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March 2023
NCUFC eNews
Protecting, Sustaining, Advocating
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NC Community Tree Webinar: Volunteer Tree Nurseries
Presenters...
Eric Bradford, Asheville Green Works, Director of Operations
Megan Higgins Palomo, Tree Pittsburgh Heritage Nursery, Director
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21 March 2023, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
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Carolina Canopy Workshop: Foundational Skills Road Show
Presenters...
Jeffery Kish, Bartlett Tree Experts, Assistant Division Manager
Barb Fair, NCSU Associate Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist
Manufacture reps, Husqvarna and Vermeer
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Thursday 23 March 2023, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., NCSU Horticulture Field Laboratory, Raleigh
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Thursday 13 October 2023, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Watauga County Extension Service Conference Center, Boone
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Carolina Canopy Workshop: Soil Management Road Show
Presenters...
Barb Fair, NCSU Associate Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist
Cyndi Lauderdale, NCSU Cooperative Extension Agent/Wilson County
Kevin Heifferon, Assistant Director, City of Greenville/Public Works
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Tuesday 18 April 2023, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Greenfield Terrace/Barnes-Ebron Taft Community Center, Greenville
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Thursday 9 October 2023, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Train Station / Multi-Purpose Program Room, Kannapolis
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UPCOMING PARNTER EVENTS
NC Bradford Pear Bounty 2023 Events
In 2023, the Council is joining forces again with the NC Cooperative Extension, NC Forest Service and NC Wildlife Federation to help landowners swap a Bradford pear tree for a native North Carolina Tree.
- Saturday 18 March, Wake Forest
- Saturday 22 April, Newton (Catawba County)
- TBD Wilmington
- Saturday 28 October, Sanford
If you wish to volunteer, contact Leslie Moorman.
You can now follow NC Bradford Pear Bounty on Facebook.
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UPCOMING EXTERNAL EVENTS
USFS Urban Forest Connections Webinar Series:
A State to Local Model for Producing Climate-Adapted Urban Trees
Presenters...
Fred Raley, Tree Improvement Coordinator, Texas A&M Forest Service
Carol Brady, Conservation Seedling Program Manager, New Mexico Forestry Division
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Wednesday 12 April, 1:00 to 2:15 p.m.
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Tree Biomechanics - Tree Decay Testing Workshop
Presenters...
Chris Luley, PhD, President, Urban Forest Diagnostics, LLC
Frank Rinn, Inventor of RESISTOGRAPH and ARBOTOM; Owner of RINNTECH
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Thursday 27 - Friday 28, Lioncrest Ballroom at the Biltmore Estate, Asheville
- Registration limited to 75 individuals
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Southeast Trees and Law Symposium
Presenters...
Barb Fair, NCSU Associate Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist
Mark Dunteman, Natural Path Urban Forestry Path Consultants (Illinois)
Joe Samnik, Expert Tree Consultant (Florida)
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Friday 16 June, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., NCSU McKimmon Conference Center, Raleigh
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Registration details will be announced in the April eNews.
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Eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum)
by Mark Livingston, BCMA, TRAQ, CTSP
Senior Consulting Arborist at Arborguard Tree Specialists
Spring is around the corner. To many of us in this region it feels like it's already here. During this time of year you notice beautiful flowers and leaves emerging but wait… what is that? It's a big web developing in the branch union of a tree. Please welcome this year's eastern tent caterpillars.
Eastern tent caterpillars are one of the two web spinning caterpillars we have in this area, the other being fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea). Eastern tent caterpillars are active in the spring and spin tree webs in the branch unions of fruit trees, typically native cherry. Fall webworms become active in summer and spin their webs around leaves on the branch tips, typically seen in pecan, sourwood, persimmon, hickory, sycamore and some fruit trees.
Eastern tent caterpillars are covered in defensive hairs. When they are very young, they are dark with two thin yellow stripes along the back. Once mature, these caterpillars are about 2-inches long, have a median white stripe on the back flanked by two yellow stripes, and the rest of the body is blue, yellow, and black. During the pupa stage, eastern tent caterpillars transform into a moth while cocooning for 12-18 days. As adult moths, eastern tents are fluffy, light reddish brown, and have two light colored stripes diagonally across the wings.
During the larva stage, eastern tent caterpillars emerge from a silken tent to feed on leaves, generally in the morning, evening, and at night. The tent offers them thermal protection as well as shelter from rain and wind.
These caterpillars are susceptible to predation by frogs, birds, and other insects, including parasitoid wasps. They also fall victim to a range of viral, fungal, and/or bacterial diseases. Their populations are kept under control by all these natural enemies.
