Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work® at DNR

Kids had the chance to meet Smokey Bear at DNR’s Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work® Day event. Photo by: DNR/Jessica Payne

Yesterday the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) celebrated Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work® Day with the children of state employees.

This year, the Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work® Foundation partnered with the National Association of State Foresters to introduce children to careers in forestry. Almost a hundred kids came out to learn about the jobs we do at DNR, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington Department of Agriculture.

For half a day, the Natural Resources Building here in Olympia was transformed into an education fair featuring trees, bugs, and geodes. Kids had an opportunity to learn how foresters work in the woods and try to stump the forester with their questions. They got up close with bugs while learning about forest health from one of DNR’s entomologists.

This little girl is proud to show off a sparkly geode at the Washington Geology Library exhibit for the event. Photo by: DNR/Jessica Payne

At the Washington Geology Library, children learned the life-cycle of a rock and identified special rocks, from geodes to the Washington state gem:petrified wood. Many kids put their directional skills to the test by learning to use a compass and trying to complete the orienteering course mapped out by DNR’s recreation staff. They were given a noble fir seedling from DNR’s Webster Nursery and practiced proper planting with the Washington Conservation Corps Urban Forestry team.

These little girls got to get an up close look at the bugs that affect the health of Washington’s trees. Photo by: DNR/Jessica Payne

Participants also learned how Geographic Information System (GIS) specialists make maps and use technology to help DNR teams fight wildland fires.

They also experienced what it’s like to be a DNR firefighter by meeting some of the team, trying on personal protective equipment, and meeting Smokey Bear, who paid a special visit. Even Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark came down to meet the children, thank the volunteers, and snap a quick photo with Smokey.

View photos from the event on our Flickr page here.

DNR is happy to have had the opportunity to recruit our future generations of state land managers. If you are interested in finding out about the several types of careers that DNR has to offer, visit our jobs page and apply to work with DNR today.

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Study shows brain gains benefit from a walk in the park

Photo: International Society of Arboriculture/Bugwood.org

We’ve always felt that visiting green spaces like parks and forests reduces our stress and makes us feel more creative, but now an innovative study from Scotland indicates that you really can ease brain fatigue by strolling through a calming natural space. An experiment using volunteers hooked to lightweight, portable electroencephalograms—devices that measure brain wave patterns—confirms that even a short walk in the park lessens brain fatigue.

But what if you don’t live in soggy western Washington? That’s why we encourage well-planned and tended trees in urban spaces and other communities. And that’s also why we celebrate Arbor Day all month-long in April. Citizens, governments, educators, organizations and others are working to make greener spaces through trees.

For those of you who want to read about the scientific methods and conclusions of the researchers in Scotland, here’s a link to an abstract of their study (‘The urban brain: analysing outdoor physical activity with mobile EEG‘) published last month in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

For the rest of us, this New York Times blog about the study breaks it down into plan talk; namely, take a walk.

Find out if your city is one of the 83 in Washington designated as a Tree City USA–-a national recognition for the cities and towns that go the extra mile to manage and care for healthy urban forests.

DNR assists local governments that want to improve the health of their urban forests. This spring, our Urban and Community Forestry Program has provided crews from Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) and Puget SoundCorps to help several city and county governments restore urban forests.

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Hooray for Arbor Day in Washington: Are you living in a ‘Tree City USA’ community?

Photo: Guy Kramer.

Today is Arbor Day, a celebration of trees and all the great things they do for us in Washington State. We celebrate Arbor Day through a special program called Tree City USA® which recognizes cities and towns that go the extra mile to manage and care for healthy urban forests. That extra mile includes planning the maintenance of vigorous city trees, now and into the future.

Now is a great time to properly prune your trees. As you do, be sure to never top a tree. Topping—radical removal of a large part of the tree’s crown—may get rid of a few problem limbs, but in the long run you will end up doing more maintenance each year. After a tree is topped, it grows suckers (weakly attached limbs); you’ll have a mess on your hands and a potentially hazardous situation. Learn to property prune now to lessen the damage next time storms hit.

Find out if your city is a Tree City USA–there may be special programs to celebrate trees in your community this month.

If your city isn’t part of the Tree City USA Program, contact your city officials to help them plan Arbor Day celebrations next year. Sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the US Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, Tree City USA® provides technical assistance and national recognition for urban and community forestry programs in thousands of towns and cities.

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February’s top blogs: Firefighting jobs, outdoor recreation and urban forestry drew most readers

Here are the blogs posted in February that drew the most views by Ear to the Ground readers. That’s you! Thanks for reading Ear to the Ground.

