Alexandria is hosting its first-ever Eco-City Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 10 am to 1 pm at NOVA Community College (NVCC), located at 5000 Dawes Avenue, in Alexandria, Virginia. This is a free, family friendly event full of games and activities where people can learn more about environmentally friendly practices happening in our community.
Most notably, to help celebrate Alexandria’s 275th birthday, the Alexandria Beautification Commission is supporting the City’s Urban Forestry department in giving away 275 tree seedlings to spread the green love throughout our vibrant city. As the Tree Stewards of Arlington & Alexandria, we’ll be participating by providing guidance on tree and site selection, demonstrating seedling planting, and a tree planting activity for children.
Tree Selection
The following tree seedling are available to Alexandria residents during the Eco-City Festival. Once you receive your seedling, it’s important to keep the roots moist until you’re able to plant it.
Site Selection
Providing the best environment for your tree to thrive starts with selecting the best location for your tree type. The projected growth size, soil and sunlight needs, ant the distance from structures and power lines all need to be considered. The following resources provide great information to help you select the best place for your new tree.
The seedlings will be small, about 12 inches tall. The great news about seedlings is that they are very easy to plant and the primary requirements are making sure the hole is deep enough and ensuring that they get plenty of water over the next couple of weeks. Make sure the soil is moist but not overly wet. The first video below shows how you can use an empty soda bottle to protect your seedling.
The TreesAreGood website is a great resource for tree care and finding an arborist, when needed. Plant NOVA Trees is another good resource, in both English and Spanish. Several good links can be found on this site, under Tree Care. Once your seedling has a caliper (diameter measured at 6” off the ground) of 1”, you can apply to the Stormwater Utility Fee Credit Program for a credit for planting your tree.
The State of Virginia has required Dominion Energy to deliver electricity from 100% renewable sources by 2045, and as a result there is a push to install solar rooftop panels on houses in our communities. This document presents information relevant to homeowners who have canopy trees but who are also considering the installation of rooftop solar power.
Trees play a large role in our environment. A large canopy tree will sequester carbon; provide stormwater mitigation through avoided surface runoff and rainfall interception; remove air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ozone and more; create energy savings from shade in summer and wind break in winter; as well as providing safe shelter and food for birds and wildlife. You can quantify the value your trees provide at https://mytree.itreetools.org/#/dashboard
Consider all the ecological and environmental impacts when considering solar panels - it isn’t a tree versus solar situation. You can enjoy energy savings from solar panels while sitting in the shade of your trees listening to bird songs!
Your house plays a role in reducing energy consumption. To reduce the use of fossil fuel energy in your home, the first step is to conduct an energy audit to see if you can realize savings from better insulation and updated appliances. The results will provide information before paying to add solar panels (see https://www.dominionenergy.com/virginia/save-energy/home-energy-assessment).
Rooftop Solar panels assist in reaching 100% renewable electricity. Reducing fossil fuel pollution from generation to its use is another important environmental goal. The potential benefit of rooftop solar for your house can be assessed at https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/homeowners-guide-going-solar.
Rooftop Solar panels and Trees can coexist. Note that newer, more efficient rooftop panels can work more efficiently with reduced diffuse light so you can retain the tree while realizing some reduction in solar energy output. This is especially important for canopy trees shading your roof in the morning or late afternoon. Consider the following:
A Tree Steward member had to interview three solar panel installation companies before finding one that didn’t want to remove the northern red oak in his front yard. The chosen company noted that the tree would reduce electricity generation to some extent, but the system would still pay for itself. Since installation, the homeowner had an arborist trim a few small limbs that were threatening to grow directly over some panels, but the trimming was less than 1 percent of the tree. After the oak drops its leaves, the panels generate more power than the house uses and the tree steward gets a credit toward future electric bills. This is a win-win: lower utility bills and they still have birds nesting outside their window!
Tree Stewards recommend the following steps:
Perform an energy audit of your house first to help identify the greatest energy and environmental impact.
Interview several solar panel installation companies to find one that is willing to discuss the pros and cons of any large trees impacting energy production, as well as other tree benefits mitigating stormwater and air pollution.
The 85 active members of Tree Stewards of Arlington and Alexandria were very active in 2023, providing almost 4,000 volunteer hours!
Activity Overview:
85 active Tree Stewards
3,882 total hours volunteered
2,846 people educated
8,443 trees assisted
They participated in a diverse range of activities, with nearly half their time spent on tree care in public property.
