Climbers' Corner • Tree Academy
Monday • Tuesday • Wednesday
Energy-Saving Tree Planting in a Tornado-Devastated Community: A Unique Opportunity for Regreening, Community Investment, and Micro-Climate Research
Summary
This presentation will outline the effort to plant trees in a community devastated by an EF-3 tornado in June 2011, focusing on the placement of trees on private property in locations that would maximize the energy savings benefit of the new tree canopy. The session will detail the project from its inception to completion, and provide an overview of the scientific research that is planned for these new trees, including determining the energy-saving benefits provided by the new canopy and changes in the micro-climate, as well as the long term ecosystem benefits that will be produced by the trees.
A review of the logistical implementation of the planting of over 1,100 large shade trees on private property, over a five-week period in mid-summer, will also be detailed. An overview of the efforts that were undertaken to introduce various neighborhoods to the importance of regreening efforts in the community, as well as ‘right of entry’, maintenance and monitoring agreements that were completed with the private property owners, also will be presented.
This cooperative project was undertaken by the City of Springfield, Massachusetts and Regreen Springfield, a community non-profit that is working to improve the urban forest of the city. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided funding for this initiative.
Presenters
David Bloniarz, Ph.D. is an urban forester with the USDA Forest Service Northern Reserach Station, Amherst, Massachusetts. He is the Project Director of the Urban Natural Resources Institute (UNRI), which aims to bring the latest tools, technology and research findings, related to urban natural resources and urban forestry, to a wide-range of users including researchers, professional practitioners and the general public.
Alex R. Sherman, M.S. (co-presenter) is the Assistant City Forester for Springfield, Massachusetts and an ISA Certified Arborist.
Climbers' Corner • Tree Academy
Monday • Tuesday • Wednesday