Whenever I feel “bad” about my front yard permaculture garden (Thanks to annoying Boomer neighbours who have ultra tidy, chemical covered lawns) I come to this channel and remember that I’m the sane one in the neighbourhood.
There is a tree committee in the town in which I live. Last year, they walked up and down the street and decided where they wanted to plant very large trees in the hell strip. From what I understand from talking with my neighbor and from my own experience, they never tried to make contact with the homeowners. I happened to see a group of three people with day-glo vests, clipboards and measuring tape measuring my front area between sidewalk and highway. Keep in mind that I had planted out a food forest in my front yard about three years ago, right up against the sidewalk and is 120'x30'. It already has about 20 trees in it, although they are still very small. It has a southern exposure and is a perfect setup for a garden. I have worked hard and spent a small fortune getting it to this point. Renting a sod cutter, buying fruit trees, etc. I have planted the trees on the north side of the bed and included trees like persimmons, serviceberries and pawpaws. I wanted smaller trees that are manageable. I'm done with the giant ones that could cause real damage. Two days ago, I am out picking strawberries, when I see that they have dropped off a ten foot oak to be planted right in front of my garden, which would block most sunlight and kill my emerging food forest. I understand that oaks are extremely valuable wildlife trees, however, my next door neighbor already has an oak not 20' from where this one was to be planted. As it is, all of the leaves land on my property (the wind blows them over because my property is much lower in elevation) and the squirrels, not understanding property lines, plant all the acorns over here, where I then have to be on sapling patrol all the time! I was livid. I put my plight on a local forum where I hoped to rehome the tree, and within hours, had three people on my street who wanted the tree. I think it's a wonderful idea to plant trees along highways, however...it is crucial that there be communication between the tree committee and the homeowner. There will be a much higher success rate if the trees go to people who actually want them! I love trees, but it's got to be the right tree for the right spot. I am still astounded by the gall of this group of do-gooders to act this way. I emailed them and they did come and take the tree away, but in our conversation, I was told that the homeowners had no say in what tree they would receive--why not??? How hard is it to have a limited list from which to choose, have homeowners choose and then order? I guess that would require talking with the homeowner; silly me.
ooooof.. community buy-in and also publicly-funded tree-maintenance funds (maintaining large shade trees is $$$) are so crucial for these programs to be successful. One of the things I appreciated about Thrive East's talk was wanting to having dialogue and collaboration with property owners - letting them know the value of trees and feel supported in including them.
Angela, I was gobsmacked when 8 or so new trees were planted this past winter in nearby hellstrips. I have been personally trying to increase the shade in my neighborhood for years and it was such a joyful moment to see the support from the city for increasing our shade canopy in my area
Thank you! I live in a city, and I'm always explaining to people that my urban garden is at least 10 degrees hotter because it's not only on a south facing hillside, but it's also almost totally surrounded by concrete. I also had zero trees when I moved here. ZERO. I have added many since then. Lots of my trees are understory trees because my lot is only a quarter acre, but I do have a few larger trees, too, that I've planted. Well, hopefully one day they will be large. I already get a tiny bit of shade from several of my trees. I'm very appreciative of the trees I have and the shade they provide, even if it's a small amount for now. :)
As a resident of east Portland in the Parkrose area, I love trees. I just planted five new fruit trees on my property and plan to plant more. This is valuable knowledge. Thank you for sharing Angela.
I have a wildlife corridor running past our back fence that leads from one large expanse of bush land to a smaller one. Our council looks after it and mulches and keeps up plantings regularly and there are big koala friendly trees, beautiful wattles, banksias and grevillias for insects and birds and native grasses for lizards and snakes. Im so thankful that our council values green spaces. The suburbs where these plantings are not a priority are definately hotter and less desirable to live in and over the past 2 decades ive seen the councils put in lots of effort to plant equitably around my city.
I work in a city that is cognizant of the benefits of trees. Developments must receive “tree permits” for the removal of any protected trees. However, if/when a protected tree is removed either “accidentally” or on purpose without a permit - the reality is, a developer may be fined, but the glorious tree, often over 100 yrs old is gone. It’s dead. And even if replaced will not be back to where it was for 100 yrs. There is no re-do button. It will just be gone. Sad 😢
I love that your garden makes your family carbon neutral. I wonder if my mom’s gardens take care of our family. I’m just starting now that I have a little bit of space. I planted 4 trees last fall.
