trees Atlanta’s volunteer training and certification program that applies skill, appreciation, and pride to the stewardship of our urban forest.  TreeKeepers consists of seven workshops, including indoor & outdoor activities, presentations, and engaging hands-on demonstrations.  Each three-hour session takes place at the Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center, and is taught by Trees Atlanta staff or community tree professionals.  Upon completion of the program, which includes volunteering 24 hours to tree projects, graduates will receive an official TreeKeepers hat, a native tree, a training manual, and a signed TreeKeepers certificate, as well as opportunities to put their new knowledge into action.  Register now!

Training will take place on the following dates from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. with a light breakfast served beforehand: August 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and September 11th, 18th, and 25th.  The cost is $65 and TreeKeepers will receive an official TreeKeepers hat, a manual, a native tree, and a signed certificate when they have volunteered 24 hours to tree projects, whether with Trees Atlanta or another organization.

To assist toward the completion of these hours, Trees Atlanta has regular planting, tree care, and forest restoration projects where TreeKeeper leadership is valued. Additionally, TreeKeepers may choose to work independently in their own community.

Don’t forget to register now! You can also contact Bethany at Trees Atlanta at 404-681-4898.

I wanted to share info on a new social networking community for tree enthusiasts called The Grove (www.AmericanGrove.org/thegrove). The site launched this spring to encourage families to plant more trees in their neighborhoods, and we have our own community on the site – the Georgia Grove (http://www.americangrove.org/ga/).

The goal of the site is to inspire people to plant trees to counteract our shrinking urban tree canopy. The Grove helps potential tree planters get started by including a tree match tool that pairs tree meanings with life events — such as the birth of a child — or to honor the memory of a loved one. The site also shares tree care and planting tips and articles about sustainable living. Visitors to The Grove can even upload pictures with captions of trees they planted.

I hope this site can serve as a fun tool to help us keep Atlanta green.

Me, too!

Trees Atlanta invites you to join them for their second annual "City in the Arboretum Conference" this year with a theme of "Bringing the Arboretum Home." Click the image above to register!

Atlanta is known as “The City of Trees” thanks to our canopy of ancient oaks and mature trees, but we still have work to do to expand our greenspaces and plant and preserve native tree species. At this second annual “City in the Arboretum Conference: Bringing the Arboretum Home,” Trees Atlanta will share with guests how to do just that. 25 years ago, Trees Atlanta began their mission to plant trees throughout the city and, as a part of that, have developed seven neighborhood arboreta for educational, scientific, and aesthetic purposes.

Here is more information about the goals of both the Arboreta Program and the Arboretum Conference:

The goals of the Arboreta Program:

• To educate the public about trees and tree species.
• To increase the biodiversity of our urban forest.
• To create new citizen advocates for trees.

The goals of the Conference:

• Share information, tools, and resources to implement arboreta projects and support Trees Atlanta’s mission.
• Connect citizens, neighborhood arboretum leaders, and city leaders through facilitated discussion and networking. We will create a cohort of tree advocates and supporters!

The objectives of the Conference:

• Provide background and accomplishments of BeltLine Arboretum and Neigborhood Arboreta programs.
• Discuss opportunities for getting involved and upcoming events (such as tree walks, maintenance days, and more).
• Learn how to leverage a neighborhood arboretum as a neighborhood asset and attraction.
• Understand arboreta themes and collections, and how to properly document them.
• Discuss the importance of biodiversity.
• Learn basic tree care needs.
• Hear from keynote speakers and professional horticulturalists.
• Facilitate learning, dialog, and feedback that address current and future program needs. Arboreta leaders will exchange successes and challenges in an open forum.
• Take a walking tour of the Inman Park arboretum.

The Arboretum Conference will take place on May 22nd, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. You can get all the details and register online right now on the Trees Atlanta website!

Thanks to Robby Astrove with Trees Atlanta for sending this along!

Selections include apple, fig, plum and persimmon trees; olive trees; blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry bushes; pineapple guave; muscadine vines; pomegranate / quince; strawberry plants; and much more. Check out the full catalog of fruit trees and bushes here!

