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A publication of the Tree Program at the Delaware Center for Horticulture

May—June 2008
Arbor Day 2008 Volume 2, Issue 3

By Nick Lodsun, Tree Pro- cational activity designed to Foundation.

gram VISTA
On the gorgeous day of
Wednesday, April 23rd ,
schoolchildren, volunteers,
tree contracting companies,
and numerous others de-
scended upon Brown Burton
Winchester Park (BBW) in
Wilmington to celebrate Ar-
bor Day 2008. Amidst the
reconstruction of BBW’s
poolhouse, over 200 4 th grade
students representing Edi-
son Charter, Eastside Char-
ter, Shortlidge Academy, and
Urban Promise rotated be-
tween three educational ac-
tivities. First, they observed
professional arborists climb
trees and give instructions
on proper safety protocols.
Undoubtedly, the activity
sparked some of the stu-
dents’ interest in the field of
arboriculture. Next, the
groups moved on to an edu-
explain the importance of
nutrients, sunlight, and wa-
ter to trees. Students acted
as “trees” and, while not
moving their feet, scrambled
to grab as many colored
chips (nutrients) as they
could. Volunteer instructors
taught that trees, like peo-
ple, have to compete for and
share resources. Finally,
each student played a small
role in planting one of 11
trees in the large traffic me-
dian across from BBW be-
tween 24th and 25th Streets.
The classes found their ways
between stations with the
help of the students at Pro-
ject Stay Free, a school for
juvenile offenders that want
to get back on track. After
the activities were com-
pleted, Mayor Baker re-
ceived Wilmington’s 15th
Tree City USA Award from
the Delaware Forest Service
and the National Arbor Day
The celebration at BBW
Inside this issue:
Park was not the only com- At the DCH Library 2
ponent to this year’s Arbor
Day. In the morning, local
Arbor Day in Pictures 3
tree contracting companies
volunteered their time and
equipment to do major work
Tree-minders 4
in Riverview Cemetery. The
cemetery has fallen on some
hard times and was in des-
perate need of tree work.
The volunteer arborists
worked to remove numerous
dead trees and prune some
that were getting out of con-
trol. Some companies even
stayed longer than was
asked to be sure the job was
done right! Represented
were All Seasons, Arborist
Associates, Asplundh, Bart-
lett Tree Experts, Beaver
Creek Tree, Bob’s Crane,
Brandywine Tree & Shrub,
Davey Tree, Delmarva
Power, DiSabatino, Leo Friel
(Continued on page 2)

Attention Tree Stewards…

We are looking for fresh ideas to spread the Tree Program in Wilmington! If you have
any ideas, don’t hesitate to send us a line at (302) 658-6262 x113 or nlodsun@dehort.org
AND ALSO...if you received this issue via snail mail, that means that we don’t have
your e-mail address! We’d like to save paper and trees and send the newsletter electroni-
cally...please update us!
 In the DCH Library

<- If a picture is worth a thousand words, then

Trees by Tony Rodd and Jennifer Stackhouse is
the library of congress.
From TreeHugger.com

...this book seems to know everything about

horticultural trees and bushes ->
James R. McCall via Amazon.com

Trees: A Visual Guide by Tony Rodd Manual of Woody Land-

and Jennifer Stackhouse scape Plants by Michael A.
Dirr
Trees: A Visual Guide contains some of the most beautiful and stunning pictures of any book I have read. Breathtaking photo-
graphs are juxtaposed with descriptive guides and diagrams describing all aspects of tree life and forests. While not exactly a
textbook, Trees takes the reader through the entire world of trees, inside and out. I would even call it the Plant Earth of tree
books.
Michael A. Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants is another book in a class all its own. I don’t think a tree book exists that
is more descriptive and informational. What I also like is how Dirr’s personal opinions are peppered throughout the text. While
you wouldn’t exactly read it from cover to cover, this is THE go-to book for arboricultural enthusiasts.
We also recently received a complementary copy of Dr. Lee Anderson’s Riverview Cemetery: Reading the Stones– A Collection of
Memoirs from the First State. Dr. Anderson organized the Friends of Riverview Cemetery Group and assisted DCH with the
planning of the volunteer contractor work on Arbor Day. Her book takes a fascinating look at the history of the cemetery
through personal stories. A good read for any Wilmington history buff. -Nick Lodsun, Tree Program VISTA