In the U.K. many streets have trees along the road/path. It’s not perfect, lost trees are not necessarily replaced, new trees in new build areas are usually left to fend for themselves. In fact, in one area I lived, as parking was considered not enough by people wanting two or three cars, people used the green space outside my house (not owned by me) to park, knocking over the not yet established tree and no one ever replaced it.
Excited for this topic! Since recovering from garden burnout last season I’ve been catching up on content I’ve missed. Thanks so much for all the videos you put out!
Great video! Another thing that I love about how trees improve air quality besides sequestering carbon is how they also help decrease PM - something that's been on my mind a lot since I recently moved to an urban area.
How do you stop residents, especially in lower income neighborhoods, from killing their trees? A decade ago, I saw a huge program in Los Angeles that planted trees all over the city. In some neighborhoods. I saw people taking care of their trees. In others, I saw people killing their trees: Not watering, pulling them out, and breaking them. At the same time, commercial areas were chopping down mature trees. I would say it was something l like 80% death of the new urban trees. I would also say that most neighborhoods could care less about their trees and neighborhoods that were already planting trees took care of theirs. There ended up to be several rounds of tree planting, as well as a continuing program. My old neighborhood has more trees today than when I moved out over 10 years ago. I saw some neighborhoods that lacked trees before and still do. Why would these people not plant trees, if not in the public way (just take care of the city trees planted there), then how about 1 tree in their yards? But actually almost all people chop down their trees. I have had people tell me in horror that I should chop down trees because they are incompatible with houses - they will destroy houses. I look around at all the trees existing with hundred+ year old houses and old walls, and go: "What the hell kind of eyes have you got?" So back to the question: How do you teach people that a bit of watering, a bit of not breaking the baby tree will result in a gorgeous tree in 10+ years. I took care of my trees and about 20 years later, my street there is tree lined. My smallest tree in the world (neighborhood joke) is now a giant fir. Seeing all the beautiful trees just because I took care of them is heartwarming. In my current property, I have also taken care of the one tree that was already here, as well as plant an additional 10 trees. The area is more stressful for trees, but they seem to have done well. The one tree is now a big, beautiful and flowering. I have trees that shade my back porch from the west side. My front yard is shaded by mid-afternoon and is full of birds and mitigates the summer heat a bit. Meanwhile, all my neighbors have chopped down their trees. I think there are 2 properties that added trees. Everyone else chopped down their grown trees and planted some twigs. Whether those twigs will become trees, maybe, but I doubt it. Apparently everyone believes they must plant sticks and controlled yard structures, rather than a shade canopy. And yes, I am a tree planter and a tree hugger. So definitely, more trees, trees, trees!
I saw a documentary by Vox about urban heat islands a while ago that may speak to part of your question - one of their recommendations if I remember correctly is planning for stewardship. For example, when trees are planted with good intentions by an organization or the city without a plan for how these trees will be cared for, many times the watering responsibility and cost are left to the people who own/rent the land. For those who are in low income neighborhoods, it adds a financial and time burden that they might not be able to shoulder. So, ensuring that there is an agreement for the city or organization or landlords (those who have. resources) to maintain tree care then in those situations may lead to better success.
@@marthaholt8261 I saw many of the trees torn up and broken. It was very depressing. The city actually had water trucks watering the trees. I do not remember how often they went out there. I just made sure to check mine, especially during the hot summers. The trees had stakes (2"?) on each side of the tree, but somehow people still managed to break them. As I said, it was very depressing. When I went back recently, those lost trees were still lost and the treeless neighborhoods were still treeless. The only thing that made me my heart full was the trees I took care of: They were beautiful, lush and shaded the street and sidewalk. The ones in the yard - I planted a grove of cypresses and a redwood and yep, a shade grove - it made me tear up; the Italian Stone pine on the other side of the yard was now covering a huge area. It was both beautiful and also bittersweet, because in those neighborhoods, they could have had trees like that if they had just kept them alive. It actually might have been 20+ years ago. I lived at that house long enough to see the trees were stable and could no longer be knocked down easily. As I said, in my current neighborhood, it seems like every neighbor cut down their big trees the first chance they got. In my block, I am the only one with a big tree. One block over, there is someone with I think 4 tall trees, and there might be another person who kept their one tall tree. Everyone else put in new sticks or made tree bonsais. At least my trees are nice and shady.
