G.R.E.E.N Committee schedules planning session for tree inventory
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » The town’s G.R.E.E.N Committee is taking its name literally and preparing the first step in what it hopes will result in a town-wide inventory of trees.
Under the impetus of chairwoman and Town Board member Amy Standaert, the committee has scheduled a virtual planning session for 7 p.m. Nov. 16 via the Zoom platform. To get the meeting link all one has to do is reach out to G.R. E. E. N Committee member Joanne Coons in the email given below.
The Committee’s name is an acronym for Government Rethinking Energy and Environment Now.
Clifton Park has an abundance trees and Committee members want to help residents as well as the town see that it stays that way. The first place to start is by creating a baseline with a tree inventory to see what’s already growing and how well the trees are doing. Next week’s meeting will get the plan moving forward.
“Our trees are such a valuable resource; they are so precious,” said Committee member Diana Leis Delker. “One tree provides enough oxygen in a day for four people. They shade surfaces by 45 degrees and they increase property values. We’re looking around and saying who’s here to nurture them; tomake sure they are healthy. There are a lot of communities that are starting to do this.”
Leis Delker noted that the City of Saratoga Springs and the Town of Niskayuna have both had tree inventories done in recent years.
“We’re taking this up so it can be done by a certified arborist or a trained scientist,” she said.
“We want to do the inventory so we can prioritize the care for them,” said G.R.E.E.N Committee member Joanne Coons.
The stated reasons for doing the tree inventory are risk assessment and safety, to track disease and pest problems, prioritize budget for care and planting, and to helpwith guidance on future plantings.
The planning session’s guest speaker will be Jeffery Speich, a staff member with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The G. R. E. E. N Committee is hoping the actual inventory process will draw the interest of individuals attuned to the environment, homeowners, staff from the town’s Building and Grounds Department, open space advocates, and other stakeholders in the community.
Noting that Speich is an expert in the field, Coons said she is hoping that he will map out a plan as to how the inventory should be done and howmany people it will take.
Leis Delker said during normal times there are grants available to help with the inventory costs but due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year the grants were canceled.
“We don’t know if the funding will be available next year and we thought there are situations where communities have gotten together themselves and trained people and conducted the inventory,” Leis Delker said.
An inventory, she said, follows a 360 degree spatial inspection of each tree that includes the crown, trunk and the roots. The committee is looking to do the inventory on public property only.
She noted that if funding is not available there is free software available which is used world-wide where data from the inventory can be entered.
Partnering spinof fs from the idea of the community undertaking a tree inventory will include the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library where readings for book groups will include items about trees. Additionally, the G. R. E. E. N Committee has reached out to the library’s Friends group, local senior centers, faith-based organizations, and schools for volunteers for the actual inventory process.
“It’s an activity to bring the community together for a common cause; one that may go over well being that it’s an outside activity and socially distanced during the winter,” Coons said. “It might a give people a chance for some fun activities that gets them out of the house during the pandemic.”
The Nov. 16 session is the learning stage for the process that will follow.
“This is the kind of thing you do in order to get a plan prepared,” Coons said. “We’re hoping a lot of people sign up.”
To get the link to join the Zoom meeting contact Joanne Coons at: j.coons359@gmail.com.