• What: The Virginia Highland Hard-to-Find Edible Plants Sale
• When: Saturday, March 13th, 2010 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (or pre-order online through March 12th)
• Where: At New Highland Park at the intersection of St. Charles Place and North Highland, across from Belly (Atlanta, 30306)

I’ll be ordering my fruit bushes later today – for now, it’s time for me to head out and play in my own garden for a bit!

Fernbank Science Center Arbor Day Tree Sale

From 8 a.m. until noon, the Fernbank Science Center will hold a plant sale with trees and shrubs in honor of Arbor Day. The sale will only go until noon, so make sure you get there in time. Click here for a map of the Science Center’s location. Their plant sales are usually in the back parking lot to the right of the building, but if you have any questions, you can contact Mary Larsen, Volunteer Coordinator at 678-874-7116 or larsenm@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us.

Atlanta’s Champion Tree Search & Walk

Calling all Atlanta Champion Trees! Trees Atlanta is now accepting big tree nominations for the Atlanta Champion Tree Search. Unsure how to evaluate a big tree? This weekend on February 13, 2010, from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., Robby of Trees Atlanta along with Fernbank Museum of Natural History will be conducting a guided walk through the Fernbank forest to practice identifying and measuring trees! Please RSVP for the workshop by emailing Robby at robby@treesatlanta.org.

Other Arbor Day events

The tree celebration continues with Trees Atlanta’s free-and-open-to-the-public Arbor Day Photography Exhibit on Friday, February 19, 2010 from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Photo will feature tree images by noted Atlanta photographers Kathryn Kolb and David Knox. So mark your calendar and head to the Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center, 225 Chester Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30316. The opening will serve as the official launch party for their”My Favorite Tree” Photo Contest, sponsored by a grant from the Georgia Forestry Commission. Check the Trees Atlanta website for info on applications and contest details – coming soon!

• What: The Incredible-Edible-Grow-It-Yourself Fruit Tree, Vine and Berry Bush Sale
• When: Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 9 a.m. – noon
• Where: The Atlanta Community Food Bank at 970 Jefferson Street, Atlanta, 30317 (map it!)
• Why: The Atlanta Community Food Bank is hosting this plant sale to benefit the Atlanta Local Food Initiative
• Payment: Cash or check only please

Experts will be on hand at the plant and tree sale to answer any questions you may have and to help you learn the basics of planting, pruning and caring for your fruit trees, berries and vines.

Not sure how to to go about planting and caring for an edible tree? After the sale, join Robby Astrove of Trees Atlanta for a Community Orchard Planting in East Atlanta. Here’s a snippet from the Georgia Organics website:

As a follow up to the Incredible Edible Fruit Tree Sale, join Georgia Organics and Trees Atlanta for a “serve and learn” at Burgess Peterson Academy (map it!). Come to learn more about farm to school efforts at Atlanta Public Schools and then get down and dirty while learning about proper tree planting and care. Gloves and tools will be provided.

Click here for more information and to register for this free gardening workshop!

If you’re on the fence about whether to plant edible trees and bushes (or your ability to keep them thriving, a big concern of some people’s!), Farmer D Organics can help you out with a Fruiting Tree and Berry Workshop on Janaury 19, 2010, before the sale. The class is 1 to 3 p.m. at the Briarcliff Road location. $10 per person.

And when harvest rolls around and you have more fruit than you know what to do with, check out Concrete Jungle – an organization dedicated to gathering unused fruit from residential yards around metro Atlanta and north Georgia and donating it to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Funny how things come full circle!

Even little Christmas trees (like mine above) need to be mulched! You can recycle your Atlanta Christmas tree with Keep Atlanta Beautiful on January 9th, 2010.

