Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) partnered with neighborhood residents to establish a tree inventory in Houlton, Maine, which will guide the district in future street tree diversity and help increase tree canopy.
The idea grew three years ago when District Manager Angie Wotton was talking with residents over coffee, and talk turned to observations of the number of trees being cut down along the streets of Houlton. Wotton asked if the residents would be willing to document what they saw over the summer of 2019.
The resulting list consisting of tree photos, locations, and observed conditions – including those that were damaged because of wire interference pruning – led to the SWCD applying for a Project Canopy planning grant from the Maine Forest Service. Funding was awarded in May 2020, and the district began recruiting volunteers from the targeted neighborhoods.
“My favorite comment from a survey volunteer was a woman who, after surveying her section with a friend, ‘complained’ to me that because of her participation, she was now unable to drive down a street in Houlton without assessing the street trees,” Wotton said.
“To me, that is exactly what we want to happen,” she said. “The more people are aware, the more we hope to get them involved.”
