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Community Trees Are About People 



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Margarel Pratt Hagen 



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HEN 1 FIRST got involved in New 

 Hampshire's Urban and Community 

 Forestry Program several years ago 

 I had a vision. The vision came 

 partly from my Extension back- 

 ground and partly from working 

 as a member of my town's con- 

 servation commission. The pic- 

 ture I had in mind was of a re- 

 ally good community shade tree 

 program. 



How did it work? Well, it 

 started with a base of really en 

 thusiastic volunteers. Volunteers so 

 enthusiastic that they would form 

 their own Community Shade Tree Com- 

 mittee. Volunteers so committed that they 

 would have no trouble gaining cooperation 

 and participation from the town selectmen, the plan- 

 ning board, the conservation commission, and even 

 from the local green industry. 



What would be the result of all this enthusiasm and 

 cooperation? Well, pretty soon the Community Shade 

 Tree Committee would have member representation 

 from the conservation commission, the parks and rec- 

 reation department, the department of public works, 

 the town road agent and the town tree warden. This 

 committee would put together a long-term shade tree 

 plan for the community and the planning board would 

 adopt it as part of the town master plan. The town's 

 selectmen and conservation commission would see 

 the merit of such a plan and support it monetarily. In 

 addition, the Shade Tree Committee could pursue 

 grant monies. The volunteer Shade Tree Committee 

 (educated in tree planning, planting, and mainte- 

 nance) could also do some of the work themselves. 

 The remainder would need to be hired out to those 

 with specialized skills-, to local arborists, landscapers, 

 nurserymen, and landscape architects. 



Pretty soon the town would be the most attractive 

 one around. The trees lining the streets, in the parks, 

 and on the green would be healthy and vigorous. 

 Young plantings would be in place to take over as old 

 giants succumbed to age and road salt. No longer 

 would the town have to pay overtime to remove 

 storm-damaged tees in the middle of the night. 

 Healthy, well-maintained trees would live longer, and 

 over the long haul, the town would save money. 



Sound naive? Like a really fantastic pipe dream? 

 Well, it's not. A number of dedicated people have 

 been working very hard over the last few years to 



make the vision come true. This fall, 

 the Society for the Protection of 

 New Hampshire Forests will be 

 training its third crop of volun- 

 teer community tree stewards. 

 UNH Cooperative Extension 

 staff will help teach the stew- 

 ards, as well as act as a re- 

 source for towns. Towns will 

 continue to benefit from the 

 approximately $65,000 in grant 

 monies supplied by the Small 

 Business Administration over 

 ■ach of the past three years. The 

 New Hampshire Division of Forests 

 and Lands will launch another season 

 f educational programs from the Urban 

 Forestry Center (Portsmouth) and other prop- 

 erties around the state. And the New Hampshire 

 Community Tree Commission and State Forester jack 

 Sargent will oversee the whole shebang. 



in November, a special project will come to frui- 

 tion. In the Connecticut River Valley, representatives 

 from twenty towns (on both sides of the river) will 

 meet to discover for themselves how to put together 

 a cohesive shade tree program for their community 



At a Saturday workshop, they will hear from towns 

 which already have successful programs; they will 

 learn about cost benefits, street tree inventories, 

 master plans and maintenance techniques; and they 

 will hear from representatives of the aforementioned 

 groups about how they, as individuals, can best fo- 

 cus their efforts. In addition, each town will take 

 home a notebook filled with practical how-to informa- 

 tion and a book of color photos on selecting street 

 trees. 



The agenda for the workshop was based on exten- 

 sive input from volunteers, public officials, and green 

 industry professionals. Although various pieces of the 

 puzzle have been in place for quite some time in a 

 number of communities, this is the first opportunity 

 to put all the pieces into place in a community at 

 one time. 



It's exciting to see a vision become reality, bit by 

 small bit. Hopefully, we'll be able to transfer this par- 

 ticular small bit to the seacoast with a similar work- 

 shop next spring. 



Margaret Pratt Hagen is Extension Educator, Agricultural Re- 

 sources. Hillsborough County. Her address is #468 Route 13 

 South. Milford. NH 03055; her phone is (603) 673-2510. 



October & November 1 993 

 27 