People take care of what they have learned about and have an emotional investment in. Perhaps a solution could be a program which involves the community in selecting the trees and shrubs, learning about their benefits and how to care for them coupled with a program for youngsters so they too have an investment. The trees could be given names so they are seen as individuals rather than just a plant. Trees which provide food as well as shade could be especially beneficial in low income areas. Contests using the fruits from the trees could create excitement for adults while coloring/art contests and projects could do the same for younger people.
That must have been so heartbreaking to see. It sounds like you did a lot to foster what you could. I think that - as TT Happy Rock refers to below - community buy-in is key along with structural support from government/organizations. Not only is providing education about the benefits of trees important like what you mentioned (and what the Thrive group hosting the tour that Angela attended was doing) but also finding ways to encourage communities to participate as TT Happy Rock said. I would also add that buy-in can be increased when communities are invited to the planning phase of programs so that they can share their lived experiences, expertise, and what they need as well as any potential solutions (as in the idea of "nothing about us without us").
@@marthaholt8261 I think maybe it needs to be neighborhood or community oriented, rather than individual oriented. Looking around and thinking about my previous observations, I would say most humans could care less about the greenery around them. They stand under trees, walk more when there are trees, park under trees, but do not know that by then, those trees are already a decade+ old. No one I know can name the plants they pass daily in their own neighborhood. I think most people will never be plant people. Instead, I think programs need to gather the plant people in an area and have those people agree to take care of the greenery. I do not know whether that is possible for say every 10 blocks, but that is the only thing I can think of.
Ok serious comment now: i live on Long Island. Parts are terrible, parts are beautiful. We have incorporated villages whose priority is tree preservation. We have an industrial park which is exactly that- industry in a park like setting. It is about 40 or 50 years old and some of the street trees are enormous. You cant see some of the buildings! The east end municipalities, including both forks, are primarily focused on environmental sustainability even in development. For instance, the entire township of Southold has determined it is all in an environmentally sensitive area and all projects must comply and be in accordance with the very stringent requirements thereof. On the south fork, the Town of East Hampton has strict clearing limits and Dark Sky laws in place. Development is still booming, but tree clearing is not permitted wholesale. Its not perfect, and taxes are ridiculous, and the cost of living is prohibitive in these places. But its a start and i am grateful for it. Some of the less affluent townships are slowly incorporating some of these requirements. Ill do the happy dance when Hempstead does!! But Hempstead township has a large immigrant, poor population and it is one of the not so beautiful places. But they do have parks and green places, its just not a priority for the neighborhood housing areas. My job is building permit expediting so you can bet i feel a good deal of conflict at times. But if i can help others understand the importance of these laws, perhaps they will come to love the green world as I do, and begin to make changes in their own spheres.
Decidious trees are ALWAYS better, because in winter the asphalt absorb the heat and keep the city warm when they are without leaves. However in summer it opposite when they keep the whole city cool.
Look at the case Held v. Montana. This may give you some ideas of how to get more equity for your community. Time to get the pitch forks out and go after the city council.
You know, i want to he focused on all the wisdom and good information you always present. But seven seconds in and i cant get over the NECKLACE! ❤❤❤❤❤. So distracting in the best way. Ok. Now back to more permaculture goodness… if i can get my brain off the necklace 😂
You shouldn’t plant trees in front of you house because now I can’t see it. What the heck kinda entitlement is that?! I can’t handle the whole “I don’t like it (even though it’s totally harmless) so it shouldn’t exist.” Attitude.
Whenever I feel “bad” about my front yard permaculture garden (Thanks to annoying Boomer neighbours who have ultra tidy, chemical covered lawns) I come to this channel and remember that I’m the sane one in the neighbourhood.