	Firefighting isn’t just for men anymore Historically, firefighting has been dominated by men in both professional and volunteer firefighting careers. But this just isn’t the case anymore. DNR is currently recruiting for wildland firefighting positions and wants to encourage women to apply.
	The little trail that could: Mailbox Peak Trail mentioned by President Obama Mailbox Peak trail on DNR-managed lands was mentioned in the national news when President Obama commented on his appointment for Secretary of Interior, Sally Jewell, a Washington resident.
	Reiter Foothills Test Rides Draws a Crowd DNR hosted test rides on the first 4×4 trail built at Reiter Foothills Forest in Snohomish County since a  major restoration project began in November 2012.
	Two of the nation’s best urban forests are right here in the Pacific Northwest   Seattle and Portland have beautiful, healthy trees, so it was no surprise to see that American Forests named these cities as two of the ten best U.S. cities for urban forests.
	Make your voice heard. What information do you need for your epic DNR-recreation adventure? DNR wants your opinion on ‘sprucing up’ our online recreation information. Please take three minutes to take our online recreation survey. (Survey ends March 8)

Join the conversation about these topics and more on Facebook

New study by U.S. Forest Service links beautiful, healthy trees to our own health

Mature trees enhance this urban street. Photo: Guy Kramer.

It should be no surprise that our natural environment gives us a sense of calmness, reducing stress, but now we have more solid evidence of a link, specifically between healthy people and healthy trees.

A new U.S. Forest Service report, “The Relationship between Trees and Human Health,” was recently printed in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. According to Forest Service researcher Geoffrey Donovan, Americans living in areas of diseased trees had higher rates of cardiovascular disease and lower-respiratory disease when compared with areas that have uninfected trees.

Donovan said that it could have been tempting to conclude some other factor in the higher mortality rates, such as income or education. But, he said, the researchers saw the same patterns repeated over and over in counties with very different demographic make-ups. This finding adds to the growing evidence that the natural environment provides major public health benefits.

Currently, Washington State is facing serious forest health problems. As DNR addresses these issues with landowners and land managers, it’s important to know that having healthy trees isn’t just about reducing wildfire risks. It’s more inclusive of a holistic approach to our well being.

Drop by the DNR Facebook page to join in a discussion of the link between human health and healthy community forests.

Learn more about tree health in your community at DNR’s Forest Health and Urban and Community Forestry Programs.

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It makes cents to train your trees

This tree was definitely whacked with a tree trimmer. PHOTO BY: Community Canopy

A story recently came across the urban forestry desk, titled “An Urban Forest in Peril.” It seems that the Lexington, Kentucky urban forest is in serious trouble. Lexington’s treescape has been declining over the past decade. Culprits include insects, disease and climate change. But, mostly, we are to blame. Lexington is not alone.

Have you noticed a decline of trees in your community? Many urban forests throughout the nation are in serious trouble. Even as well-meaning citizens and politicians in our municipalities are committed to and are planting trees, there often follows a shocking amount of tree mortality.

Unfortunately, money spent to plant and maintain trees in parks and on street rights-of-way, is also spent to pay people to destroy those trees. What? How is that possible?   

Urban forestry project creates jobs

DNR-managed projects can provide jobs and supplement the efforts of volunteers—seen here pulling invasive English ivy—to help restore and improve urban forests in Washington state. Photo: DNR

The Urban Forestry Restoration Project is an exciting opportunity for communities to improve the health of our urban forests in the Puget Sound Basin and southwest Washington. The project helps communities improve the health and functionality of trees which, in turn, enhances the ability of urban forests to manage stormwater, improve water quality, and store carbon.

DNR is providing assistance to local governments that want to improve the health of their urban forests. The project is starting in Clark, King, and Pierce counties–other cities or counties may also apply for the same types of projects.

DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program will provide crews from Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) and Puget SoundCorps to assist city and county governments with urban forestry activities that help restore urban forests. Projects will be developed collaboratively with Puget Sound Basin communities and ranked according to the measurable benefits to water quality and Puget Sound restoration.

Cities, towns, and other counties in the Puget Sound Basin and southwest Washington may apply for project assistance on a first-come, first-served basis until December 31, 2012, or until the time of the three available crews’ is fully committed, whichever comes first. DNR administers the project and provides the crews.

Activities in the projects may include:

• Control of non-native, invasive plants that out-compete native plant species or interfere with proper ecological function,
• Planting native vegetation in natural areas or open spaces to enhance ecosystem function,
• Expansion of urban canopy cover by planting trees according to existing community plans,
• Structural training of young trees on developed sites for improved tree soundness and public safety, or
• Other maintenance and management actions that benefit the health of urban trees.

