On February 22 the RFCA Board agreed to support the recommendation of the Tree Rodgers Forge Committee to send a letter to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz asking for assistance in evaluating the street tree canopy in Rodgers Forge, and developing a plan to restore this canopy for the future benefit of the neighborhood and the environment. We are hopeful for help from County officials. However, with or without County assistance, Tree Rodgers Forge will pursue the development of a strategy for the Forge.
New trees will be planted on Saturday, April 28, the day after Arbor Day and a week after Earth Day. We are working with Blue Water Baltimore, a regional watershed organization, to obtain street trees that can be planted in front of the homes of residents who would like to add new trees or replace trees that have been cut down. Details on how to obtain, plant and maintain trees will follow in the coming weeks. We hope that tree planting can become a regular spring and fall event.
Why trees? Recent editorial and blog posts in the Baltimore Sun describe the reasons Baltimore City is aggressively pursuing a tree planting program, with the strong support of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-city-trees-20120303,0,6438716.story
We believe that a similar program would benefit Rodgers Forge, and for that matter the entire county. Trees and watersheds know no political boundaries. An important part of the Tree RF mission is to educate and inform residents about all of the economic, environmental, social and aesthetic benefits of a healthy tree canopy.
As an initial step toward providing information, two speakers have been invited to speak at the next Board meeting on March 14. Debra Lenik, an intern with Blue Water Baltimore, will discuss ways BWB assists communities in obtaining and planting trees. Donald Outen, a staff member at the county Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, will discuss the extensive data available on the decline of Baltimore County’s urban tree canopy. We hope residents will attend the March 14 Board meeting to hear this discussion.
We are interested in planting a tree in our front yard! We will watch this site for information on how to choose and purchase a tree, and were wondering if help from the county would be given regarding where our water lines are located underneath our yard, so that we can take that into consideration when choosing an exact planting location. A neighbor took down their tree because it was interfering with underground piping. It's also important to us that we try to choose a tree that has roots that are more friendly to such pipes, if such a tree exists!
ReplyDeleteYou may want to try contacting UtiliQuest or Miss Utility to find out what lies underground near your home. There certainly are trees that are more apt to protrude underground pipes than others, so tuned for more from Tree Rodgers Forge on the details as they develop in the coming months!
ReplyDelete