Urban and Community Forestry : Virginia Department of Forestry

Category: Urban and Community Forestry!!

Historical Landscape of James Monroe’s Highland

February 26, 2021 - Property managers at James Monroe’s Highland recently conducted preservation work on the estate’s tree canopy using cost-share funding from the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF). With more than 100 ash trees on the property, Highland has not been insulated from the effects of the emerald ash borer (EAB)– an invasive pest that damages and eventually kills native ash species. To maintain the overall health of their tree canopy, they’ve removed... Read More

Restoring Canopy at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah

February 15, 2021 - The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) helped Camp Kum-Ba-Yah give some much-needed care to their campground’s forest. The wooded property in Lynchburg, Virginia is owned and operated by the Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship. Camp Kum-Ba-Yah was founded in 1950 by Reverend Bev Cosby. Along with the camp, the property houses the Church of the Covenant, The Lodge of the Fishermen, Common Grounds Café, and Chrysalis Interfaith Retreat Center. Ash trees on... Read More

A Christmas Present for Stony Creek

January 8, 2021 - The walking track in Sussex County’s Stony Creek Park is a well-used community resource. Citizens use it for exercise, and for years, the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) has used it for firefighter pack tests. Walking the open track in the summer heat gave Zach Dowling, Senior Area Forester for DOF’s Waverly work area, an idea. Last summer, Zach mentioned to town council member Mike Moody that shade trees would... Read More

Fourth Edition of the Virginia Tree Steward Manual Now Available

December 8, 2020 - The Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Tech, and Trees Virginia are excited to announce the release of the newest edition of the Virginia Tree Steward Manual! The manual is available to view and download on the Trees Virginia website. This manual serves as the main resource for Tree Steward groups working across the state. It was last updated in 2009, and a lot of the materials were outdated. The group... Read More

Field Notes: Out of the Ashes

August 20, 2020 - By Joe Lehnen, Forest Utilization & Marketing Specialist Until about two years ago, the fate of trees removed from the urban forest in Harrisonburg, Virginia was predetermined. The trees, no matter how large they might be, were either destined for the firewood pile or had a future as mulch via a giant tub grinder. Like many other municipalities across the Commonwealth, urban trees that were removed due to natural mortality... Read More

Abigail the Green Ash in Alexandria

July 30, 2020 - On July 22, DOF’s urban & community forestry (U&CF) manager Lara Johnson traveled to Alexandria, Virginia to visit a well-known green ash tree. This ash, located in a courtyard between two apartment buildings, is likely hundreds of years old and is one of largest ash trees in the nation. Abigail (so named by property managers Mike and Olivia) is the current Virginia State Champion and was once the National Big... Read More

Field Notes: In This Together, Apart

June 12, 2020 - by Sarah Parmelee, Area Forester Despite a spring shrouded in uncertainty, DOF forester Sarah Parmalee found hope and normalcy in a very simple forestry task – planting trees with her community, together but apart. Tree planting projects were very different during the 2020 spring planting season, but forestry work must continue to keep our forests, waterways and communities healthy and hopeful. Sarah is thankful for the people and organizations that... Read More

Saving Pumpkin Ash

June 9, 2020 - In late May, Lara Johnson and Meghan Mulroy-Goldman (DOF urban & community forestry team), along with the Virginia Beach Urban Forestry Department, embarked on a scouting mission for the rare pumpkin ash in the bottomlands surrounding Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach (based on information shared from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.) After traveling through the swampy coastal forest, Lara, Meghan and the Virginia Beach Urban Forestry Staff located... Read More

Restoring Urban Canopy at the James W. Garner Building

November 6, 2019 - On the morning of November 4, a crew of volunteers from Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards (CATS) and a University of Virginia chapter of Alpha Phi Omega (APO) worked with several Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) staff members to plant 16 trees on the DOF campus front lawn. The driveway and the lawn are the first places that visitors see when arriving to the DOF James W. Garner building in... Read More

Field Notes: DOF Supports Dominion Energy’s Project Plant It!

June 24, 2019 - by Sara Hunt, Project Plant It! Page Hutchinson, the DOF’s forest education specialist, shared her knowledge of trees with students who were enrolled in Dominion Energy’s Project Plant It! program. During the month of April, she visited Meriwether Lewis Elementary in Albemarle County and Thomas Jefferson Elementary in Louisa County. Her interactive presentations helped the students understand more about the products that come from trees and also about the important... Read More

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