Eventually they will start understanding. It's a learning process. Thank you for being ahead of others and thank you for caring 💚
There is a tree committee in the town in which I live. Last year, they walked up and down the street and decided where they wanted to plant very large trees in the hell strip. From what I understand from talking with my neighbor and from my own experience, they never tried to make contact with the homeowners. I happened to see a group of three people with day-glo vests, clipboards and measuring tape measuring my front area between sidewalk and highway. Keep in mind that I had planted out a food forest in my front yard about three years ago, right up against the sidewalk and is 120'x30'. It already has about 20 trees in it, although they are still very small. It has a southern exposure and is a perfect setup for a garden. I have worked hard and spent a small fortune getting it to this point. Renting a sod cutter, buying fruit trees, etc. I have planted the trees on the north side of the bed and included trees like persimmons, serviceberries and pawpaws. I wanted smaller trees that are manageable. I'm done with the giant ones that could cause real damage.
Two days ago, I am out picking strawberries, when I see that they have dropped off a ten foot oak to be planted right in front of my garden, which would block most sunlight and kill my emerging food forest. I understand that oaks are extremely valuable wildlife trees, however, my next door neighbor already has an oak not 20' from where this one was to be planted. As it is, all of the leaves land on my property (the wind blows them over because my property is much lower in elevation) and the squirrels, not understanding property lines, plant all the acorns over here, where I then have to be on sapling patrol all the time! I was livid. I put my plight on a local forum where I hoped to rehome the tree, and within hours, had three people on my street who wanted the tree.
I think it's a wonderful idea to plant trees along highways, however...it is crucial that there be communication between the tree committee and the homeowner. There will be a much higher success rate if the trees go to people who actually want them! I love trees, but it's got to be the right tree for the right spot. I am still astounded by the gall of this group of do-gooders to act this way. I emailed them and they did come and take the tree away, but in our conversation, I was told that the homeowners had no say in what tree they would receive--why not??? How hard is it to have a limited list from which to choose, have homeowners choose and then order? I guess that would require talking with the homeowner; silly me.
ooooof.. community buy-in and also publicly-funded tree-maintenance funds (maintaining large shade trees is $$$) are so crucial for these programs to be successful. One of the things I appreciated about Thrive East's talk was wanting to having dialogue and collaboration with property owners - letting them know the value of trees and feel supported in including them.
Angela, I was gobsmacked when 8 or so new trees were planted this past winter in nearby hellstrips. I have been personally trying to increase the shade in my neighborhood for years and it was such a joyful moment to see the support from the city for increasing our shade canopy in my area
Thank you! I live in a city, and I'm always explaining to people that my urban garden is at least 10 degrees hotter because it's not only on a south facing hillside, but it's also almost totally surrounded by concrete. I also had zero trees when I moved here. ZERO. I have added many since then. Lots of my trees are understory trees because my lot is only a quarter acre, but I do have a few larger trees, too, that I've planted. Well, hopefully one day they will be large. I already get a tiny bit of shade from several of my trees. I'm very appreciative of the trees I have and the shade they provide, even if it's a small amount for now. :)
Thank You Angela and your Welcome
As a resident of east Portland in the Parkrose area, I love trees. I just planted five new fruit trees on my property and plan to plant more. This is valuable knowledge. Thank you for sharing Angela.
I have a wildlife corridor running past our back fence that leads from one large expanse of bush land to a smaller one. Our council looks after it and mulches and keeps up plantings regularly and there are big koala friendly trees, beautiful wattles, banksias and grevillias for insects and birds and native grasses for lizards and snakes. Im so thankful that our council values green spaces. The suburbs where these plantings are not a priority are definately hotter and less desirable to live in and over the past 2 decades ive seen the councils put in lots of effort to plant equitably around my city.
I work in a city that is cognizant of the benefits of trees. Developments must receive “tree permits” for the removal of any protected trees. However, if/when a protected tree is removed either “accidentally” or on purpose without a permit - the reality is, a developer may be fined, but the glorious tree, often over 100 yrs old is gone. It’s dead. And even if replaced will not be back to where it was for 100 yrs. There is no re-do button. It will just be gone. Sad 😢
you are preaching to the choir!!! my fave topic....rock on!
I love that your garden makes your family carbon neutral. I wonder if my mom’s gardens take care of our family. I’m just starting now that I have a little bit of space. I planted 4 trees last fall.