Arbor Day 2008 (continued from page 1)

& Sons, Kerns Brothers,
Rickerman Tree Service,
Copeland’s Mulch Depot and
Holland Mulch. A big thanks
goes out too all of these com-
panies!
And then, in addition to the
above mentioned activities,
we held a small Arbor Day
celebration on Friday the
25th with the 4 th grade stu-
dents of Marion T. Academy
at Brandywine Playground.
Since Marion T. Academy
has been participating in
Arbor Day for the past five
years, DCH held this scaled-
down version of our BBW
celebration for them because
their is a bit too far of a walk
to BBW for 75 4 th graders.
We planted a tree and
played a few educational
games with the students.
When the kids weren’t preoc-
cupied with the fascinating
clusters of tent worms in the
trees above, they learned
about tree health, growth
rings, and proper tree plant-
ing techniques.
Overall, the week was filled
with tree-related activities
for us here at DCH. And
luckily, the weather was on
our side for all of the outdoor
events. We here at DCH
were happy to put on these Help the Tree Program by investing in TreeBank! Tree-
events for the community Bank is the proprietary online giving service of TreeLink,
and we want you to remem-
one of the most respected non-profit organizations in the
ber- the trees need our love
urban forestry movement. Donations made through Tree-
at all times of the year. Don’t
Bank directly benefit the Tree Program at DCH, meaning
wait for one day of the year
to make a difference. Arbor we’ll have more resources to develop programs for YOU!
Day can be every day! Visit http://www.dehort.org/whatwedo/treeprogram.php and
click the TreeBank logo today!

Page 2 Wilmington Tree Press

 Clockwise from top left: Mayor Baker entertains
Arbor Day 2008 in Pictures schoolchildren at Brown Burton Winchester
Park; arborists remove a hazardous tree from
Riverview Cemetery; students from Urban
Promise watch a tree climbing demonstration;
Head State Urban Forester Henry Poole in-
structs students on proper tree planting tech-
niques; Jen Bruhler of DCH plants a tree with
students from Marion T. Academy. Photo cred-
its: Gary Schwetz, Patrice Sheehan

Volume 2, Issue 3 Page 3

Delaware Center for Horticulture
1810 N DuPont St.
Wilmington, DE 19806
Phone: (302) 658-6262 x113
Fax: (302) 658-6267
E-mail: nlodsun@dehort.org
Website: www.dehort.org
The Delaware Center for Horticulture cultivates a greener community; inspiring appreciation and im-
provement of our environment through horticulture, education and conservation.
Wednesday, May 7th, 5pm @ DCH:
Urban Forestry Grant Workshop
This is the follow up to our previous
grant workshop. State Urban Forester
Henry Poole will be present to discuss
the application and answer questions.
Thursday, July 10th, 5:30pm, location
TBA
Tree Care Club
All are welcome, but we recommend you
attend our 5/22 pruning workshop for
proper instruction.
Monday, September 15th
Expected on-sale date for fall bare root
tree orders. Orders will be due back by
October 15th.
Tree-minders
Thursday, May 22nd, 5:30pm @ DCH
Tree Pruning Workshop.
Open to all at no charge. Includes a lec-
ture and live demonstration. Participat-
ing Tree Stewards receive a free hand-
book.
Sunday, July 20th
Urban Forestry Grant application due
date.
For more information on any aspect of
the Tree Program, please contact Nick
Lodsun at (302) 658-6262 x113 or at
nlodsun@dehort.org
Thursday, June 5th, 5pm @ DCH
Mobile Tree Care Workshop
We are looking for volunteers for
this project! We will be visiting recipi-
ents of CDBG funds and instructing
them on proper tree care.
Thursday, August 7th, 5:30pm location
TBA
Tree Care Club
All are welcome, but we recommend you
attend our 5/22 pruning workshop for
proper instruction.