Supporting Urban Forestry
Local Nonprofits Are Boosting Tree Growth in Georgia’s Cities
Fall 2023
By T.A. DeFeo
When many Georgians think of the state’s forests, they might turn to the North Georgia mountains or SouthGeorgia. But there is another forest environment, and it’s hiding in plain sight: urban areas.
“Forests come in all different types,” said Greg Levine, executive director of Trees Atlanta. “You have completely 100% natural forest ecosystems that are pretty much intact to what they were hundreds of years ago. And then you’ve got urban forests, where one of the major components is people and development. “I think people take trees for granted, unfortunately,” Levine added.
“I think a lot of people know the value; it’s just not top of mind. Or the trees are something that the neighbor should have or the government should plant. The one thing you can do to improve the environment, the easiest thing to do, is plant trees.”
In Savannah, Zoe Rinker, executive director of the Savannah Tree Foundation, has big dreams, and they’re not just about expanding urban forests but also increasing awareness and access to underserved communities.
The organization is about to launch a community tree nursery, and Rinker wants it to create an apprenticeship pro-gram for people not traditionally represented in arboriculture, including “women and people of color.” She also wants to start a pre-apprenticeship program with local high schools to “expose high school students to this career choice that is lucrative and doesn’t require a college degree.”
The organization started in 1982 amid metro sprawl in Savannah and has planted 5,000 trees; Rinker hopes to plant another 5,000 by 2030.
“Hopefully, all of those things and all those successes continue to drive the larger conversation about why trees are so important in our region, not just from a commercial forestry perspective, because they certainly are, not just from a tourist perspective, because that is also a huge portion of what has built Savannah, but also from a community and social perspective and what it means for us and our health as a community,” Rinker said.
The Current Landscape
For Nick DiLuzio, vice president of the Georgia Forestry Foundation (GFF), the hope is that more people understand the many benefits of trees and the role they play in Georgia. GFF’s mission is to ensure the long-term sustainability of Georgia’s privately owned working forest by reconnecting youth and adults to the land.
“With 60-plus percent of Georgia’s population living in urban areas, primarily Atlanta, that disconnect between people and the land continues to grow and expand,” DiLuzio said.
Urban forestry and forest nonprofit groups can help serve as the conduit to the urban audiences and build a bridge between urban forestry work and large-scale forestry. “My hope, my dream, is that one day, every Georgian knows that we’re the number-one forestry state in the country,” he added. “That’s something that they should take pride in. We’re not there yet. We’ve got a long way to go. But my hope is one day I’ll be giving a presentation, and everybody will raise their hand when I say, ‘How many people knew that we are the number-one forestry state in the country?’”
Groups like the Savannah Tree Foundation, Trees Atlanta and Trees Columbus are helping to change the conversation and beautify their cities. “It’s protecting the trees that we have, and it’s taking that step and making sure that you’re doing your part and... planting trees,” Levine said. “What you do in your downtown sets the precedent for the areas around it. And we’ve already noticed that the neighborhoods adjacent to it also have poor tree coverage compared to the neighborhoods further out. So, improving the canopy in downtown will start improving the canopies in those adjacent neighborhoods.” Building the Perfect Urban Forest Planting trees and expanding canopy coverage may sound simple enough, but creating a sustainable urban forest requires a different approach.
“There are two ways that you can create a sustainable urban forest, and they both have to go hand in hand,” Rinker said. “There’s protecting the trees we have and making sure that existing trees are saved from being cut down or disease or pests. So, there’s maintaining and caring for the trees that exist, but also planting the next generation of trees.
"Cities’ impervious surfaces, including concrete, make for a challenging environment for trees to thrive and survive. Planting trees requires cutting through concrete and working around obstacles, such as fiber optic cables and utility lines.
Despite the challenge, Atlanta, for example, still has roughly 47% tree coverage citywide, but it is much lower— roughly 6% — in Downtown Atlanta. Trees Atlanta wants to increase the canopy in Downtown Atlanta to 20%.
