Tree Pittsburgh Announces Public Meetings for the Urban Forest Master Plan

As part of Tree Pittsburgh’s Urban Forest Master Planning process, the public is invited to give their input about the City’s trees at meetings beginning January 23^rd.  Participants who come to the public meetings will learn the details of the state of Pittsburgh's urban forest, and will have the opportunity to provide detailed input into the plan.  All meetings are free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.  The meetings will be informative and interactive. 

From 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., a meeting will take place at the Union Project, at 801 N. Negley Avenue

Additionally, Tree Pittsburgh is collecting Pittsburgh’s Tree Stories -- specifically opinions about City trees, their maintenance, and funding for the urban forest with a short online survey at www.tellusyourtreestory.org.  Residents are encouraged to share the survey with their neighbors, co-workers, and friends as Tree Pittsburgh gathers more data about the city’s opinion about trees.  

For a complete schedule of Tree Pittsburgh community events, meetings and planning schedule, please visit the Tree Pittsburgh web site: www.treepittsburgh.org or call (412) 362-6360.

Tree Pittsburgh on Groupon

Tree Pittsburgh and Groupon’s G-Team announce the launch of a new local charitable giving campaign through Groupon. As the first recipient of the G-Team campaign, Tree Pittsburgh is collecting donations to raise trees from seeds to seedlings at the Tree Pittsburgh Tree Nursery.

Donations can be made to the Tree Nursery at http://www.groupon.com/deals/gt-tree-pittsburgh until Thursday, September 1st at midnight.

Using the G-team collective action model, anyone can donate $10 at a time to Tree Pittsburgh’s Tree Nursery and help to raise a tree from seed to seedling over the course of two years. All donors will be invited to a Tree Nursery Happy Hour, which will be the first time the public has been able to visit the nursery.

100% of the proceeds go will be used in Tree Pittsburgh’s Tree Nursery to give seeds everything they need to sprout and grow into restoration-grade seedlings over the following two years. After growing at the Tree Nursery, the seedlings will eventually be used as part of Tree Pittsburgh’s city-wide urban reforestation efforts.

Join the Arbor Day Foundation

Once again, you can receive 10 free flowering trees by joining the Arbor Day Foundation before January 31. By becoming a member of the nonprofit, you will receive two white flowering dogwoods, two flowering crabapples, two Washington hawthorns, two American redbuds and two golden raintrees. The trees will be shipped postpaid between Feb. 1 and May 31, with planting instructions enclosed. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge.

To become a member, send a $10 contribution to Ten Free Flowering Trees, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410 by January 31. Pennsylvania residents can also join online at www.arborday.org/january.

Tree Planting Info

A TreeVitalize Information Meeting & Application Workshop will be held Wednesday, January 26, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, 2847 Penn Avenue. Learn how you can organize a tree planting in your community. Dinner will be provided. More information: 412-586-2386 or adonner@paconserve.org.

Get 10 Free Trees

Everyone from Pennsylvania who joins the Arbor Day Foundation in September will receive 10 free trees as part of the Foundation’s Trees for America campaign.

Trees for America is a program of the Arbor Day Foundation that encourages anyone to help the environment by planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to planting trees.

Everyone who joins will receive an eastern redbud, white pine, sugar maple, white flowering dogwood, pin oak, red maple, river birch, silver maple, northern red oak and Colorado blue spruce.

“We selected this group of trees to provide benefits during all four seasons in Pennsylvania: lovely spring flowers, cool summer shade, spectacular autumn colors, and winter berries and nesting sites for songbirds,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Foundation. “These trees will also add to the proud heritage of Pennsylvania's 111 Tree City USA communities. For 34 years, Tree City USA has supported community forestry across Pennsylvania, and planting these trees will enhance this tree-planting tradition.”

The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting, between Oct. 15 and Dec. 10. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge. Easy-to-follow planting instructions are enclosed with each shipment of trees.

New members of the Arbor Day Foundation also receive The Tree Book, which includes information about tree planting and care. To receive the 10 free trees, send a $10 membership contribution to Ten Trees, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, by September 30, 2010, or join online at www.arborday.org/september.

FPUF Summer Picnic

You're invited! Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest's (FPUF) 2nd annual summer picnic! Join us Saturday, August 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Maple Grove Shelter, next to the wooden playground on Reservoir Drive in Highland Park. Wear your “Tree Tender” shirt! Food, drink, and fun provided! Bring your family and tree-lovin' friends. If you know you can come, please RSVP to Caitlin@pittsburghforest.org. Arriving without RSVP is fine - we are just trying to get an estimate.

Celebrate Arbor Day

Today is Arbor Day! Arbor Day, April 24th, began in Nebraska in 1872 when J. Sterling Morton decided that the landscape and economy would benefit from the widescale planting of trees. Arbor Day is our nation's oldest environmental celebration. To celebrate, help plant trees at Liberty Elementary School on Saturday, April 25th, 9:30 a.m., with Pittsburgh Friends of the Urban Forest at Filbert and Elmer Streets. Join PFUF and members of the Liberty Elementary School community as we plant and care for trees around the school. This planting will complete a multi-year effort to reforest the Liberty Elementary School grounds. Contact Caitlin to volunteer at caitlin@pittsburghforest.org.

Learn to Tend Trees

Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest (FPUF) has announced its offerings of Tree Tender courses throughout the city. Tree Tenders learn to plant and care for young street trees, increasing a tree's chance of survival and prolonging their life in the urban environment. FPUF is an environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the city's vitality by restoring and protecting the urban forest through community tree maintenance, planting, education, and advocacy.

According to the 2005 City of Pittsburgh Street Tree Inventory, the city has approximately 30,000 street trees, and over 3,000 of those trees have been removed due to disease, vandalism, or neglect. Thousands more trees are at risk of being removed if they do not receive much-needed care. FPUF and the City Forestry Division are working to improve the urban forest, but residents can play an important role in increasing its health and reversing its decline.

Registration for Tree Tender courses is open online at www.PittsburghForest.org/TreeTenders. Local tree experts provide instruction, and the course covers everything from tree biology to planting and pruning. A $40 donation is requested to participate in the course, and scholarships are available. The course includes three evening sessions. Dinner will be provided at each session, and participants will receive a Tree Tender safety vest and certificate upon successful completion of the program. Participants may sign-up for continuing education workshops that cover pruning and tree identification in greater detail. Upon completion of an additional ten hours of volunteer participation at FPUF tree care and planting events, Tree Tenders will receive a pair of hand pruners.

Additionally, through TreeVitalize, a joint project of Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, neighborhoods with certified Tree Tenders who are able to organize neighborhood tree plantings will be eligible to receive ten or more street trees for their communities. TreeVitalize will work with community groups, nonprofits, and municipal agencies to plant 20,000 trees throughout the region by 2012.

• Tree Tender Courses in Our Neighborhoods: Tuesdays, July 1st, 8th, & 15th, targeting Highland Park, Morningside, and Lawrenceville

Free Trees!

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced today that on Monday, April 28, he will partner with Giant Eagle and Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest (FPUF) to hand out 1,000 free Frazier fir tree seedlings. Residents are encouraged to attend the “Great Tree Giveaway” held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Construction Junction, one of the City’s recycling drop-off centers, at 214 N. Lexington Street in Point Breeze. Residents may obtain up to 10 free trees, and may drop off recyclable items, in particular, unused phone books. For more information, contact Joanna Doven in the Mayor's Office, at 412-255-2694.