Project Deep-Dive: Alexandria Planting Fund
One project we’re highlight this year is the Alexandria Planting Fund. Over the course of 2023, Tree Stewards – in partnership with the city of Alexandria and community volunteers – planted over 123 trees:
8 trees in Tarleton Park,
29 trees in and around Ben Brenman Park,
24 trees around Alexandria Animal Shelter,
42 trees in parkland near Lake Cook, Great Waves Water Park, and Eisenhower Avenue Streetscape,
7 trees in parkland surrounding the Duke Street Dog Park, and
13 trees and shrubs around Aldersgate church.
Pictured: Tree Stewards and volunteers from the veterans’ service non-profit “The Mission Continues” plant trees in the City of Alexandria. Photos provided by Bonnie Petry.
But tree planting is not all they do – other popular volunteer activities include public education and new member training, assisting private property owners, and continuing education.
Tree Stewards of Arlington and Alexandria welcomes all citizens who care about trees to join us. For information on training classes, upcoming activities, requesting a Tree Steward speaker, or to comment on trees in your neighborhood, email: treestewardsarlalexva@gmail.com.
The data in this post comes from TrackItForward, our volunteer hour reporting platform. It consists of self-reported data, submitted by Tree Stewards. It was turned into data visualizations by Tree Steward Emily Potosky.
Despite its serene name, Ailanthus altissima, more commonly known as Tree of Heaven, is less than a gift from above. A non-native invasive originating in China, Tree of Heaven spreads rapidly, outpacing native plants in its growth and often killing them through chemical secretions in the soil. They also serve as a prime host for another harmful invasive species, the spotted lanternfly.
Unfortunately, mitigating the spread of this plant is not as simple as just cutting down the trees you see. Learn how you can do your part to slow the spread of this pernicious pest.
Identifying Tree of Heaven
Tree of Heaven has several distinctive features. It has bark described as resembling cantaloupe, with long compound leaves that have two distinctive “bumps” or “notches” at the base. The leaves have a distinctive rancid peanut or cat urine-like smell.
This time of year (late summer to fall) Tree of Heaven is very distinctive, with the female tree sporting peach/salmon/coral colored seeds in clusters.
If you see any mature female trees on public land, particularly in Arlington and Alexandria, please identify them using the iNaturalist application. This will allow local government officials and researchers to track the spread of these trees. When submitting photos of the trees, please submit photos that show the seed clusters, as well as another photo or two that show the characteristic leaves and bark of the tree to ensure accurate tree ID.
Managing Tree of Heaven
As unintuitive as it may seem, cutting down tree of heaven ends up creating a Hydra-like issue: it triggers resprouting from the roots and the stump of the tree, leading to multiple trees taking the place of the original tree.
Only trained staff or contractors should be removing tree of heaven (or any trees!) from public land. For those aiming to mitigate tree of heaven on their private property, you can follow the below steps:
If the tree is still just a seedling/very small sapling that has NOT produced seeds, you can pull the tree out, ensuring all roots are removed. It’s a bit easier to do this after it has rained when the soil is looser.
If the tree is producing seeds and/or is relatively well-established, apply a targeted herbicide, being careful to not apply it to surrounding plants. The two recommended options are:
Basal bark method: Apply a solution of a 20-25% concentration of oil-soluble triclopyr ester product in an oil-based carrier is highly effective. Using a handheld or backpack sprayer, apply the mixture in a continuous 12-inch wide band around the tree base. The basal bark method requires no cutting and is generally used for trees that are less than six inches in diameter, though larger stems (up to 16 inches) may also be treated effectively
Stem injection (hack-and-squirt) method: This technique is very effective when applied during the summer. It requires first making downward-angled cuts into the sapwood around the tree trunk at a comfortable height, using a hand ax. With a spray bottle or wand, squirt the selected product into the cuts within a minute or two, so that the bottom of the cut is covered but the liquid doesn’t run out. This method can be used with trees of any size, though it is most effective with stems over two inches in diameter. A triclopyr product is most often recommended.
Once the tree has died, then you can safely remove it.
Be on the Lookout for the Spotted Lanternfly
Tree of Heaven is a key host for the spotted lanternfly. Eggs are laid in late fall and can be found on any flat surface such as trailers, logging equipment, and on tree bark. They hatch as “nymphs” in mid-April and become adults in July.
Clockwise from top left: Adult showing hind wings, adult with folded wings, early black and white nymphs, full-grown nymphs showing red, and egg masses.
If you see any spotted lanternflies, please kill nymphs/adults as able, then report the sighting and location with either a photo of the insect or the sample itself to your local Virginia Cooperative Extensive office.
Applications for the Fall 2023 Training class are now closed. Thank you so much for your interest!If you are interested in participating in future training classes, please email us at treestewardsarlalexva@gmail.com. We will notify you via email when we plan to host the next class.
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Applications were accepted through July 24th for Fall 2023 Training Class. Forty spaces were available.