Increasing coverage in dense, urban areas has benefits other than aesthetics, including health benefits for residents. Trees release moisture, cooling the air as well, Levine said, which helps to cool cities.
“Heatstroke in urban areas is the number-one weather killer in our cities,” Levine added. “Trees are the number-one way to mitigate heat islands and the rising temperatures in cities."
“Forests come in all different types,” said Greg Levine, executive director of Trees Atlanta. “You have completely 100% natural forest ecosystems that are pretty much intact to what they were hundreds of years ago. And then you’ve got urban forests, where one of the major components is people and development. “I think people take trees for granted, unfortunately,” Levine added.
“I think a lot of people know the value; it’s just not top of mind. Or the trees are something that the neighbor should have or the government should plant. The one thing you can do to improve the environment, the easiest thing to do, is plant trees.”
In Savannah, Zoe Rinker, executive director of the Savannah Tree Foundation, has big dreams, and they’re not just about expanding urban forests but also increasing awareness and access to underserved communities.
The organization is about to launch a community tree nursery, and Rinker wants it to create an apprenticeship pro-gram for people not traditionally represented in arboriculture, including “women and people of color.” She also wants to start a pre-apprenticeship program with local high schools to “expose high school students to this career choice that is lucrative and doesn’t require a college degree.”
The organization started in 1982 amid metro sprawl in Savannah and has planted 5,000 trees; Rinker hopes to plant another 5,000 by 2030.
“Hopefully, all of those things and all those successes continue to drive the larger conversation about why trees are so important in our region, not just from a commercial forestry perspective, because they certainly are, not just from a tourist perspective, because that is also a huge portion of what has built Savannah, but also from a community and social perspective and what it means for us and our health as a community,” Rinker said.
The Current Landscape
For Nick DiLuzio, vice president of the Georgia Forestry Foundation (GFF), the hope is that more people understand the many benefits of trees and the role they play in Georgia. GFF’s mission is to ensure the long-term sustainability of Georgia’s privately owned working forest by reconnecting youth and adults to the land.
“With 60-plus percent of Georgia’s population living in urban areas, primarily Atlanta, that disconnect between people and the land continues to grow and expand,” DiLuzio said.
Urban forestry and forest nonprofit groups can help serve as the conduit to the urban audiences and build a bridge between urban forestry work and large-scale forestry. “My hope, my dream, is that one day, every Georgian knows that we’re the number-one forestry state in the country,” he added. “That’s something that they should take pride in. We’re not there yet. We’ve got a long way to go. But my hope is one day I’ll be giving a presentation, and everybody will raise their hand when I say, ‘How many people knew that we are the number-one forestry state in the country?’”
Groups like the Savannah Tree Foundation, Trees Atlanta and Trees Columbus are helping to change the conversation and beautify their cities. “It’s protecting the trees that we have, and it’s taking that step and making sure that you’re doing your part and... planting trees,” Levine said. “What you do in your downtown sets the precedent for the areas around it. And we’ve already noticed that the neighborhoods adjacent to it also have poor tree coverage compared to the neighborhoods further out. So, improving the canopy in downtown will start improving the canopies in those adjacent neighborhoods.” Building the Perfect Urban Forest Planting trees and expanding canopy coverage may sound simple enough, but creating a sustainable urban forest requires a different approach.
“There are two ways that you can create a sustainable urban forest, and they both have to go hand in hand,” Rinker said. “There’s protecting the trees we have and making sure that existing trees are saved from being cut down or disease or pests. So, there’s maintaining and caring for the trees that exist, but also planting the next generation of trees.
"Cities’ impervious surfaces, including concrete, make for a challenging environment for trees to thrive and survive. Planting trees requires cutting through concrete and working around obstacles, such as fiber optic cables and utility lines.
Despite the challenge, Atlanta, for example, still has roughly 47% tree coverage citywide, but it is much lower— roughly 6% — in Downtown Atlanta. Trees Atlanta wants to increase the canopy in Downtown Atlanta to 20%.
