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Showing posts from June, 2010

Street tree removal in New York City

A series about the rules and regulations of street tree planting, pruning, and removal in New York City. From the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation: Dead trees reported on streets, parks, playgrounds or other public spaces will be inspected and, if appropriate, removed. Parks' service pledge to citizens with dead trees in front of their houses is to inspect and remove such trees within 30 days of notification. To report a dead tree, call 311 or use our forestry service request system. Submit a Forestry Service Request Use our new forestry service request system to submit a service request, and we’ll route your submission to the appropriate Parks Department division and provide you with a tracking number and details about how your request will be addressed. After a tree is removed, Parks will automatically add the site to the free tree planting program. Stumps are also removed by the Department of Parks, depending on funding, and the location will be added to a r

Street tree pruning rules in New York City

(This photograph was taken in Berkeley, California) A series about the rules and regulations of street tree planting, pruning, and removal in New York City. From the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation: Since 1996, Parks has pruned established street trees on a neighborhood–by–neighborhood basis. This process allows us to prune a portion of the street trees in every community board every year. However, if a street tree is damaged, has a hanging limb, is hitting a utility line, or blocking a traffic sign or signal, call 311 or enter a Service Request using forestry service request system. Parks will review the request and take appropriate action if warranted. We do not take routine pruning requests. Certified Citizens Pruners are trained to do light tree pruning which would pertain to any small branches that can be reached from the ground. To find out how you can become a Citizen Pruner, contact Trees New York. Please report unauthorized tree pruning through 311 or our fores

Union Square Park in the NYPL Archives

Union Square Park, looking north from Fourth Avenue, West 14th Street, Wurts Brothers (call no.:AZ 06-6805) Union Square has been in the news lately for art vendor protests , a proposed pedestrian plaza , and the overheated play structure , Metal Mountain, in its playground.

Street tree planting rules in New York City

A series about the rules and regulations of street tree planting, pruning, and removal in New York City. From the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation: There are two ways to have a street tree planted in front of your property. You can request a free tree or you can plant one on your own. If you are required to plant because of zoning regulations and your job was pre-filed before May 3, 2010, please read the Street Tree Planting Requirements for New Buildings. For zoning-related jobs pre-filed on or after May 3, 2010 please see Parks Plan Review Request a Tree: Any property owner can request a free street tree by submitting a Service Request through our new forestry service request system or by calling 311. Note: New trees planted through Parks’ free request system cannot fulfill planting requirements for new buildings or alterations. The Process: Each requested planting location must be surveyed by a forester to determine the site’s suitability and potential infrastruct

Going green in Berlin

Did you know that the German word for park is park ?  Thanks to Allen B. for sharing the following photographs of five parks he visited while in Berlin. children's pocket park courtyard park Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Park Unter den Linden More about lindens: Tree Walk: Unter den Linden   Branding with the linden tree

Wasser-funktion, Planten un Bloemen, Hamburg

Of the scene above, in Hamburg's Park Planten un Bloemen, plantsman Allen B . wrote, "This was a fun, little water feature for young and grown-up kids." Planten un bloemen is Dutch for plants and flowers.  The park's website is written in German.

Shanghai Sightseeing (Shanghai, Day 6)

This is the 6th and final post in the Shanghai Journal by guest blogger Renee Toll-DuBois of Earth Our Only Home who recently traveled to Shanghai to attend the World Green Roof Conference and the 2010 World Expo.  All text and photographs courtesy of Renee Toll-DuBois.  Previous posts can be read here (day 5), here (day 4), here (day 3), here (day 2), and here (day 1). I leave today but will fit in some more sightseeing. My first stop is to an old temple recommended to me by a restaurant owner back in Cambridge. Friends took me out before I left and we spoke with Eddie, letting him know I was going to Shanghai and asking if he knew it. As it turned out, he grew up there but had then gone to Hong Kong. When I asked him what he might recommend I see it was the Chenghuang temple, a Taoist temple, also called yi temple. One of the volunteers for the conference, Cloudy, who has a boyfriend from the US now living and working in Japan, who speaks both Japanese a