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to recycling your Christmas tree this year. Keep Atlanta Beautiful invites metro Atlanta and Decatur residents to transform their Christmas trees into mulch this year with their annual “Bring One for the Chipper” program. As an added bonus, after saving your tree from a sad fate in a landfill, you can even request a pile of mulch for your own yard! Here’s how, direct from the Keep Atlanta Beautiful website:

The mulch from these trees has been used for playgrounds, local government beautification projects, and residential yards. The high quality, weed-free and pest-free mulch can be obtained for your large-scale landscaping project free of charge. Contact Davey Tree Service at 770-451-7911 for more information or download the Mulch Request Form.

This year’s event will take place at two Home Depots here in Atlanta from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 9th, 2010:

• 650 Ponce de Leon Avenue (map it!)
• 2525 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta (map it!)

And Keep Atlanta Beautiful would like to extend a big thanks to Boy Scout Troop 298 for their service in helping unload the trees this year!

Don’t live in Atlanta? Just click here for the Keep Georgia Beautiful website where you can type in your zip code to find a recycling drop off point near you.

So come be one of thousands of Georgians recycling their trees into useful organic material and keeping them out of a landfill! Peggy Denby, the Executive Director of Keep Atlanta Beautiful, thanks you and encourages you to spread the word! You can also check out their website for more information.

Volunteers came out to plant native Georgia trees in Edgewood with Trees Atlanta!

This morning, dozens of volunteers braved the windy, chilly weather to come out to Whitefoord Elementary School in Edgewood to help Trees Atlanta plant over 50 new, native Georgia trees around the playground and surrounding streets (at least there was no snow as predicted). After a demonstration on how to properly plant a large, 15+ gallon tree from Trees Atlanta leader Greg, students from the school, volunteer groups, individuals, and Trees Atlanta regular volunteers grabbed shovels and pick axes and starting moving dirt. Blake, who’s been with Trees Atlanta for about a year, led the project and helped coordinate our volunteer groups, distribute the trees, and run the water truck (fed by the huge rain collection systems at the headquarter’s LEED-certified building). Angel Poventud, one of the most active volunteers with both Trees Atlanta and the Atlanta BeltLine, was also on-hand to guide the tree planting.

After we finished at Whitefoord, we moved down Hosea Williams to Coan Middle School where we planting a long line of trees behind the school. I also discovered an Edgewood community garden that I didn’t know about before (more to come on that soon).

Do you know how much it costs to plant each tree with Trees Atlanta? Between the cost of the tree itself, the watering and mulching for three years after planting, and pruning for five years, it all adds up to about $150 per sapling. Not too bad considering that spans five years worth of work and is an invaluable resource for Atlanta’s urban tree canopy and air quality!

If you’re interested in volunteering with Trees Atlanta, please visit www.TreesAtlanta.org and sign up to receive Susan’s weekly emails that will let you know where the projects are for that weekend. Projects are every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

• What: Fall in the 4th with live music, food & drinks, an artists’ market, and more!
• Where: by the Masquerade off of North Avenue and North Angier
• When: September 26th, 2009 from 12 – 7 p.m.
• Why: to raise money for the Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy

The Druid Hills Environmental Club is throwing the second party, which is their 3rd annual fundraiser for Trees Atlanta. Below is an announcement from Matthew Tyler of the Druid Hills Environmental Club:

I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be a benefit concert for Trees Atlanta, Fall Fest, on Saturday, September 26th at the Trees Atlanta headquarters! There will be a lot of great local bands food from Raging Burrito, and presentations from several organizations like Green Peace, the Georgia Conservancy, and WonderRoot. All ages are welcome (we are trying to get as much age diversity as possible this year), the music is family-friendly and there will be a lot of fun things to do for everyone. This is our third year and we are expecting 250+ people this year!

Here is the facebook page! Be sure to become a fan and be on the lookout for the event invitation and share it with everyone you know!

• What: Druid Hills Environmental Club’s Fall Fest with live music
• Where: Trees Atlanta’s Kendeda Center on Chester Avenue (map it!)
• When: September 26th, 2009 from 3 – 7:30 p.m.
• Cost: $10
• Why: to support Trees Atlanta and making Atlanta a greener, more environmentally-friendly city!

