farewell to our amazing americorps members · after survived the most severe floods, winds,...
TRANSCRIPT
Woman pruning a
tree
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"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-
Please note: In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and Washington's Stay Home,
Stay Healthy order, Urban Forestry classes and events that were scheduled through the end of July
are currently suspended. The safety and well-being of our staff and our community is our highest
priority. We will continue to monitor the situation. Updates will be posted on our website as new
information becomes available. Thank you for your understanding.
Honoring Vancouver's Old Apple Tree
After survived the most severe floods, winds, drought, ice and snow, Vancouver’s venerable Old
Apple Tree has sadly died at the age of 194.
What Happened
In late June, dying leaves suddenly appeared throughout the tree. These symptoms sparked the City
of Vancouver’s Urban Forestry staff to do a quick checkup on its health.
Arborists were called to conduct a thorough evaluation. It was observed that the cambium layer of
the tree, which serves as the arteries that transport water and nutrients to the canopy, had been cut
off. Their assessment was that the tree appeared to have shifted slightly earlier in June, disrupting
the cambium layer that keeps the tree alive. Add to that the hot weather, which pulled water from
the leaves quickly, and the result was the sudden dry, shriveling leaves on the tree.
The Old Apple Tree has had a significant spiral crack in the trunk that had been expanding over the
last several years, leading to decay and rot in a large part of the tree trunk. Even during this time,
however, the canopy (leaves and branches) of the tree was healthy and still growing. The tree
continued to flower and produce apples, as well.
With the age of the tree and state of its trunk in mind, the City has been planning for this sad
day. The City has been partnering with the Old Apple Tree Research team, nurturing several of the
root suckers, which are now small trees growing around the Old Apple Tree.
The team has been meeting since 2009, and is comprised of professionals from Bartlett Tree
Experts, which has donated services to the tree for years, The National Park Service, Joe Beaudoin,
Arborscape Tree Care, and Charles Ray, the City’s Urban Forester. The Old Apple Tree Research Team
will reconvene to plan for the management of the tree and next steps to assure its legacy lives on.
History
The Old Apple Tree served as a tangible reminder of the power of trees to bridge generations and
provide continuity between the past and the future. Planted from seed in 1826 at the historical Fort
Vancouver, the Old Apple Tree is considered the matriarch of the apple industry in Washington State.
In 1830, it provided Clark County's first apple harvest - one single apple.
The long celebrated tree was witness to many, many historical events – including the influenza
pandemic of 1918 – and has been featured in stories, photos and artwork. In September 2010,
Robert Cromwell, Archeologist with the National Parks Service and Fort Vancouver, wrote a detailed
history of the Old Apple Tree for the Northwest Cultural Resources Institute.
The Old Tree also lives on in offspring planted throughout the region. Cuttings obtained by arborists
have been handed out to the public during the City’s annual Old Apple Tree Festival for many years.
Plans for this year’s annual festival are still pending due to COVID-19 considerations and limitations.
Remembering the Old Apple Tree as a Community
Vancouver Urban Forestry invites the community to share stories and photos of the Old Apple Tree
through the Letters to Trees program. We are also interested if you have Old Apple Tree daughters
(cuttings) that you recived and have nurtured; we have given out so many and want to hear about
them! You can submit letters, any pictures you have, or any artwork you create to
[email protected]. You can also submit stories and pictures directly online through
our submission form here.
For more about the Old Apple Tree and other tree information, visit the Urban Forestry webpage,
or www.cityofvancouver.us/urbanforestry, or call 360-487-8308.
Farewell to our Amazing AmeriCorps Members
With a bittersweet goodbye, we are celebrating and recognizing the amazing group of AmeriCorps
members from the 2019-20 year. Way back in September, when the world looked a little different,
we welcomed five members to the City's team. Two members served direclty with us; Ash served
with Urban Forestry while Autumn split her time between Urban Forestry and the Volunteer
Program. Both have been absolute superstars in developing programing, supporting volunteers, and
taking care of our urban forest! The other members served in environmental services respectively;
Kecen with Volunteer Program, Claire with Water Center, and Shane with Solid Waste and Water
Center.
Just as they became familiar with their roles and really started developing programming,
coordinating events, and leading volunteers, the pandemic hit and everything changed. They went
from having a clear workplan, goals, and leadership, to navigating the changes along with all of us,
and often with uncertaintly.