Tour of Green Roofs (Shanghai, Day 5)

This is the 5th post in the Shanghai Journal by guest blogger Renee Toll-DuBois of Earth Our Only Home who recently traveled to Shanghai to attend the World Green Roof Conference and the 2010 World Expo.  All text and photographs courtesy of Renee Toll-DuBois.  Previous posts can be read here (day 4), here (day 3), here (day 2), and here (day 1). This is the last day of the conference. I leave tomorrow and we are visiting a number of green roof projects in the city, both intensive and extensive, using trays combined with pots as well as direct planting. We load into our four busloads (approximately 168 people!) to head out to see the sights. When we drove to the University the other day, I spotted several green roofs from the highway and wonder whether we will be visiting those. It had seemed all in one district so I also wonder if we will be visiting various districts in the city. First is a cluster of a few dozen sedum roofs in the Yangpu District. There is st

Shanghai Journal, Days 1 - 4

Thanks to guest blogger Renee Toll-DuBois of Earth Our Only Home , local ecologist is pleased to offer several essays about Shanghai, the Shanghai World Green Roof Conference, and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Courtesy of Renee Toll-DuBois Posts can be read here (World Expo, again, Day 4)  here (World Green Roof Conference, Day 3), here (2010 Shanghai World Expo, Day 2), and here (Shanghai Journal, Day 1).  Stay tuned for Day 5 (Tour of Green Roofs) and Day 6 (Shanghai Sightseeing).   Please comment! 

World Expo, again (Shanghai, Day 4)

This is the 4th post in the Shanghai Journal by guest blogger Renee Toll-DuBois of Earth Our Only Home who recently traveled to Shanghai to attend the World Green Roof Conference and the 2010 World Expo.  All text and photographs courtesy of Renee Toll-DuBois.  Previous posts can be read here (day 3), here (day 2), and here (day 1). Back to the Shanghai World Expo today in our two busloads of conference attendees, this time to the other side of the river, to see the pavilions in the neighborhood, pavilions that represent regions and cities. Apparently, according to the speaker about the Expo, this neighborhood had been a slum of migrants come in from the rural areas in search of a better life and more economic opportunity. People lived in makeshift shacks and the standard of living was atrocious. He indicated that as preparation for the Expo, the neighborhood residents were relocated and provided housing in another district and given either some money or perhaps jobs

World Green Roof Conference (Shanghai, Day 3)

This is the 3rd post in the Shanghai Journal by guest blogger Renee Toll-DuBois of Earth Our Only Home who recently traveled to Shanghai to attend the World Green Roof Conference and the 2010 World Expo.  All text and photographs courtesy of Renee Toll-DuBois.  Previous posts can be read here (day 2) and here (day 1). The World Green Roof Conference itself was a one day event at the Tongji University bringing together researchers, academics, installers, designers, urban planners, consultants, developers, and representatives from government agencies. The group of international delegates, many of whom are THE green roof advocates and leading experts in their countries pushing for national standards, policy incentives and wider engagement. We represented at least 10 countries (PRC - mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong-, Singapore, Mexico, Japan, UK, Germany, US, Italy, Korea, Australia, Colombia), spoke many languages on our buses and all proceedings were in either English or Chine

2010 Shanghai World Expo (Shanghai, Day 2)

This is the 2nd post in the Shanghai Journal by guest blogger Renee Toll-DuBois of Earth Our Only Home who recently traveled to Shanghai to attend the World Green Roof Conference and the 2010 World Expo.  All text and photographs courtesy of Renee Toll-DuBois.  The 1st post can be read here . The beginning of our World Green Roof Conference experience was a trip to the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The World Expo site is a 5 square kilometre area of former steelworks next to the Huangpo River. Once polluted, it will now become a new district of the city once the Expo is over. See http://en.expo2010.cn . The Expo spans both sides of the river. This first day we explored the larger expanse that has the majority of country pavilions.We had the chance to hear from one of the organizers responsible for the Expo. he shared with us that the 2010 Shanghai World Expo is the latest in a long line of International Fairs that have their origins in the Great Exhibition of 1851. This has been