Local partners must supply the materials and additional services required for their projects. These include:

• All permits necessary for the project work,
• Plants for revegetation or tree-planting,
• Herbicides for invasive plant control, if necessary,
• Disposal of plants and other materials removed during restoration activities, and
• Other materials necessary for project completion.

All projects must be completed by June 30, 2013. For more information, visit the Urban Forestry Restoration Project online, send an email to Micki McNaughton or call her at (360) 902-1637.

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DNR weekend reading: Light pollution, native plant landscaping, urban forests and nanotube toxicity to aquatic animals

DNR crews on the Diamond Butte Fire in Yakima County. While not large in size, the fire is considered dangerous because it threatens to enter a heavily timbered area of the Ahtanum State Forest where there are many dead and downed trees . Photo: WIIMT-1.

There’s lots to read in this weekend’s installment of DNR Weekend Reading, including links to recently published articles and studies from science journals, blogs and websites:

Scientific American: Glare-Raising: How Much Energy Does Excessive Nighttime Lighting Waste?
The federally funded National Optical Astronomy Observatory reports that poorly-aimed, unshielded outdoor lights waste $2 billion (17 kilowatt-hours) of energy in the U.S. each year. According to the McDonald Observatory’s Dark Skies Initiative (DSI), the solution to light pollution is 90 percent education and 10 percent technology.

National Science Foundation: Native Plants in Urban Yards Offer Birds “Mini-Refuges”
Yards with plants that mimic native vegetation offer birds “mini-refuges” and help to offset losses of biodiversity in cities, according to results of a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. “Native” yards support birds better than those with traditional grass lawns and non-native plantings.

US Forest Service–Northern Research Station: Natural Regeneration Building Urban Forests, Altering Species Composition
A study by U.S. Forest Service scientists published recently in Urban Forestry and Urban Greening suggests that natural regeneration may be the most cost-effective means to attain desired tree cover levels and associated ecosystem services in forested regions, but relying on natural regeneration may alter the tree species making up a given forest.

University of Missouri: Super-Strong, High-Tech Material Found to be Toxic to Aquatic Animals by Researchers at MU and USGS
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have potential uses in everything from medicine to electronics to construction. However, CNTs are not without risks. A new study found that they can be toxic to aquatic animals. The researchers urge that care be taken to prevent the release of CNTs into the environment as the materials enter mass production.

University of Maryland: Half of the Particulate Pollution in North America Comes from Other Continents
Roughly half the aerosols that affect air quality and climate change in North America may be coming from other continents, including Asia, Africa and Europe, according to a new study. The study suggests there are more factors affecting domestic pollution than the Environmental Protection Agency has accounted for.

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Salmon don’t swim through urban forests, do they?

Trees cool the river for salmon Photo by Guy Kramer

Salmon do swim through urban forests…that is, if there’s a salmon-bearing stream running through it. And students are gaining knowledge as to why trees are so important to salmon thanks to an organization called Sound Salmon Solutions.

Sound Salmon Solutions has good information for educators (including lesson plans) to educate students about the economic, environmental, psychological, and aesthetic benefits of urban forests. Kids learn to connect the importance of urban forests to life of salmon.

Sound Salmon Solutions has a curriculum, Tree Connections, which educates students about the importance of urban forests. The students visit a city-owned park with both an urban forest and a salmon-bearing stream where they test water quality and make their own plant guides.

The students use GPS units to create maps and accurate recordings of where trees are located in the park. Their science teachers then share the information with that park’s city staff to keep on hand for future reference.

DNR has awarded several grants in past years for Sound Salmon Solutions to provide environmental education programs to kids in the Arlington and Marysville area. 

Some funding is provided by the U.S. Forest Service, which is administered through the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Urban and Community Forestry Program.

 

Cities, take note: Green infrastructure saves $$$!

Urban forests grows tunnel over walkway and provide green infrastructure. photo by DNR

Is your city looking to reduce overall costs of treating water, cooling the urban environment, and improving air quality? Trees are the answer!

Trees are “green infrastructure” that can save municipalities money. There are many different ways to utilize existing wilderness, construct man-made – or engineered – landscapes, and develop innovative stormwater design to reduce overall costs of treating water, cooling our urban environment, improving air quality, and more.

Alliance for Community Trees (ACT) posted an article on its website detailing a recent study by American Rivers, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), ECONorthwest, and the Water Environment Federation that looks at the potential benefits and savings.

Learn more about green infrastructure on the EPA website.

You can read the full report (“Banking on Green”) on the ASLA website.

For a great example of how green infrastructure can be applied, take a look at the City of Spokane’s SURGE (Spokane Urban Runoff Greenways Ecosystem) projects. Another example is Yakima’s recently released Low Impact Development Stormwater Design Manual.

 See what DNR has to offer for urban and community forests.

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