RITree pulled off another spectacular Arbor Day celebration this past Saturday, April 28, 2012 at the RI Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Exeter, RI. According to the sign-‐in sheet, a total of 76 persons came to this event. They helped to plant, water and mulch 43 Red oak saplings along the cemetery's main concourse road that connects this facility's two stone chapels.
Mr. Dan Evangelista, Director-‐RI Department of Veterans' Affairs, got things started by presenting the welcoming address at 9:30 a.m. He was followed by RITree's technical advisor John Campanini who spoke on the meaning of Arbor Day and finished his talk by acknowledging the several program sponsors were in attendance. They included Time Horan, President of the National Grid Companies in Rhode Island and the co-‐owners of Minuteman Press Providence-‐Warwick, Valerie Chahoux and Karen Fraielli. These sponsors teamed up with Robert Urquhart, Chairman-‐RI National Guard Retirees Association and RITree's Treasurer, Matthew Sweet to plant the ceremonial tree which had been previously adorned with colorful streamers and yellow ribbons.
The volunteers took over breaking down into small groups of 3 to 4 to plant the saplings. They passionately went about their business, methodically digging holes, removing saplings from containers and, then, setting the saplings in the holes before backfilling them with loamy soil. Every sapling was later watered and mulched. The entire planting took about 3 hours! By about 1 p.m. everyone was just amazed to look at the once tree-‐less road and see how it had now been transformed into something special by the addition of these 43 saplings.
This "special" quality will get bigger and grander, coinciding with the development of these leafy saplings as the years pass by. Someday, in the not too distant future, someone will ask how these beautiful, large trees with their generous canopy of shade come about. When that day arrives, RITree will have the answer!
We want to thank all the volunteers, military veterans, and sponsors that made this a very worthwhile and memorable occasion. But we would be grossly remiss, if we didn't thank RITree for putting its best foot forward at this wonderful time had by all. The Board members representing RITree at the 2012 Arbor Day celebration were: Doris Alberg, Wendy Bolster, John DiPanni, Craig Hotchkiss, David Nickerson, Margaret Ryan, Brian Satterlee, Matthew Sweet, and advisor Chris Rooney. They were just great!! |
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Spring 2012 Tree Stewards Education Course |
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 Become a Rhode Island Tree Steward.
Learn more about:
Tree biology, Tree identification, Tree planting & pruning, Tree health, Urban forestry, Soils, and the untold benefits of trees.
Tree Stewardship combines learning about and caring for trees, as well as understanding how people and trees can best grow together!
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Tree of the Month - April |
Magnolia x soulangiana Saucer Magnolia
 
The Saucer Magnolia is a harbinger of spring, blooming well before the leaves emerge in early to mid-March each year. Although the species itself is very cold-hardy, the showy flowers are not and will shrivel and turn brown when exposed to low temperatures in late winter. Don't worry, if this occurs to your magnolia. The flowers will eventually be shed, but the new leaves and shoots that develop later will be unaffected. By the way, new flower buds will develop over the summer. And, with the return of a normal winter in 2012-13, next year’s flowers should last a lot longer unblemished by any sudden drop in temperature.
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Written by John Campanini, Technical Director
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April 14th Pruning Workshop 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
 Tree Stewards, improve your pruning knowledge and skills by attending this FREE workshop. The focus will be on tree training. Learn how to eliminate co-dominant stems and cluster branching and to correct narrow-angled crotches on developing plants. Take your pruning skills to a new level by mastering the use of subordination and removal cuts. The workshop will be held at the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. Please call the office to sign‐up. |
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Winter Moth is Alive and Active |
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ALB Chewing Its Way Across America! |
The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was discovered attacking trees in Ohio in July, 2011. This invasive pest was first spotted by the operator of a vineyard located in the Town of Batavia in Clermont County, Ohio. Tree surveys conducted by the USDA-FS since July have confirmed 5,000 trees have been infested by the ALB. They further estimate that up to 50,000 trees -most of them located on private property- may have to be felled in order to eradicate this pest in Clermont County. Ohio is the 5th state to declare an ALB infestation. The others are Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
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Champion Trees Booklet Now Available |
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The latest edition of Rhode Island Champion Trees was recently published by RITree. This 46 page booklet, years in the making, is a magnificent piece of work, showcasing a wealth of interesting articles, facts and figures on the biggest trees of their kind in Rhode Island.
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Knowing Your Trees
 This is a familiar refrain that, unfortunately, has kept too many of us from enjoying a good night’s sleep, a second helping of pasta, or even a delicious double espresso as we ponder the mystery of the leafy specimen we just encountered while on our daily walk. Well trouble yourself no more. Thanks to RITree you can learn the plant’s identity by attending RITree’s “Knowing Your Trees” Program- giving you plenty of time for these other delights!
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 The fall and early winter period has been quite a busy one for the Champion Tree Program. A surge of recent tree nominations meant we needed to ramp up our inspection schedule. Our goal was to complete all the necessary field inspections of each and every nominated tree before the arrival of bad weather. There were 53 trees to examine and not a moment to waste. So we assembled our band of erstwhile tree hunters and got moving. I am pleased to report that as of this writing all but 5 of the tree inspections have been done. We hope to get to them soon as long as the good weather stays with us!
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USDA Volunteer Forest Pest Survey |
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 An important message from the USDA
An important message from The Rhode Island Tree Council
USDA Volunteer Forest Pest Survey
America’s trees are under attack. Help us track down the killer beetles.
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetle and Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) have destroyed millions of trees throughout the United States. The USDA and The Rhode Island Tree Council are partnering to ask members of The Rhode Island Tree Council to participate in the Volunteer EAB/ALB Forest Pest Survey. We need your help to determine if these damaging forest pests are in your community.
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