In celebration of the changing of seasons, we’re announcing a community presentation for all audiences.
UNM-Taos Hive is hosting our presentation on plants and technology in communities: Hacking Plants & Their Maps.
If you’ve ever wondered why plants are vital to your community, how to collect data and use that data to make management decisions, this is the community event for you.
We’ll be guiding attendees through the various free tools and resources that are available, tips and tricks to identifying problems in landscapes, and more.
This free presentation has limited seating, so register today to reserve your spot!
Ordinances from Policy to Practice@ 11:00am-12:30pm Mountain
Urban forest ordinances aren’t just technical paperwork—they’re the legal backbone that shapes planning, management, and long-term program success. Join UCFS for a dynamic workshop that demystifies ordinance language and gives you the tools you need to shape resilient, future-ready tree care policy.
Turning Problems into Prescriptions: Modern Tree Diagnostics @ 2:00pm-3:00pm Mountain
Learn how to properly identify and treat for issues by adding a diagnostic checklist to your PHC practice.
During this webinar, you will learn the most efficient way to implement a diagnostic checklist. Having a reliable template allows operators to efficiently sort through environmental factors, deliver a prescription and execute the necessary treatments. We will also cover the top urban tree insects for this season and how to control them using modern solutions.
We are headed to Utah to present at the UNPS Rare Plant Meeting!
We’ll be booking folks in Utah and Salt Lake Counties on our trip. Click the “Contact Us” button to schedule an appointment.
There are two live webinars for free ISA CEU training opportunities available this week.
Tuesday, March 3
Increasing biological control of soft-scale insects by excluding ants from trees@ 11:00am-12:00pm Mountain
Soft-scale insects such as magnolia scale, calico scale, and oak lecanium scale are common pests on urban trees that are hard to manage. Ants feed on the honeydew excreted from soft-scales, and ants protect scales from predators and parasitoids that normally aid in scale regulation. Therefore, excluding ants from tree canopies should enhance scale regulation by predators and parasitoids. We tested the ability of basal trunk sprays of insecticides (bifenthrin and spinosad) as well as ant baits (spinosad and Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate – DOT) to exclude ants from oak trees infested with oak lecanium scale and we looked at resultant impacts on scale biocontrol. In this presentation I will share our research findings, our future plans to expand this work, and suggest how ant exclusion can be used to effectively manage scales.
Growth and Loss — Understanding Resident Perspectives on Urban Trees@ 10:00am-11:00am Mountain
Urban residents often desire and identify closely with trees in the municipal landscape. Join Candace B. Powning, City of Hartford, as she discusses new research about understanding the effects of sudden tree canopy loss (and regrowth!) in the urban environment.
Last weekend, I attended the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop and it fundamentally changed my perspective on my life in the last 18 months. I haven’t decided if I’ll share some of the details at a later date, as it is very personal, but suffice it to say–I’m a changed woman.
The next day, I found out that I passed the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. I was (and still am) over the moon about this accomplishment!
Many of my clients aren’t familiar with Tree Risk Assessments, so let’s break it down:
What are Tree Risk Assessments?
Trees, like life, carry inherent risk. When a tree fails, it can have severe consequences. However, most trees carry low risk and the ecosystem benefits that they provide frequently outweigh the risks they pose to community.
Tree Risk Assessments help tree managers/owners (homeowners, landlords, renters, etc) determine how to manage the risk of a particular tree or set of trees through the help of a trained professional (Tree Risk Assessor) to identify the potential causes of tree failure, the consequences of failure and how to mitigate the risk of a tree failing.
As someone who was raised in communities with reduced canopy, many trees are removed because any risk of failure is unacceptable to the person responsible for the care of the tree. This can be due to perceived or actual costs associated with tree care like watering, pruning, or home/liability insurance.
As your tree risk assessor, I’m providing an impartial view of how to mitigate risk while balancing the ecosystem benefits of a tree in your care.
How can I reduce the risk of my tree failing?
I’m a fan of the phrase coined by Benjamin Franklin ” an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
Trees are living beings. They’re all individuals and require different kinds of care to stay healthy–just like humans.
However, structural pruning, consistent watering and planting the right tree in the right place, in the right season for the right reason will likely set up your tree for generations of success.
Plant Expertise for your Community
Having an expert in your back pocket that understands plant biology and knows how to apply plant ecology processes for the health of your plant community is invaluable.
Investing in the care of your plant community–trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, mosses, lichen, and more–is a return on investment that is counted in generations, not decades.
An experienced plant scientist guiding the way to sustainable systems of care for your community supports the peace of mind that only a healthy landscape provides.
Marching Orders
I’ll be in Utah next week for the Rare Plant Meeting; I’ll be providing the closing presentation on Day 2, marking the beginning of a new year for the plant and people communities in the high desert. I highly encourage everyone to attend either in-person or on Zoom.
