New trees to improve our canopy

Showing a line of new trees planted towards the end of Livingstone Road. From nothing to leafy will be really nice. I also love that the owners of the two trees on the left made modifications to their fence to allow them to keep the trees.  

I am impressed to see so many newly planted street trees being planted to actually fill in streets, where previously the number of street trees remained stationary for many years.

It looks good to see street trees planted closer together.  Unless they are badly or over-pruned, the density of planting will also create decent shade once these trees grow larger & shade is much needed on our streets.

Livingstone Road Marrickville South is not one of the streets that I felt was desperately short of street trees. While I consider there are very few streets in the overall percentage in our area that don’t need at least one tree, Livingstone Road has a good number of taller trees & a relatedly good canopy when compared with other streets.  Therefore, I was really pleased to see that the Inner West Council has planted new street trees much closer together, every 5-7 metres or so depending on conditions like driveways.

I was also pleased to find a tag stapled to a stake that told me these new trees are Luscious® Tristaniopsis laurina.

This tree is an Australian native that is similar in appearance to a Magnolia, which is a very popular tree, so people should like it.  It grows to 7–12 metres tall & 5 metres wide at maturity, though this cannot be taken as a given due to growing conditions & importantly, pruning practices.

The leaves are large dark green & shiny with red or copper-coloured new growth.   The bark is a port wine colour that peels to reveal a cream colour.   Yellow sweetly perfumed flowers are produced in summer attracting bees, butterflies & other insects.

It seems that wherever I drive I see new trees & this is a change from previous years when I started being observant of these things.  Thank you Council.

Further down Livingstone Road. What a positive impact these will make when grown.

International tree news – the good stories

1.         The Italians are embarking on the biggest tree planting program in their

Found in Enmore Park

modern history by planting 7,000 trees by March 2011 costing €1.65 million.  They are doing this in response to a much-criticized pruning operation of the city’s trees & because Rome’s Palm trees are dying because of Red Palm Weevil infection. Thousands of Palm trees have died across Italy since 2004 due to the Asian bug.

“Experts have provided advice on the placing of the trees & their future impact on the city, taking into consideration such factors as the appropriate distance between trees & buildings, their proximity to traffic lights & lamp posts & the suitability & width of pavements along which they will be planted.” Looks like they are planning on keeping the trees by planting the right tree in the right place.  http://www.wantedinrome.com/news/news.php?id_n=7527

2.         The 6^th annual National NeighborWoods Month was held in the US during October. More than 20,000 volunteers planted 35,000 trees in 150 cities across the US.

“The National Wildlife Federation says 60 – 200 million spaces exist along US city streets where trees could be planted. If trees were added in each one, they could absorb 33 million more tons of carbon dioxide annually & save $4 billion in energy costs each year.” It’s great that they are even thinking in this way, as I have not heard the same thoughts concerning street trees in Australia.  It would be interesting to have the same calculations done here.  http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/10/35000-us-trees-planted-october/1

3.         Replant South Mississippi is continuing its program of free trees for the community to plant as part of replacing the 300,000 trees killed by Hurricane Katrina. A further 1.5 million trees were damaged by the hurricane.  They have given away almost 65,000 free trees since 2006. http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/24/2579146/free-tree-program-applications.html

4.         In a win for a heritage Oak tree, for the community & for the environment, residents of St. Andrews successfully lobbied Bay County in Panama to change its stormwater drainage project plans to save the tree.  The Council will now lift the tree & install a stormwater pipe well below the tree’s root system.  I didn’t know this could be done.  http://www.newsherald.com/news/city-87727-county-tree.html

5.         An Orthodox Jewish congregation in Jersey US did something wonderful &

Autumn

extraordinarily generous to save a historic Teaneck tree by buying the property that the tree lives on to stop the owner from cutting down the tree.  They paid US$1.24 million to secure the land to ensure the tree can live out its days. The very rare Teaneck tree (Red Oak) is estimated to be between 250-300 years old.  It stands 24 metres tall (80 feet) & has a 61-metre-wide (200 feet) canopy.  I repeat, a 61-metre-wide canopy!

I’ve never seen a tree with such a large canopy. If I ever travel to New York, I will be heading out to Jersey to visit this tree.  I’ll bet there will be others like me bringing in tree tourism dollars.  This story is one I won’t forget in a long time. http://ht.ly/35eAp

6.         Britain’s Woodland Trust will be giving away 500,000 free trees in December 2010. “Around 500 communities will benefit from the scheme, receiving either an “acre in a box” of 420 trees to plant on a patch of land, or a collection of 105 trees which will create a smaller woodland across a quarter of an acre.” http://www.formbytimes.co.uk/environment/2010/11/10/half-a-million-trees-to-boost-native-woodlands-66401-27629600/

7.         Late last month an 8-year-old collie ‘Belle’ found herself stuck 9 metres (30ft) up a tree during a walk with her owner. She spent almost 6 hours balancing on a small branch before being rescued by the local Fire Service.  She must have been chasing a squirrel.  Question is, how does a big dog climb 9 metres up a tree? http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2010/10/23/dog-gets-stuck-up-tree-in-cannock-chase-97319-27528916/

Flowers of the Firewheel tree