TheBurg

04.18 | theburgnews.com | 21 Members work on the ground, often taking courses offered by Tree Tenders, a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society program that teaches the basics of tree planting and care. ey also work with the city on planning and tree selection, and they helped revise a tree ordinance now under city review to strengthen regulatory options. Committee Chair Pat Buckley hopes that a soon-to-be-hired city arborist will keep the city's tree inventory, dating to 2013, updated so the committee can target areas of greatest need. On the neighborhood level, Friends of Midtown has its own "Street Trees for Midtown" project, boosted by a $1,575 TreeVitalize grant from DCNR, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Urban and Community Forestry Council. Currently, the group is raising matching funds so it can plant 15 trees this spring. Following Roane's mantra, all are "right tree, right spot," a range of maple, oak and locust types that offer durability and growth that provides shade quickly "but not catastrophically." "I would love to have 15 more people come at me for next spring and the spring after that," said Friends of Midtown Beautification Committee Co-Chair Rachel Reese. "What I really want is for people to continue to express their interest." e Midtown planting is planned for April 28, depending on weather. Some homeowners "politely decline" to have trees planted in front of their homes, said Roane, but most "like being able to look out at a tree." "If the homeowners can keep them watered, we're going to work with a cadre of Tree Tenders to keep them pruned," said Reese. "We can prune so they're not always being whacked by parked cars, or there aren't limbs blocking pedestrians. If the trees are being watered and mulched, we can prune every three or five years as they establish themselves." Also in the fight is Capital Region Water, which is developing its City Beautiful H2O storm water management plan. In community meetings for the plan, green infrastructure emerged as "a clear winner" among available options, said Community Outreach Manager Andrew Bliss. "People were overwhelmingly interested, and it makes sense, where it's cost effective, to invest in green projects rather than going underground," he said. Even greening with grass doesn't prevent storm water from running wild, he said. Tree leaves hold and scatter rain as it falls and roots "infiltrate" it into the ground. Initial projects, sort of "early action" demonstrations, include greening at 13th and Market streets and streetscaping at 14th and Derry streets in conjunction with Tri County Community Action. "is is stuff we've been talking about for the last two years," said Bliss. "We felt we really needed to show what we're talking about." CRW is also partnering with the city on green "bumpouts" for the 3rd Street overhaul, and it is funding street tree plantings at some residences, where the homeowners will be required to perform maintenance. Harrisburg's Taylor lauded the cooperation he's witnessed among city officials, residents and community organizations to care for the city's trees. "All entities are working together to make sure our tree population is not only sustainable but continues to grow," he said. "It's a beautiful city in the summer. We want to maintain that and continue that growth." For information on upcoming Tree Tenders workshops, visit www.extension.psu.edu/tree-tenders. To find out more about Friends of Midtown's tree- planting efforts, visit www.friendsofmidtown.org. To volunteer with the city's tree efforts, email Ronald Taylor at rltaylor@harrisburgpa.gov. To learn the species of tree outside your house, visit www. opentreemap.org/patreemap/map. Stories on environmental topics are proudly sponsored by LCSWMA.

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