In the U.K. many streets have trees along the road/path. It’s not perfect, lost trees are not necessarily replaced, new trees in new build areas are usually left to fend for themselves. In fact, in one area I lived, as parking was considered not enough by people wanting two or three cars, people used the green space outside my house (not owned by me) to park, knocking over the not yet established tree and no one ever replaced it.
Thanks for covering this topic. This makes me wonder whether there is a similar organization where I live.
Excited for this topic! Since recovering from garden burnout last season I’ve been catching up on content I’ve missed. Thanks so much for all the videos you put out!
Read the Ringing Cedars books.
Removal of 570 trees?! 😮😢
Not related but: Pretty necklace/earrings
Great video! Another thing that I love about how trees improve air quality besides sequestering carbon is how they also help decrease PM - something that's been on my mind a lot since I recently moved to an urban area.
Thank you! Hey Angela, where did you get that great necklace? I'd love to get one❤
I got it from my neighbor!
I was thinking the same thing. Gorgeous!
How do you stop residents, especially in lower income neighborhoods, from killing their trees?
A decade ago, I saw a huge program in Los Angeles that planted trees all over the city. In some neighborhoods. I saw people taking care of their trees. In others, I saw people killing their trees: Not watering, pulling them out, and breaking them. At the same time, commercial areas were chopping down mature trees. I would say it was something l like 80% death of the new urban trees. I would also say that most neighborhoods could care less about their trees and neighborhoods that were already planting trees took care of theirs. There ended up to be several rounds of tree planting, as well as a continuing program. My old neighborhood has more trees today than when I moved out over 10 years ago. I saw some neighborhoods that lacked trees before and still do. Why would these people not plant trees, if not in the public way (just take care of the city trees planted there), then how about 1 tree in their yards? But actually almost all people chop down their trees. I have had people tell me in horror that I should chop down trees because they are incompatible with houses - they will destroy houses. I look around at all the trees existing with hundred+ year old houses and old walls, and go: "What the hell kind of eyes have you got?"
So back to the question: How do you teach people that a bit of watering, a bit of not breaking the baby tree will result in a gorgeous tree in 10+ years.
I took care of my trees and about 20 years later, my street there is tree lined. My smallest tree in the world (neighborhood joke) is now a giant fir. Seeing all the beautiful trees just because I took care of them is heartwarming. In my current property, I have also taken care of the one tree that was already here, as well as plant an additional 10 trees. The area is more stressful for trees, but they seem to have done well. The one tree is now a big, beautiful and flowering. I have trees that shade my back porch from the west side. My front yard is shaded by mid-afternoon and is full of birds and mitigates the summer heat a bit. Meanwhile, all my neighbors have chopped down their trees. I think there are 2 properties that added trees. Everyone else chopped down their grown trees and planted some twigs. Whether those twigs will become trees, maybe, but I doubt it. Apparently everyone believes they must plant sticks and controlled yard structures, rather than a shade canopy.
And yes, I am a tree planter and a tree hugger. So definitely, more trees, trees, trees!
I saw a documentary by Vox about urban heat islands a while ago that may speak to part of your question - one of their recommendations if I remember correctly is planning for stewardship. For example, when trees are planted with good intentions by an organization or the city without a plan for how these trees will be cared for, many times the watering responsibility and cost are left to the people who own/rent the land. For those who are in low income neighborhoods, it adds a financial and time burden that they might not be able to shoulder. So, ensuring that there is an agreement for the city or organization or landlords (those who have. resources) to maintain tree care then in those situations may lead to better success.
@@marthaholt8261 I saw many of the trees torn up and broken. It was very depressing. The city actually had water trucks watering the trees. I do not remember how often they went out there. I just made sure to check mine, especially during the hot summers. The trees had stakes (2"?) on each side of the tree, but somehow people still managed to break them. As I said, it was very depressing. When I went back recently, those lost trees were still lost and the treeless neighborhoods were still treeless.
The only thing that made me my heart full was the trees I took care of: They were beautiful, lush and shaded the street and sidewalk. The ones in the yard - I planted a grove of cypresses and a redwood and yep, a shade grove - it made me tear up; the Italian Stone pine on the other side of the yard was now covering a huge area. It was both beautiful and also bittersweet, because in those neighborhoods, they could have had trees like that if they had just kept them alive. It actually might have been 20+ years ago. I lived at that house long enough to see the trees were stable and could no longer be knocked down easily.