The members impressed us with their adaptability in transitioning to telecommuting and the
technology that comes along with it, to their creativity in developing virtual programming that
continues to engage the community, and with their dedication to service (that what they signed up
for, after all) by serving vulnerable populations at food pantries and banks, and their amazing
teamwork. This is the first time that all the members have collaborated on projects, in past years
they were so busy with their respective sites there wasn't the opportunity. In April, with city offices
closing and all in-person events cancelled, they developed a virtual Earth Day celebration to
engagen the public in the 50th anniversary. The team then began developing a display at the Water
Resources Education Center, focusing on the importance of trees in our urban watersheds. Be sure to
check it out when the Water Center re-opens!
The members continue the collaboration, meeting us at this moment in time. As their terms comes
to a close, the team has embraced the opportunity to develop, coordinate, and lead the space for
learning and staff discussions around racial justice and equity as it relates to the the environmental
sector. This is very important work that trancends each of us, while we each have a duty to fully
commit to and embrace the learning, discussions, and actions for an equitable environment for us
all.
This has been an AmeriCorps term like no other - and this has truly been an AmeriCorps team like
no other. Please join us in celebrating and recognizing these amaing individuals that gave and
gained so much over the past 10 1/2 months. Thank you, Members!
Watershed Treevia
Looking for a night in? Eager to test your tree and watershed
knowledge? Vancovuer Urban Forestry is partnering with the
Watershed Alliance of Southwest Washington to hold an
online Watershed Treevia night! So gather with your
housemates, get some food and drink, and tune in to participate in the live trivia event.
Date: Tuesday, July 14
Time: 6 - 8 pm
Where: Watershed Alliance's Facebook Live
Questions? Contact Vancouver Urban Forestry at [email protected].
Environmentalists for Black Lives Matter
The staff attorney for Columbia Riverkeeper, Simone Anter, Jicarilla Apache and Yaqui, wrote an
important essay discussing the deep relationship between Black Lives Matter and environmentalism.
You can read the essay here: Columbia Riverkeeper on Black Lives Matter
Forest Quiz
How much do you know about trees? Now's the chance
to test your knowledge!
The World Forestry Center in Oregon made a fun and
fascinating forest quiz! It takes less than 10 minutes
and is a great way to boost your tree expertise.
Arbor Chat Webinars
Starting in July, arborists from around the
Pacific Northwest will be holding Arbor
Chats, online webinars where you can get
your questions answered about different
arbor topics. Held by the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture,
these webinars will be interactive, and each one will focus on a different topic.
You can see the schedule here. PNW-ISA members can attend for free. Otherwise, non-members
must pay a fee of $10 to join.
The first one will be "Arbor Chat: Should I put a sign on my wildlife habitat snag?"
When: Friday, July 10 from 8 to 9 am
Where: Online
Register here.
Volunteer Programs Flickr Account
The City of Vancouver Volunteer Program has a Flickr account, which allows
us to upload photos online to share with everyone. They've also included
photos from Urban Forestry events as well. If you've volunteered with the
City, or are interested in seeing the kind of work that our great volunteers
have done, check it out!
Click here to visit the Volunteer Programs Flickr page.
Tree Truths: Trees and Fire
As we get into the hot and dry summer season, with fireworks
and camping becoming popular once more, our country is faced
with the threat of forest fires.
But fire can actually be a good thing for forests in the US. Not
the big, out-of-control fires, of course, but smaller ones that
help keep underbrush in control. Some forests even need fire.
For example, some trees, like the native lodgepole pine, need
fire to reproduce - they have serotinous cones, which are cones
that need intense heat to open up so they can germinate!
Just because our forests do need fire doesn't mean that all
these big wildfires are good, of course. It just means that we
need to learn better ways to manage our forests, and open our
minds to the importance of prescribed burns and what a healthy forest looks like. Forest ecologist
Paul Hessburg talks about why wildfires have gotten worse and what we can do about them, in this
15-minute TedXBend video.
You can also listen to the amazing NPR podcast California Burning: Solutions to California's Wildfire
Problem. This series discusses the history of forest fires, Smokey the Bear, fire management, and
what the future holds.
So please be careful when you're out in hot and dry areas this summer - be fire-safe and fire-
smart!
Urban Forestry Commission
The July Urban Forestry Commission meeting will be held online. Contact
[email protected] for inquiries.
The Urban Forestry Commission, a 7-member citizen commission, assists the city with developing
good management practices to conserve the city's trees and forests, educating citizens on the
importance of urban trees, and organizing tree plantings. The Commission meetings are open to the
public and are held every third Wednesday of the month at 6:00 pm at City Hall at 415 W 6th St.
Call 360-487-8328 for additional information.
For more details, visit the Urban Forestry Commission page on the city website.
415 W. 6th St. | P.O. Box 1995 | Vancouver, WA 98668
(360) 487-8308 | TTY: (360) 487-8602 | [email protected]
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