Check out the Nature Conservancy's map of preserved lands and protected waters across the globe!

You can learn more about the Nature Conservancy and their initiatives on their website by clicking here! Their mission, as stated on their site, is:

“to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.”

Read more about local Georgia forests and timber and well as the art of timber framing and the Holder Brothers on their blog here!

• What: Rain barrel workshop with Trees Atlanta (15 volunteers needed to make rain barrels!)
• When: Saturday, May 9th, 2009 from 9 AM to Noon
• Where: Trees Atlanta’s Kendeda Center on Chester Avenue (map it!)
• Bonus! Buy a rain barrel yourself for $30! (one per partcipant)

Please email Susan Pierce at susan@treesatlanta.org if you want to help.

• When: Saturday, April 18 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Where: The Freedom Bridge at DeKalb Avenue with lunch and music afterwards at the Water Tower area across from StudioPlex!
• Sign-up: register online now at www.KeepAtlantaBeautiful.com
• Team Leaders needed! If you’re interested in leading a group of 15-20 volunteers for the BeltLine clean-up, please email Sharron at Sharron@beltlinepartnership.org. This job would include providing instructions, reviewing safety procedures, and answering questions and possibly involved in a group that handles special tasks that come up during the clean-up.

And what should be going on at the same time but a Trees Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum planting?! So if planting trees around Atlanta is more your style that picking up trash and cutting down kudzu, then you can join Trees Atlanta, Atlanta Audubon, and EarthShare Georgia for a “Love Your BeltLine” planting! Stay tuned for more details!

It’s Our BeltLine. Do Your Part. Get Connected!

Another planting by Trees Atlanta on Cleburne Terrace in Poncey-Highland

Arnold loves the new trees and will be sure to keep them well hydrated in the Georgia drought

“Another tree planting by Trees Atlanta” – this time right next to my office at the zac team! Trees Atlanta has been planting a few dozen trees in the area of Ponce de Leon and North Highland Avenue, most recently on Cleburne Terrace that runs between the Majestic Diner and the zac team. We like to take a quick break from work from time to time to walk Zac’s dog (and our team mascot), the beagle Arnold. He likes the trees, too.

Trees Atlanta is a local organization that is dedicated to “improving our urban environment by planting & conserving trees.” You can volunteer with them every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (with additional volunteer opportunites available, too), just check out the Trees Atlanta website and sign up for Susan Pierce’s weekly email with updates!

Planting along the BeltLine Arboretum:
Susan and crew will be planting in the West End along the West Connection and Warehouse Row segments of the BeltLine Arboretum. Come help complete the next segment of our 22-mile long arboretum! And check out the first completed segment of the BeltLine and the arboretum as it exists right now!
Map it here!

Planting in Morningside Nature Preserve:
Blake will be leading an awesome invasive plant removal project in MNP. Bring your vengeful side and get ready to destroy some bad plants! Wear long sleeves and pants and sturdy shoes. And come back for a visit along the walking trails! You can also click to read more about the Morningside Nature Preserve off of Wildwood, Lenox, and Wellbourne!
Map it here!

Planting at North Morningside Presbyterian Church:
Not the usual planting, we’ll be helping the church install trees and a few shrubs in memory of Trees Atlanta supporter Bill Welch.
Map it here!

Every year, the Fernbank Science Center puts on a fantastic tree sale in the garden out back. Details on this year’s sale:

When: Saturday, February 21st, 2009 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: The Fernbank Science Center
156 Heaton Park Drive, NE Atlanta, GA 30307
Website: http://fsc.fernbank.edu/treesale.htm (check back for the full list of trees and shrubs for sale – it will be published within the next week or so!)

And while you’re there, check out the walking trails in the forest! The woods are open Monday through Friday from 2-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Sunday). And everyone loves the Planetarium! Click here for the Planetarium schedule.

I’ve been to many shows in that planetarium and took several plant and animal biology classes in those woods in high school and elementary school (it helps when you go to Fernbank Elementary School across the street ).