TNY in Newsday

Going Out on a Limb
Organization trains residents to care for neighborhood trees
By Mary Beth Casper
Mary Beth Casper is a freelance writer, September 23, 2002
Carson Scheidemann spends 30 hours a week caring for the trees and flowers that line 37th Avenue in his Jackson Heights neighborhood. He prunes deadbranches from ginkgo trees, lindens or willow oaks. He also plants flowers and helps educate others about the importance of caring for the local greenery

."I've always considered myself to be an outdoorsman," he said.

Scheidemann, a retired publishing executive, is a volunteer for Trees New York, a non-profit organization that trains city residents to care for the trees in their communities.

Any New Yorker can tell you; city living can be stressful. But not just for people: trees suffer from stress, too.

Unfortunately, much of the trauma that city trees endure often leads to theirdemise. Helping trees stay healthy, despite stressful conditions such as droughtand vandalism, is what Trees New York is all about.

Twice a year, the Manhattan-based organization offers a five-week tree carecourse, taught by experts in the field, in each of the five boroughs. The Queenscourse begins Thursday. The course offers information on tree identification,biology and pruning. In addition, a four-hour, hands-on outdoor pruningworkshop is offered under the guidance of the course's instructor.

Scheidemann took the class three years ago. Upon completion, he received apruning license, which allows him to service city trees. Since completing thecourse, he has volunteered for Trees New York - spending up to 30 hours aweek caring for the greenery along 37th Avenue. He, and his wife, Patricia,also volunteer their time to the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.

"Volunteers like Carson are an important part of our organization," said SusanGooberman, education director of Trees New York. "Without them, many treescould not survive."

The City's Parks Department is primarily responsible for the care of city trees.However, over the years, budget restraints have meant that fewer pruners and climbers are available to tend to all the trees in each of the boroughs.Scheidemann stresses that he loves trees not only for their beauty, but also for the role they play in protecting the environment. "They give off oxygen and they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," he said.

According to Gooberman, city trees can use all the help they can get to stay healthy.

Both she and Scheidemann talk about the importance that tree guards (wrought iron, or wooden fences that surround the tree's trunk) play in keeping trees healthy.

"The soil surrounding the trees needs to be firm and compounded so that water can get to the roots," Scheidemann says. "The tree guards protect the soil from getting trampled. If it does, then it's nearly impossible for the moisture to get to the roots."

"Many of our volunteers do fund-raising in their.neighborhoods in order to buy guards for their trees," Gooberman said.

Another problem facing some city trees, especially maples, is the Asian long-horned beetle. "It's been destroying trees for several years," Gooberman said.

Once a tree is infected by the beetle, it must be cut down and burned to try to prevent its spread, Gooberman says. "We are currently working to help educate the public in spotting the beetle so that authorities can be notified, of new infestations," she said.

The pest has hit several neighborhoods particularly hard in Bayside and Flushing. The city Parks Department is using an experimental vaccine on some city trees in problem areas. "We don't know yet how effective it will be," Gooberman said.

Although trees play an important role in beautifying neighborhoods, Gooberman said it is vital to recognize how important they are to the environment.

"The mature, full canopies not only cool the air with shade and moisture during the hottest months," she said, "they are also efficient air purifiers."

In addition to the tree care courses offered to the general public. Trees New York also offers a job training program. Participants "are taught tree-climbing skills and how to use power tools in order to become eligible for more extensive tree care jobs," Gooberman said. Graduates of the program have gone on to find work in the Parks Department and at private nurseries.

HOW TO ENROLL

Enrollment is still open for the Trees New York course in Queens, which meets for two hours every Thursday through Oct. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Olmsted Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The outdoor workshop will be held Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost of the class is $80. Scholarships are available to those who need financial assistance. For more information contact Trees New York at 212-227-1887.