|
California Urban Wood Conference, and much more!!
March
10, 2011
Dear
Urban Forestry supporters,
Happy California Arbor Week! We’re delighted to bring you these updates,
and look forward to hearing about the urban forestry news in your own
neck of the woods.
1. California Urban Wood Conference
2. The value of green infrastructure for urban climate adaptation
3. Urban Water Planning Workshop
4. City Trees Article Highlights Healthy CommuniTrees
5. Service Programs Seek Support to Continue Community Work
6. Sacramento Creek Week
7. Membership is free – last week of our membership contest!
1. California Urban Wood Conference, May 19-21, 2011
We’re thrilled to share the news that the California Urban Wood
Conference will take place in San Francisco, CA on May 19-21, 2011.
Speakers will discuss the industry's most critical issues including new
business formation, certification of urban forest products, measuring
the urban forest resource base, and how community and
governmental organizations can support the further development of
the industry throughout the State. If you have any interest in
California's urban forests and how trees from those forests are used once
they come down then this conference is a must-attend event.
Meetings and discussions will be held
on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, at the Presidio Parade Ground,
an all-day event open to the public will be held to showcase urban forest
products and how urban trees are processed into lumber. This is a
unique opportunity to see what others are doing, educate the public, and
to sell urban forest products.
Please see the website for more details. http://fuf.net/urbanwood/index.html
2. The value of green infrastructure for urban climate adaptation
By Josh Foster, Ashley Lowe and Steve Winkelman
This report provides evidence of the value of green
infrastructure for local climate adaptation based on significant net
benefits and successful local action. In providing comparable cost,
performance, and benefits data across a selection of green infrastructure
practices, the report avoids equating each practice as a solution to a
single climate related problem but rather shows that a mix of approaches
is best.
For example, white roofs are often promoted as a panacea to
reducing urban heat island effects while ignoring the value of vegetated
roofs to both lower temperature and to manage storm runoff at comparable
net benefit (even at higher initial investment). Instead, this report
encourages consideration of the multiple benefits of single green
infrastructure solutions, the trade-off among solutions to achieve
multiple benefits, and how a combination of solutions may lead to the
highest net climate adaptation benefits depending on local needs,
capacities, and resources.
For example, a building with a combination vegetated, white,
and blue roof, surrounded by green alleys incentivized under a downspout
disconnect program, and encouraged by a permeable pavement ordinance,
shaded by street trees, and buffered from floods by local wetlands, not
only receives multiple net-benefits from green infrastructure but de
facto is more adapted to and mitigates climate change. If all public and
private property owners in a neighborhood, city, or county simultaneously
implement these practices the result is greater overall climate
resilience across a region.
This report provides evidence of the value of green
infrastructure, for example:
* In Houston, TX, trees provide $1.3 billion in stormwater benefits
* Trees in Portland, OR, generate approximately $13 million per year in
property tax revenues by increasing real estate values.
* Annual economic benefits of Washington DC street trees is $10.6
million, including $3.6 million for stormwater, $1.3 million for energy,
and $5.1 million for property value.
* Portland, OR, invested $8 million in green infrastructure to save $250
million in hard infrastructure costs.
Access the full report through our friends at Alliance for
Community Trees:
http://actrees.org/files/Research/gi_urban_climate_adaptation.pdf
3. Urban Water Planning Workshop, March 25, 2011
Back by popular demand, the
next Southern CA Water Committee Urban Water Planning Workshop
is set to take place on March 25 at the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California.
All water suppliers must
complete updates to their Urban Water Management Plans by July 1 of this
year. Attend SCWC's
next urban water planning workshop, and hear tips from experts on preparing
your urban water management plan properly.
The workshop will include a keynote presentation from Devendra
Upadhyay, a water resources management expert with the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California.
The event will also feature UWMP guidance and panel discussions with key
experts from the California Department of Water Resources,
Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, McCormick Kidman & Behrens, San Bernardino
Valley Municipal Water District, Municipal Water District of Orange
County, Irvine Ranch Water District, Las Virgenes Municipal Water
District, and more.
Lunch has been generously provided for the event by Best Best
& Krieger. SCWC thanks Best Best
& Krieger for their support.
Additional event details are available here: http://socalwater.org/urban_water_flyer.pdf
To RSVP now, contact Alex
Comisar at acomisar@fionahuttonassoc.com.
4. City Trees Article Highlights Healthy CommuniTrees
We’re delighted to share the latest issue of City Trees magazine, which
features an article by Certified Urban Forester Delia Juncal on her work
with the Healthy CommuniTrees project. Check out the inspiring success! http://read.dmtmag.com/issue/26295
5. Sacramento Creek Week
The
Sacramento Area Creeks Council (SACC) is hosting the 21st annual
Creek Clean-up. This highly successful and visible countywide Creek Week
event culminates with an entertaining celebration.
Your
organization is invited to host an educational exhibit as part of the
2011 Sacramento Creek Clean-up Celebration on Saturday, April 16 from
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm at Carmichael Park.
After
the creek cleanup the morning of April 16, volunteers, sponsors and
invited guests participate in the post-cleanup celebration that features
a complimentary lunch, entertainment, contests and various educational
exhibits. This is a wonderful opportunity to share information about your
organization, answer questions, and promote your programs, volunteer
opportunities, and upcoming events. Last year's celebration attracted
over 1,500 visitors!
Please
contact Alta Tura at saccreeks@gmail.com by March 30, 2011
to participate.
6.
Service Programs Seek Support to Continue Community Work
We know you appreciate trees, in your neighborhood, and so do we. Service
programs like AmeriCorps make huge contributions to urban forestry in
California and elsewhere. Federal legislation that could eliminate
AmeriCorps is currently being discussed. A campaign is asking for
supporters of AmeriCorps to call elected officials on March 15.
Please see the Save Service site to get more information: http://www.saveservice.org/
We’d
like to extend a special thank you to all who do service in their
community!
7.
Membership is free – last week of our membership contest!
As
a big CA Arbor Week thank you to our growing support base, we will award
a $100 Gift Card to the first three current members who get 25 or more new
members to sign up by the end of California Arbor Week (March 14,
2011)! The winners can choose from a Macy’s, Amazon.com, or
Travelocity Hotel Voucher. We look forward to thanking you for your
efforts to reach out to new CaUFC members!
Our
growing membership base shows how many people place
value on greening our cities. Please join us – show your support for
cleaner air, reduced energy use, sustainable water management and
peaceful communities – all at no cost!
Your
membership helps urban forestry in California grow! Thank you for joining
us in our efforts to grow urban forestry, and please also check us out on
Facebook!
Membership:http://www.caufc.org/Membership
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/California-Urban-Forests-Council/173306846012971?v=wall
Thanks
for all that you do for urban forestry. We’re eager to hear about the
urban forestry news in your area!
Best wishes,
Sonya Hammons
shammons@caufc.org
Program Officer
California Urban Forests Council
|
