Susan Labandibar - Activist CEO » Trees http://blog.techboston.com Running Tech Networks - Saving the Planet Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:40:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Dead Trees in Boston http://blog.techboston.com/Index.php/uncategorized/dead-trees-in-boston/ http://blog.techboston.com/Index.php/uncategorized/dead-trees-in-boston/#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 02:33:05 +0000 Susan http://blog.techboston.com/?p=70 I’m trying to figure out why I keep seeing so many dead trees on the street.  Can someone help me out here?  I took some photos of trees along my dog-walking route a few weeks ago.  Here’s the route:

View South Boston Street Trees in a larger map
There are three dead or dying trees on G Street. Here are the photos:

104 G Street

I’m not sure what’s going on, but it seems much worse this year. Young trees, even trees over twenty years old, are dying at an incredible rate. What does the Parks Department think? It looks like most of the street trees they are planting are not surviving. How will we ever reach the City’s 100,000 tree goal?

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]]> http://blog.techboston.com/Index.php/uncategorized/dead-trees-in-boston/feed/ 8 Planting a tree is an act of hope http://blog.techboston.com/Index.php/environment/planting-a-tree-is-an-act-of-hope/ http://blog.techboston.com/Index.php/environment/planting-a-tree-is-an-act-of-hope/#comments Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:54:10 +0000 Susan http://blog.techboston.com/?p=33 Last Saturday, and for the next two Saturdays, I’m planting trees in people’s front yards with JP Trees.  JP Trees is one of the many groups of people who have joined together to help the City plant 100,000 new trees by the year 2020.  As a JP Trees member, I plant trees at the homes of people who have signed up to get a free tree.  Before the trees are planted, a site survey is performed and the site is cleared by Dig Safe.  Seems a bit like overkill considering that the trees we plant are usually about two to three feet tall.   Luckily, my role in the process, like most JP Trees volunteers, is pure pleasure.

We arrive at the prospective tree-owner’s house, show them the tree they’ve selected, and get to work with the pick-axe and shovel.  The homeowner chooses the orientation of the tree based on where the main branches should point when the tree is grown.  We then dig a hole that is shallow and wide, remove the tree from its container, carefully untangle the root ball, and plant the tree.  A berm around the tree helps hold the 2-3 gallons of water we give it.  Then we mulch with some straw.  Voila!  A tree is born in Jamaica Plain.

We do ask the homeowner for a donation to cover the cost of the tree.  Unless they are in dire financial circumstances, they are usually quite obliging.   When the tree planting is over, we usually troop back to Ula’s Cafe in the Brewery for some snacks. 

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