Shanghai Journal, Day 1

Thanks to guest blogger Renee Toll-DuBois of Earth Our Only Home , local ecologist is pleased to offer several essays about Shanghai, the Shanghai World Green Roof Conference, and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.  All text and photographs courtesy of Renee Toll-DuBois, except where noted. Introduction: I am visiting Shanghai as the guest of Dr. Karen Weber, president of Earth Our Only Home, and we are here for the World Green Roof Conference and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. I have been volunteering with Karen for the past several months as she works to advance her idea for combining other technologies with green roof (and wall) technology specifically to address the real and present crisis of drinking water in W. China and India. I am a lay person and newcomer to the world of green roofs so this is an exciting adventure and learning experience I hope to share with you, as I also share the sights and innovations I see in Shanghai itself as a major urban area. Day one: We are up earl

Can you help us i.d. this tree? It smells good

Photograph courtesy of A.R. The tree in question is a linden, most likely an American linden ( Tilia americana ).  The leaves are larger than those one would find on a littleleaf linden ( T. cordata ) and the undersides of these leaves do not appear silver like those of a silver linden ( T. tomentosa ).  This linden is growing in Providence, Rhode Island.

3 ways to identify a Styphnolobium japonicum in NYC

We don't mean to imply that there are only three ways to identify a tree, a Styphnolobium japonicum , in New York City.  Please let us know how you identify trees!  The tag reads: Styphnolobium japonicum - Japanese Pagoda Tree 1. A straightforward way to identify a Styphnolobium japonicum is via a name tag.   The Styphnolobium japonicum  in question  -- growing in the sidewalk on Waverly Place near 6th Avenue -- has such a tag on one of its branches.  (The City via the New York Tree Trust labels street trees as part of its Sidewalk Arboreta program.)  By the way, Styphnolobium japonicum is synonymous with Sophora japonica . 2. We recently acquired a smart phone and downloaded the Trees Near You (Trees NY) app designed by Brett Camper using the City's street tree census data.  Trees NY provides the species name and diameter-at-breast-height information for trees in its database. 3. Another recent acquisition is Edward Sibley Barnard's New York City Trees: A Fi

6 things to do with Amelanchier

Amelanchiers or serviceberries grow as shrubs or small trees and are part of the rose family (Rosaceae). Amelanchier arborea (common serviceberry) is native to the Eastern United States. Amelanchier canadensis , and A. x grandiflora , a hybrid of A. arborea and A. laevis (Alleghany serviceberry) are planted as street trees . Amelanchier canadensis (Canadian serviceberry) is an approved NYC street tree . As part of the city's Sidewalk Arboreta program, Canadian serviceberries have been labelled at Asser Levy (Manhattan) and at Queensboro Hall (Queens). This Amelanchier is located on LaGuardia Place at 4th Street.  ( Eat Street Trees! ). Plant it Eat it (berries) Used in jams and pies; good raw, too  An ingredient in pemmican, a Native American food  Wildlife forage  Song birds* ( A. arborea , A. canadensis ) Bees** ( A. canadensis , A. laevis ) Gypsy moth*** ( A. arborea ) Also eaten by “raccoons, opossums, foxes, bears and even bobcats” ( A. arborea , canaden

Post ideas

I use a notebook to keep track of my ideas for blog posts.  I write, I draw, I paste content from magazines.  I've filled a few notebooks.  In my current notebook, I have six outstanding ideas: things to do with Amelanchier (serviceberry) container gardens in front of Mercer Street's boutique shops low tree cover in SoHo the impact of the NYU 2030 on existing tree cover in the Village small subdivision of stucco houses on Martin Terrace, Hackensack, NJ plaque honoring Stuyvesant's pear tree in the East Village series about tree planting diagrams (I have a collection of diagrams) In addition to these potential posts, Renee Toll-DuBois has graciously provided several journal entries from her attendance at the Shanghai Expo; stay tuned! Do you have any topics you'd like us to explore?  Tell us about them in the comments section.