This will be a hybrid training of weekly live Zoom presentations on Tuesday evenings and assigned readings. Additionally, there will be five required in-person weekend sessions with experienced Tree Stewards and tree care professionals.
The list of topics will include: tree physiology, tree identification, soils, urban tree problems, invasive trees and plants, forest ecology, right tree right place, tree selection and sourcing, tree planting, and tree pruning.
A preliminary schedule of classes will be announced in early August. Classes will begin with an in-person meeting at Lubber Run Amphitheater on Saturday, September 9. Classes will finish in early-to-mid November, with an in-person graduation gathering in early December.
On Saturday, March 25, 2023, 15 Marymount University students and staff braved a steady rain to join 10 Tree Stewards and two Arlington County urban foresters in planting 25 native trees in Arlington’s Tyrol Hill Park.
This project was the result of a heat mapping study that Marymount University students did a year ago, in which the Tyrol Park area off of Carlin Springs Road/Columbia Pike was identified as one of the hottest parts of the county, with low tree canopy to boot. The Marymount students then raised the funds and worked with Arlington County Urban Forest Manager Vincent Verweij to design a planting that, over time, will help cool the area.
The photos show some of our muddy and exhilarated crew at the end of the session. This planting was made harder by the rain, but the trees had no complaint, and now that these high-quality Casey Tree Farm trees are leafed out, it is clear that the effort was well worth it!
The Tree Stewards of Arlington and Alexandria were certainly busy in 2022. Our 92 members provided over 4,000 hours of service in the region. In particular, we provided education to around 5,200 people, and provided maintenance to nearly 10,000 trees.
The Tree Stewards participated in a diverse range of activities.
The greatest number of hours volunteered is in our parks, in particular working with our partners in Arlington County and the City of Alexandria to provide hands-on tree care on public property.
Our volunteers also spend a lot of time on public education, in particular ensuring the public understands the importance of our native canopy. We do this through information tables at community events, by hosting tree walks, or hosting virtual presentations.
We also work closely with the Arlington Tree Canopy Fund and consult with homeowners to select the right tree for their yard. This past year we were privileged to work with EcoAction’s Tree Equity Program to successfully reach previously underserved communities.
Tree Stewards of Arlington and Alexandria welcomes all citizens who care about trees to join us. For information on training classes, upcoming activities, requesting a Tree Steward speaker, or to comment on trees in your neighborhood, email: treestewardsarlalexva@gmail.com.
The data in this post comes from TrackItForward, our volunteer hour reporting platform. It consists of self-reported data, submitted by Tree Stewards. It was turned into data visualizations by Tree Steward Emily Potosky.
On Sunday October 23rd, 2022, community members joined 9 Tree Stewards in Alexandria Virginia’s Ben Brenman Park to plant 28 native trees.
The tree species planted included White Oak, Sweet Gum, Eastern Red Cedar, Common Hackberry, Black Locust, Sycamore, and Black Gum.
This planting was made possible by a generous grant from One Tree Planted which covered the cost of the trees and supplies, including twenty-eight 5- to 7-gallon container trees, mulch, stakes, watering bags and trunk protectors.
Newly-planted trees need regular watering to thrive, and the importance of follow-on watering was not ignored. The City of Alexandria generously offered to include the newly planted trees on its watering contract for the 2023 growing season.
This was a learning opportunity for the volunteers, who showed great interest in Tree Stewards coaching how to properly plant trees to get the trees off to a great start and a long life.
Photos provided by Tree Stewards of Arlington and Alexandria.
On Monday, October 17 2022, twenty-five TD Bank employees, two community volunteers, and nine Tree Stewards gathered in Alexandria’s James Marx All Veterans Park to plant 32 native trees.
The trees were species like Sweet Gum, Northern Red Oak, Black Locust, Common Hackberry, and White Oak.
This planting was made possible by a generous grant from TD Bank through the Arbor Day Foundation, which covered the cost of trees and materials to ensure they thrive. These specifically included thirty-two 5- and 7-gallon container trees, mulch, stakes, watering bags, trunk protectors, and funding for watering for the growing season (May-September 2023).
The volunteers showed great interest in Tree Steward coaching on proper tree planting, including details of how to carefully detangle circling roots and get the trees off to a great start and a long life.
Thanks so much to our partners TD Bank and the Arbor Day Foundation for making this tree planting event a success!
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Ever since Tree Stewards’ first tree census project at Ft. Myers Joint Base in 2008, members have completed similar tasks for the Tree Canopy Fund, and in neighborhood parks, schools, churches, and condos. Each project, we kept our feet on the ground, looking up into the trees’ canopy, and recording information with pencil and paper.