Outbreaks of eastern tent caterpillars are periodic and short-lived. Although their damage is aesthetically problematic, such outbreaks rarely pose a threat for most trees. Healthy deciduous trees can withstand total defoliation multiple years in a row without long term detrimental effects. Consequently, it is not recommended to control caterpillars in a natural forest setting. Ornamental trees need little treatment, too, as long as you keep the trees as healthy as possible with proper mulching and watering.
If nature is not getting these caterpillar outbreaks under control as quickly as you would like, their tents can be pruned out or physically removed, as long as the tents are low enough to be reached from the ground. Breaking the tent open removes some of the caterpillar's protection, making it easier for predators and parasitoids to access them. It is difficult killing eastern tent caterpillars with insecticide because they will retreat into their tent for refuge. With that said, you can spray young caterpillars with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) when they emerge from the tent to feed. This microbial insecticide has an extremely low toxicity to humans and animals. Always follow the label on any pesticide. The label is the law.
Remember, eastern tent caterpillars play an important role in the ecosystem. They are a food source for many birds and animals in our yards and gardens. Unless they are causing severe damage to your favorite tree, which is rare, let nature take its course. The birds and other animals will thank you for it.
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New NCUFC blog ...
In a nutshell: A college senior's exploration of urban forestry careers
The Council's Spring 2023 Intern, Emma Howrilla, is also NCUFC's official blogger!
Emma's enthusiastic passion for green infrastructure development, coupled with her contagious desire to learn more about the field of urban forestry, is the spark NCUFC needs to introduce teenagers and college students to the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry. Through early Summer 2023, she will post at least one blog entry each week. Many of Emma's entries will feature interviews of North Carolina arborists and urban foresters at the municipal, commercial and non-governmental levels. THANK YOU to those NCUFC members who agreed to meet with Emma!
When visiting the main NCUFC website, visitors can find the blog by clicking on "Projects & Initiative" then selecting "Careers in Urban Forestry Blog". The blog link is also shown on the "Career in Arboriculture" webpage (also searchable under "Projects & Initiatives").
Please share the In a Nutshell Blog with youth you know!
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NC Forest Service hires Community Forestry Coordinator
Andy Pleninger, NCFS Urban & Community Forestry Program Head
Please join me in welcoming Karla Rudnicki, our new Community Forestry Coordinator. Karla hails from Alabama but lives in Southern Pines with her family. She earned a B.S. in Forestry Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida and an M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Hohenheim and the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences. She is an ISA Certified Arborist and has 8 years of work experience in the fields of program coordination, forestry, and natural resource management.
The Community Forestry Coordinator is a new position to Urban & Community Forestry Branch (U&CF) within the N.C. Forest Service (NCFS). Creation of this position is part of a reorganization to improve our service delivery to our communities. Areas of responsibility include leading administration and finance, project coordination, and information and education. Historically, completion of these duties has been shared between Mandy Tallman Marty, the Urban Forestry Specialist, and me. As Karla gets oriented, Mandy will be transitioning out of her assistant role with U&CF and focusing exclusively on serving the Forest Management Branch. Time the Urban Forestry Specialist spent working on these duties will now be freed to concentrate more on technical assistance communities and N.C. Forest Service staff.
I am very excited to have Karla joining our team as well as initiating this new organizational structure to enhance our U&CF service delivery to our customers. Karla’s office number is (919) 857-4841 and email is karla.rudnicki@ncagr.gov.
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People and trees: An intimate connection
In September 2013, American Forests published an essay by Ruth Wilson of Cochiti Lake, New Mexico. This essay explores the ways in which people have depended on trees for our physical well-being, spiritual health, artistic creativity, and commemoration of special events. Wilson also touches on how trees inspire humans to advocate for environmental sustainability.
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Raleigh's Street Tree Equity Project
City of Raleigh
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The Urban Forestry division of Raleigh Parks will be planting 1,000 street trees over 3 years.
The street tree planting program supports initiatives outlined in the City of Raleigh’s Strategic Plan, including improving the urban forest and reducing environmental inequities across the City of Raleigh as found in its Growth and Natural Resources publication.
Click here to read the full announcement and view the proposed tree planting map.
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Project Pando: Raleigh's volunteer tree nursery
Basil Camu, Owner of Leaf & Limb
EB Brown, Project Panda Co-Director at Leaf & Limb
Every two seconds we lose a football field of trees across the world. Native trees are essential to the well-being of our planet. They can help heal Earth and restore life. That's why Leaf & Limb started Project Pando.
