Volunteers in Pruning (V.I.P.)
Tree fans are
being sought for a new program designed to improve the future of
young trees in public places. The “Volunteers In Pruning” (V.I.P.)
program will train local tree fans the ins and outs of pruning
recently planted trees for form and structure. They will be
targeting trees that were planted within the last three years.
This is the best time to establish good tree form and correct
any structural problems that can lead to hazards or tree failure
as the trees become older.
The V.I.P.
project is being organized by Community Canopy, a tree care
education program of the cities of Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls,
Hayden, and the Spokane County Conservation District. These
communities are pooling resources to train volunteers and supply
them with the tools needed to do the pruning. Each community’s
forestry program will choose which public trees will be targeted
for pruning. It is expected to be a combination of park trees
and street trees. Those who take care of other trees in public
places, such as church Trustees and Homeowners Association
workers, are also encouraged to attend a training session.
Those
individuals, 16 years of age or older, interested in the V.I.P.
program are invited to attend a three hour training session.
Two training sessions are being held: Saturday, October 24th
at the Hayden Library and Saturday, October 31st at
the Spokane County Conservation District Office. The training
is free in exchange for putting in volunteer hours pruning
public trees. Because of limited space, pre-registration is
encouraged. Contact Katie at 208/415-0415 or Garth at
509/535-7274.
For further
information: Karen Haskew, 769-2266 or
karenh@cdaid.org
V.I.P. Brochure
Spreading the
Watering Message
During hot summer
months, Community Canopy strives to get the tree care message
out to water newly planted trees. One of these ways we do this
is to display text on local business’ reader boards. See: “HOT
‘N THIRSTY? SO ARE YOUR TREES! WATER DEEPLY DURING OUR HOT, DRY
SUMMERS” running across reader boards throughout the northwest!
Thank you to
generous businesses for doing this pro-bono! Here are a few
locations you can see our message: Trading Company (Post Falls),
Walgreens (Post Falls), Parker Toyota (CDA), North Idaho College
(CDA), North Idaho Fence (Post Falls), and more to come!
Providing
supplemental water to newly planted trees is key to successful
establishment. Community Canopy recommends 5-gallons of water
per inch caliper per week, applied at a slow rate. For more
information on providing supplemental water click on the links
below:
Summer 2008 “Tree Talk
Summer 2006 “Tree
Talk