Increasing coverage in dense, urban areas has benefits other than aesthetics, including health benefits for residents. Trees release moisture, cooling the air as well, Levine said, which helps to cool cities.
“Heatstroke in urban areas is the number-one weather killer in our cities,” Levine added. “Trees are the number-one way to mitigate heat islands and the rising temperatures in cities."
“Trees are the number-one way to mitigate heat islands and the rising temperatures in cities." - Greg Levine, Executive Director, Trees Atlanta
Where Do We Go From Here?
The key to ensuring long-term success is diversity in the types of trees planted. Diverse plantings not only have aesthetic benefits but can help ensure the success of plantings and mitigate issues such as pests and disease. “Between climate change and [Savannah] being a port city, we’re going to have pests and disease,” Rinker said. “The best way to combat that is making sure that we’re educating the public on the different types of trees you can plant — not just crepe myrtles, not just live oaks. There’s a huge species list we can be planting here that will thrive and do well in urban spaces.
"Traditional, non-urban forests have clear, easy-to-understand life cycles. A tree grows using nutrients in the soil that older trees have left behind and it adds nutrients to the soil. Years pass in this symbiotic relationship, then the tree dies off, turning back into the soil and growing new trees.
“That is all broken in urban forests because a tree that comes down is removed; it’s not left there to decompose. Leaves come down; they’re raked away,” Rinker said. “We’re thinking of creative ways that we can complete that cycle by taking it down and even mulching it and using the mulch to go back into the urban trees. It’s not the prettiest mulch, but it’s probably the most nutritious. So, thinking about ways that we can help complete that cycle in the face of the urban landscape is a pretty exciting idea for me.”
Ensuring success moving forward requires organizations to educate and excite the next generations of advocates, whether that’s through apprenticeship programs or ongoing partnerships with local schools. These urban forestry organizations are committed to ensuring that the upcoming generation has the education necessary to maintain and grow urban forests.■
T.A. DeFeo is a freelance writer who has written several books about railroads. He is focused on telling stories, whether they are in Georgia’s forests, along the rails that crisscross this nation or anywhere in between.
The key to ensuring long-term success is diversity in the types of trees planted. Diverse plantings not only have aesthetic benefits but can help ensure the success of plantings and mitigate issues such as pests and disease. “Between climate change and [Savannah] being a port city, we’re going to have pests and disease,” Rinker said. “The best way to combat that is making sure that we’re educating the public on the different types of trees you can plant — not just crepe myrtles, not just live oaks. There’s a huge species list we can be planting here that will thrive and do well in urban spaces.
"Traditional, non-urban forests have clear, easy-to-understand life cycles. A tree grows using nutrients in the soil that older trees have left behind and it adds nutrients to the soil. Years pass in this symbiotic relationship, then the tree dies off, turning back into the soil and growing new trees.
“That is all broken in urban forests because a tree that comes down is removed; it’s not left there to decompose. Leaves come down; they’re raked away,” Rinker said. “We’re thinking of creative ways that we can complete that cycle by taking it down and even mulching it and using the mulch to go back into the urban trees. It’s not the prettiest mulch, but it’s probably the most nutritious. So, thinking about ways that we can help complete that cycle in the face of the urban landscape is a pretty exciting idea for me.”
Ensuring success moving forward requires organizations to educate and excite the next generations of advocates, whether that’s through apprenticeship programs or ongoing partnerships with local schools. These urban forestry organizations are committed to ensuring that the upcoming generation has the education necessary to maintain and grow urban forests.■
T.A. DeFeo is a freelance writer who has written several books about railroads. He is focused on telling stories, whether they are in Georgia’s forests, along the rails that crisscross this nation or anywhere in between.
|
Georgia Forestry Magazine is published by HL Strategy, an integrated marketing and communications firm focused on our nation's biggest challenges and opportunities. Learn more at hlstrategy.com
|
|
|