Project Pando's current focus is building a volunteer-driven tree nursery based in Raleigh that grows native trees from wild seeds to give to the public for free. We support this work with research, education, and events that help further our mission. We are also creating a network of chapters so that other communities can replicate and improve on the work we are doing.
Most importantly, we hope that our work helps foster stronger relationships between we humans and Nature. The more we learn about trees and Nature, the more we grow to love and appreciate them. Through a relationship founded on care and love, we can more effectively help address environmental issues and restore life on Earth.
To date, we have given away close to 20,000 trees, all collected from wild, native trees in the Triangle and all grown by our volunteers.
How do you distribute your trees to the public and announce such giveaways?
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We distribute trees through a holiday giveaway in early December. We also have other smaller giveaways. The best way to stay in touch with both of those is through the Project Pando newsletter.
How do you track the success rate of each giveaway, to know if the planted trees survive long after planting and reach maturity?
- This is the start of our third growing season. So we have only been giving away trees for the past 2 years. They are still babies out in the world! Tracking the success rate is something that we are currently developing and can give more information on this as we go.
Where are the chapters your are creating going to be based? Is this your way of expanding Project Pando beyond the Triangle region?
- The chapters are emerging organically. Basically, if someone is interested in growing trees or starting a chapter and does not live in the Triangle we can offer assistance and talk through that. We do not have a formal structure for becoming a chapter but are discussing different options for that.
How do you train your volunteers? How are their efforts managed and supervised?
- Volunteers are trained through our volunteer workdays and through training with me (EB Brown). Their efforts are at times supervised by me or trained volunteers. At times they work independently. We encourage our volunteers to take on the leadership of various projects.
Any lessons learned about how to create such a program so that others learn from your mistakes?
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This is a big question!!! We are still learning so many lessons. One of the fundamental driving forces behind our work is our evolving understanding of systems theory. Donella Meadow's work has been hugely influential. We live in an interconnected world and all of our actions are part of larger systems. The understanding of that and the refinement of how we analyze that in our work is still evolving in our decision-making process.
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Carolina Tree Care and Cabarrus County team up to save 150-year-old tree at construction site
Amanda D. Raymond, Marketing Specialist at Carolina Tree Care
Cabarrus County is attempting to save a 150-year-old oak tree at a construction site while installing a parking lot for a new building at the corner of Cabarrus Ave W and Ramdin Ct NW.
Trees line the edge of the property, but an arborist found that the trees were in pretty bad shape due to cracks, disease and bug infestations ... except for one willow oak. Cabarrus County had permission to remove all the trees, but decided to try to save this one oak that was the healthiest.
County officials installed a tree protection zone to protect the tree from construction damage. Unfortunately they later had to modify the protection zone to install drainage for the construction site, leading to sustained damage of the tree.
In comes Carolina Tree Care.
Even though it's a long shot, Cabarrus County wants to do its part to preserve the Concord's tree canopy. This towering willow oak is 150 years old and has witnessed a lot of Concord’s history, including the rise of vehicles. It’s ironic that now a parking lot might be this tree’s downfall. Nonetheless, Carolina Tree Care is working with the county to do everything it can to save the majestic tree by implementing the following plan.
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Root Rehabilitation – Carolina Tree Care is restoring the original grading where possible to maximize oxygen flow to the roots. Additionally it is aerating the soil to promote fine root development with additives like “biochar”. Biochar increases the soil's nutrient holding capacity (CEC), increases soil aggregation, and improves soil porosity.
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Plant Growth Regulator Treatment – This treatment reduces terminal shoot development, allowing trees resources to be reallocated to other critical processes, such as fine root growth, chlorophyll generation, and defense chemical production.
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Phosphonate Treatment – Phosphite helps weakened plants produce more natural antimicrobial compounds through a process called systemic acquired resistance. In turn, these antimicrobial compounds deter and slow infections attributable to fungal and bacterial pathogens. Phosphite also directly inhibits enzymatic activity needed for fungal reproduction. Consequently the willow oaks will be susceptible to lower fungal growth rates and disease pressure.
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Systemic Insecticide – Carolina Tree Care will apply a systemic broad-spectrum product that's kills most insects, including flat and round-headed borers.
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Humic Acids Treatment – Research has shown that humic acids promote root development, improve soil structure, increase nutrient availability, and expand soil water holding capacity. Carolina Tree Care will apply humid acids during the peak of summer heat, coupled with supplemental watering.
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Soil Injected Fertilization – Soil-injection quickly and directly delivers nutrients to tree roots and avoids the turf competition, surface runoff, and unintended product loss associated with surface broadcast methods.
If you wish to learn more about this project, contact Collin Kaval or Stephen Mosko.
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