[Durham INC] It's easy to get street trees in front of your house...

[John Schelp]

Dear neighbors, 



This is a great opportunity to help restore the tree canopy in our neighborhoods. The deadline to request street trees is November 10 (for this cycle).

It's really easy and it's a good deal: the City brings the tree, digs the hole and plants the tree for you. 

Durham’s
 neighborhood tree program is a collaboration where the City plants the 
tree(s) in the right-of-way in front of your house -- and the resident 
contributes $10, $25 or $50 towards each tree (depending on size). 

Payment is requested after the tree is planted; you are asked to water the tree for a year. Below is more information.


--> How to get street trees (background & short request form)...http://durhamnc.gov/ich/op/gs/Documents/Adopt-A-Tree.pdf


You can see new street trees across several neighborhoods in Durham. 

Below is an interesting article from yesterday's Durham Herald. 

~John

****

Durham’s
Oak Trees, a Legacy of Partnership and Vision
By
Alex Johnson, Urban Forestry Manager, City of Durham
Durham
Herald, 14 October 2012

It’s hard not to notice Durham’s oaks or to consider
them less than permanent in our landscape, as they shade our neighborhoods and
make them more hospitable.  

We know that, due to the size of their canopies,
they contribute to nearly 60% of the ecological and economic benefits accrued
to street trees, this despite representing less than 20% of the trees in our
rights-of-way.

In my dealings with these trees and their
neighboring people, I’ve often wondered how willow oaks became such an obvious
hallmark of Durham.  

To answer this question, a monthly article-writing
opportunity afforded an excuse to do some research.  In looking back, a figure emerged to help
frame the story.

Clarence F. Korstian was recruited in 1930 to manage
Duke Forest and eventually found the School of Forestry at Duke, serving as
Dean from 1934 to 1957.

He did not escape the notice of local officials:
Durham quickly sought Korstian’s expertise. Upon his appointment as City Tree
Commission Chairman in 1933 he reported in his Annual Report of the Director
of the Duke Forest:

“Already considerable
progress has been made by the city officials in cooperation with the local
branch of the Garden Club of America, the Women’s Club, the Parent Teacher
Association, and citizens.”  

This “considerable progress” is supported by
photographs of early neighborhoods such as Trinity Park, showing trees planted
in front of new houses.  

Dr. Korstian was outspoken in his support of our
native oaks as shade trees.  Speaking to
a Garden Club in 1937:

“The best shade trees
are the native ones, the willow oak and the water oak probably the best suited
for this locality.”   

He also used his influence to support planting
efforts in his adopted community. This is evidenced in a 1940 Herald Sun newspaper article which
reads:

“The state WPA
officials have approved the project for the planting of 5,000 willow oak trees
along Durham’s streets and in the local parks...  Dr. Clarence Korstian goes to Washington to
urge WPA acceptance.”

He made a good choice: willow and water oaks
tolerate compacted clay soils, grow quickly, are disease and pest resistant,
and provide excellent shade.  Before the
advent of air conditioning, trees were the answer to sweltering summer heat. We
have since discovered many additional reasons to plant trees, including social,
societal, health, environmental and economic benefits which go beyond cooling
temperatures.  

Living sources remembered the trees coming from a
city-operated nursery located at the eastern end of Club Blvd., and that the
City’s Public Works Director, Herbert Kueffner along with Garden Club figures
such as Margaret Brawley played prominent roles. 

Acorns were collected from the oaks located at
Benjamin N. Duke’s mansion “Four Acres” which was located at 403 W. Chapel Hill
St. (currently the site of the NC Mutual building). 

These clues and others point to a history of
partnership between the City of Durham, Duke University, local Garden Clubs,
and Neighborhood Associations. These continue to this day in support of trees
in our neighborhoods, business districts, and parks.

I could not locate a tally of just how many oaks
were planted in Durham between the late 1930’s and early 1950’s, but as of 2009
there were approximately 13,000 large diameter street-side oaks remaining.
Efforts to keep a tree canopy over Durham continue as the oaks age out and are
replaced by trees which will continue to provide benefits while minimizing
impact to surrounding infrastructure.  

To learn more about opportunities to support the
Urban Forest, go to the Urban Forestry division’s website at http://durhamnc.gov/ich/op/gs/Pages/Urban-Forestry.aspx  or to Keep Durham Beautiful’s website at http://keepdurhambeautiful.org/ and click on “adopt-a-tree”. 


Special
thanks to Fred White, Judd Edeburn, Phil Ray, Chris Boyer, the helpful staff at
the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library on Duke’s campus, and
Open Durham’s website.

Source: www.heraldsun.com
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