Observant readers of this blog may recall late last year that I mentioned a tabled ordinance would be allowed to expire at 2008's final City Council meeting.
That ordinance was intended to give the Council the authority to charter boards and commissions to address specific issues in the city. The ordinance was tabled because it was pointed out that the Council already had that authority, and the passage of the proposed ordinance would simply be a redundancy.
I wrote that I would, instead, submit an ordinance during January to charter a board, the focus of which would be to reintroduce chestnut trees into our local arboreal population.
During the preliminary conversations about that potential board, I contacted Greg Mills. He had been instrumental in the now-moribund Tree Board. I had spoken to Mr. Mills on another occasion and found him to be a wealth of information about trees. He owns a tree service, and he is passionate about trees and their value to our ecosystem.
The purpose of my call to him was to solicit his involvement in the chestnut repopulation effort. While Mr. Mills willingly agreed to join the effort, further conversation revealed that I was again proposing to sow seeds of redundancy. Mr. Mills is instrumental in a fully functioning group of people devoted to the health and propagation of trees. Mr. Mills gently suggested that the more valuable service I could perform as a Councilman, would be to resurrect the Tree Board.
So, for those who are interested in trees, and see the value of a healthy urban forest, the chestnut restoration project will, in all likelihood, find itself grafted onto a rejuvinated Tree Board. Mr. Mills has graciously offered to help the effort in any way possible.
Most likely, the method of bringing vitality back to the Tree Board will be a resolution of support from the Council asking the Administration to move forward with the idea. I hope to offer that resolution at the next meeting.
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5 comments:
John, I've been contemplating starting a local non-profit to support the restoration of the native hardwood canopy here. I feel really strongly about this issue. Please contact me if I can help!
G.Coyle:
The significant thing here is that the Tree Board already exists. It has not shown any visible pulse lately. Mr. Mills already has a group of dedicated citizens who share your interest in restoring the urban forest.
It is short-sighted to dismiss efforts at restoring trees. They contribute to our stormwater system through uptake of groundwater, they decrease individuals' use of air conditioning by keeping summer temperatures somewhat in check, they contribute a general improvement in the quality of life enjoyed by the populace, and they allow us to do something generous for the future citizens of this city. That should mean something to anyone who can see beyond the nose on their face.
All the benefits can be realized with very little cost and lots of volunteer help. That's being civic minded as well as civilized. As Pete Townshend said, "I call that a bargain".
If the Tree Board takes root, you and all others will be encouraged to help. The results should be rewarding.
Count me in as well!
John, my great great grandparents were big tree planters, for all the same reasons. The value of trees is a given. But like most everything of value in NA, these amazing gifts of nature are treated like an inconvenience to the street Dept. Yes, it costs nothing really to plant trees, or have babies for that matter, it's whether they are nurtured from then on that counts. I've been doing my own informal tree inventory in town for three years and the losses in that time are staggering. It's like global warming, unless we start planting native hardwoods NOW, in a few years this town will be without any tree cover. I don't think the city has the ability to restore value at the same time it continues to destroy it, it's just not in it's DNA. I've tried to talk with street dept personnel and honesty, they think it's nuts to plant trees - more work for them! So I keep thinking this replanting initiative has to be private, or it'll just end up never being done. So much so I'm willing to pay for the trees and plant them myself.
i am volunteering and do have 4 years forest entomology experience.
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