As I said, in my current neighborhood, it seems like every neighbor cut down their big trees the first chance they got. In my block, I am the only one with a big tree. One block over, there is someone with I think 4 tall trees, and there might be another person who kept their one tall tree. Everyone else put in new sticks or made tree bonsais. At least my trees are nice and shady.
People take care of what they have learned about and have an emotional investment in. Perhaps a solution could be a program which involves the community in selecting the trees and shrubs, learning about their benefits and how to care for them coupled with a program for youngsters so they too have an investment. The trees could be given names so they are seen as individuals rather than just a plant. Trees which provide food as well as shade could be especially beneficial in low income areas. Contests using the fruits from the trees could create excitement for adults while coloring/art contests and projects could do the same for younger people.
That must have been so heartbreaking to see. It sounds like you did a lot to foster what you could. I think that - as TT Happy Rock refers to below - community buy-in is key along with structural support from government/organizations. Not only is providing education about the benefits of trees important like what you mentioned (and what the Thrive group hosting the tour that Angela attended was doing) but also finding ways to encourage communities to participate as TT Happy Rock said. I would also add that buy-in can be increased when communities are invited to the planning phase of programs so that they can share their lived experiences, expertise, and what they need as well as any potential solutions (as in the idea of "nothing about us without us").
@@marthaholt8261 I think maybe it needs to be neighborhood or community oriented, rather than individual oriented. Looking around and thinking about my previous observations, I would say most humans could care less about the greenery around them. They stand under trees, walk more when there are trees, park under trees, but do not know that by then, those trees are already a decade+ old. No one I know can name the plants they pass daily in their own neighborhood.
I think most people will never be plant people. Instead, I think programs need to gather the plant people in an area and have those people agree to take care of the greenery. I do not know whether that is possible for say every 10 blocks, but that is the only thing I can think of.
Welcome to profit over people and human spiritual development.
thank you !!!
Ok serious comment now: i live on Long Island. Parts are terrible, parts are beautiful. We have incorporated villages whose priority is tree preservation. We have an industrial park which is exactly that- industry in a park like setting. It is about 40 or 50 years old and some of the street trees are enormous. You cant see some of the buildings! The east end municipalities, including both forks, are primarily focused on environmental sustainability even in development. For instance, the entire township of Southold has determined it is all in an environmentally sensitive area and all projects must comply and be in accordance with the very stringent requirements thereof. On the south fork, the Town of East Hampton has strict clearing limits and Dark Sky laws in place. Development is still booming, but tree clearing is not permitted wholesale. Its not perfect, and taxes are ridiculous, and the cost of living is prohibitive in these places. But its a start and i am grateful for it. Some of the less affluent townships are slowly incorporating some of these requirements. Ill do the happy dance when Hempstead does!! But Hempstead township has a large immigrant, poor population and it is one of the not so beautiful places. But they do have parks and green places, its just not a priority for the neighborhood housing areas. My job is building permit expediting so you can bet i feel a good deal of conflict at times. But if i can help others understand the importance of these laws, perhaps they will come to love the green world as I do, and begin to make changes in their own spheres.
Decidious trees are ALWAYS better, because in winter the asphalt absorb the heat and keep the city warm when they are without leaves. However in summer it opposite when they keep the whole city cool.
🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
Look at the case Held v. Montana. This may give you some ideas of how to get more equity for your community.
Time to get the pitch forks out and go after the city council.
What a wonderful comment. This made my day! Thank you for taking the time to add this.
You know, i want to he focused on all the wisdom and good information you always present. But seven seconds in and i cant get over the NECKLACE! ❤❤❤❤❤. So distracting in the best way. Ok. Now back to more permaculture goodness… if i can get my brain off the necklace 😂
Ha! My neighbor gave it to me and I absolutely love it! I'll tell her folks here like it, too. She'd get a kick out of that.
You shouldn’t plant trees in front of you house because now I can’t see it. What the heck kinda entitlement is that?! I can’t handle the whole “I don’t like it (even though it’s totally harmless) so it shouldn’t exist.” Attitude.
Yeah, why would you want your house to be a “showcased.” So weird.