Archive for November 9th, 2011
San Jose trucker driving nation’s official Christmas tree from California to Washington D.C. – San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19290972
San Jose trucker driving nation’s official Christmas tree from California to Washington D.C.
Slender and clean-shaven, Duane Brusseau won’t be mistaken for Santa Claus as he drives across America this month to make a special Christmas delivery.
But the 65-year-old retired truck driver from San Jose is sure to bring some holiday joy all his own as he guides a new Mack truck splashed in green and red from Sonora to the nation’s capital.
Brusseau has the unique job of hauling a 60-foot Sierra white fir from the Stanislaus National Forest outside of Sonora to Washington D.C., where it will take its place this holiday season as the “People’s Tree” on the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
Along the way, Brusseau and an entourage, including wife Bobbie and armed federal agents, will stop at a number of small towns and big cities to show off the tree at parades, swap meets and skating rinks.
“I feel fortunate to have this” job, said Brusseau, who is a volunteer driver. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To tour the country for a worthy cause and meet all these people and make a lot of little kids happy, it’s kind of overwhelming.
“I’m really thrilled about this whole thing.”
The holiday tour unofficially kicked off Saturday as the 118-year-old tree was paraded through downtown Sonora hours after being cut down.
As part of a seven-day trip through the state, the caravan will tour the Central Valley, beginning with stops Tuesday in Oakdale and Manteca, before heading south Friday from Fresno on Highway 99.
Urban kids learn to love limbs and leaves – Northwest McClatchy – bellinghamherald.com
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/10/16/2230405/urban-kids-learn-to-love-limbs.html
Urban kids learn to love limbs and leaves
Violet Hopkins climbed up into the giant sequoia tree with no problem, but on her way down she lost her nerve.
Twenty feet from the ground, the 10-year-old froze in a half-crouch, her feet on a limb about as big around as a baseball bat and her right cheek pressed tightly into the tree’s rough bark.
A chorus of advice drifted up from below.
“Reach out and grab ahold of the lower branch,” yelled the arborist holding her belaying rope.
“Violet, you need to let go of your hand,” said her mom, Amy Laidlaw.
“You can trust that rope,” said one of the other professional tree climbers. “It’s been tested to 8,000 pounds, and you only weigh about 50.”
But Violet was paralyzed with fear. She could not move.
This was Saturday morning at Tacoma’s Wright Park, during Metro Parks’ annual Fall Tree Festival.
The idea of the festival is to help kids climb trees so they appreciate them more.
“It’s surprising how many urban kids don’t have big trees at home,” said Kathy Sutalo, urban forester for Metro Parks and the woman who came up with the idea for the festival nine years ago.
“People tend not to think of trees as living things,” Sutalo said. “If you interact with them – actually get out and touch them and climb them – they become a part of a consciousness that a lot of urban kids don’t have.”
As festivals go, this one is a bargain. It’s free for the kids, and Sutalo says her budget was just $150 – most of which went to provide lunch for the half-dozen professional tree climbers who volunteered their time.
The urban forest is a crucial part of our ecosystem, Sutalo said, providing wildlife habitat, cleaning the air and protecting water resources.
Wright Park has an especially rich variety of trees, she said, many of which are more than 100 years old.
Violet, who came to Saturday’s festival all the way from Monroe, in Snohomish County, looked as if she would be happier not having her tree consciousness raised.
But she was an exception. Dozens of other kids lined up to put on helmets and climbing harnesses and ascend into the sequoia’s branches, then scoot back down, aided by ropes.
“I liked climbing up, and I liked climbing down even better, said Payton Reed, 12, of Puyallup. “You just lean back and they lower you down.”
That’s not the way it worked for Violet. After 10 minutes of cajoling, her dad, Patrick Laidlaw, suited up and climbed the tree himself, then carried her down in his arms.
Violet regained some of her composure after a few minutes on the ground.
“I was just scared is all,” she said.
Rob Carson: rob.carson
In Wake of Major Storms, Environmentalists Speak for the Trees – Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch
http://bedford.patch.com/articles/trees-386570f1
In Wake of Major Storms, Environmentalists Speak for the Trees
After snow, wind and rain storms have wreaked havoc on our trees, environmentalists recommend we replant them in a thoughtful and cost-effective manner.
In the hours and days following a major snow storm or hurricane, the first wave of news coverage is about falling limbs causing power outages and snapped branches landing on homes, cars and even people.
The human impact will always be story number-one—but now, more than a week after the freak snow storm that caused a nearly unprecedented amount of damage in the Hudson Valley—it’s time to look at the damage to the trees themselves.
“Trees are critical to maintaining our quality of life, storm water management and air-quality-protection,” said Anne Jaffe-Holmes, Coordinator of Environmental Projects for Scarsdale’s Greenburgh Nature Center. “Street trees especially have been hard hit from recent storms and municipalities need to think about replacing them in a manner that’s intelligent and cost-effective.”
Much conversation has focused on burying power lines so tree limbs don’t sever them and cut off electricity—”While I would love to see the lines underground as soon as possible, that will be a lengthy and expensive project,” Jaffe-Holmes continued. “For now, we need to think more about which trees to plant and where to plant them.”
Arborist Guy Pardee, who works at The Care of Trees’ Elmsford office, agreed that both municipalities and residents need to think about planting trees native to the area.
Unfortunately, Pardee said, there’s no specific type of native tree that’s hardier, or better equipped to withstand the area’s volatile weather than others.
“The recent snow storm was hardest on large, deciduous trees that still had their leaves,” Pardee said. “Wind storms tend to affect evergreens more than other kinds of trees.”
In deciding whether a tree can be saved after a major storm, Pardee said safety is always the first concern.
“I suggest bringing in a certified arborist to evaluate the tree,” Pardee said. “There are often steps you can take to save trees that have lost limbs like keeping soil moist, re-fertilization and being proactive about disease and pest management.”
He also recommends having an arborist evaluate the health of your trees before winter weather sends brittle limbs through your roof and into your living room.
“Trimming and installing cables can go a long way,” Pardee said.
Planting new trees is always a priority. Jaffe-Holmes said the Greenburgh Nature Center plans to host workshops for municipalities offering instructions on which trees to plant and how and where to plant them.
“Replacing trees can be very expensive,” she said. “So municipalities should want their trees to last as long as possible.”
Besides purifying air, providing shade and housing wildlife, Jaffe-Holmes stressed trees’ role in elevating our quality of life here in the Hudson Valley.
“People move here not just because it’s close to New York City, but because it’s beautiful,” Jaffe-Holmes said. “And it’s beautiful because generations before us have protected our natural landscape and our trees.”
Resources:
Save-A-Tree: The Tree and Shrub Care Company
VA.PHC 