This summer, our tree measuring projects were literally turned upside down and we looked down on the tree leaves using Google Earth imagery through i-Tree Canopy. This is a free software tool from the United States Forestry Service that can be used on personal computers to easily and accurately estimate tree and other cover classes (e.g., grass, building, roads, etc.) within a set area. Urban Forest Manager Vincent Verweij used his GIS skills to set up our citizen science project using the boundaries of Arlington County, Virginia (including National Airport and all Department of Defense properties, which affects comparison with past canopy studies). The program is used to estimate results of tree canopy coverage – i.e., how much tree shade is there. Suddenly, we were measuring trees by looking down on the canopy instead of upwards!
Seven Tree Stewards worked on the project, and all together we looked at 6,399 views covering Arlington County. i-Tree Canopy randomly generates sample point views and places a crosshairs marker in the middle of the view. After looking where the crosshairs fell in each scene presented, we clicked on whether it landed on: a) Tree Canopy, b) Pervious grass and vegetation, c) Impervious building rooftop or pavement of roads, sidewalks, parking lot, e) bare soil, or f) water. Each of us did close to 1,000 views.
Above is an example of what we Citizen Scientists saw, minus the crosshairs indicator. The program provided a screen shot with the target point shown, and we clicked on whether the area beneath it is impermeable (red dots on roof and parking lots in lower left corner), tree canopy (green dots along Four Mile Run), or water (blue dot in middle of stream – on larger view water is obvious).
Among my 1,000 views where the crosshairs landed were: on top of an airplane on a runway, the roofs of houses, offices, and apartment buildings, trees, golf courses, and cemeteries (which had many gorgeous trees but a lot more herbaceous cover between graves, so where specifically the crosshairs fell determined the cover I listed). All science projects tell us to beware of operator bias, so I tried very hard to distinguish between tops of trees and shade on ground and not let my bias overcome the purpose – but it was so difficult when I identified Lacey Woods Picnic pavilion rooftop under the crosshairs so had to mark it Impermeable even though it was surrounded by a forest!
Above is the image of all 6,399 points throughout the county. Even when enlarged, it won’t clearly show the lowest canopy areas along major transportation lines as the 2016 aerial study does.
The program report gives us much to consider. Our study estimated that the dollar value of carbon sequestered in county trees is $1,292,714, and that reduced air pollution benefit is $1,798,460 – all this besides providing beauty and shade on hot days. Statistically, having 6,399 points analyzed for a county land mass of 27 square miles is very solid, but it was sampling rather than review of the entire county land.
Comparing the results from our i-Tree Canopy points with previous studies is the proverbial apples and oranges, while comparing studies that exclude DOD and airport is like comparing apples, oranges and puppy dogs. They are all wonderful but not interchangeable. The 2022 i-Tree Canopy reported Tree Canopy at 35% compared to the 2016 aerial study of 38%. Impervious surface in 2022 was 40% and in 2016 was 38%. There was no difference between the two reports in grass and vegetation at 23% and bare soil at 1%. (Numbers for both reports are rounded and do not include sampling error estimates.) The 2016 aerial estimate of 41% canopy coverage did not include the Pentagon parking lot or airport runways while 2022 does, so they shouldn’t be compared.
The 2022 study is county wide and doesn’t provide guidance on where tree canopy has been lost since 2016. It doesn’t provide data to determine: How much tree canopy decrease occurred on DOD land such as the National Cemetery when 700 trees were replaced with columbariums for cremated remains? How much decrease of tree canopy is due to lot clearance on private property when small houses are replaced with large ones? Was percent of increase in impervious surfaces due to new pavement or landing strips as compared to housing? Is there room in parks to plant more trees? We await the next aerial canopy study to be able to see where loss is happening and how best to manage our urban forest. Arlington County is funded to perform another study after the adoption of the Forestry and Natural Resources Plan.
Land Cover classification
2022 iTree points by Tree Steward volunteers
2016 study including DOD and Airport
Tree Canopy
35%
38%
Impervious surface (building & pavement)
40%
38%
Pervious grass & vegetation
23%
23%
Bare soil
1%
1%
(Rounded)
(Rounded)
What our i-Tree Canopy study seems to say is that Arlington County tree canopy is definitely not increasing, and it’s most likely decreasing. Our Tree Steward mission to educate the public on the importance and care of trees is even more vital as we know it is on private property that trees can be preserved and more plantings occur. We are already working to decrease canopy loss through planting efforts with the Tree Canopy Fund, tree distributions, and plantings on park land. And we provide public encouragement to plant more trees on private property as well as how to maintain mature trees. We Tree Stewards do a lot, yet this study is a call to increase our efforts; fortunately, we know that is a labor of love.
