Ramps

Have you heard about our Ramps program? Tree Trust’s Landscape Services has been building customized wood accessibility ramps for easy home access since 1996. We can help you find a home access solution.

Some of the benefits of Tree Trust home access ramps include:

• No permanent modifications to your home or yard
• Ramps meet or exceed accessibility and building codes
• Ramps are built with quality materials for durability
• We offer a variety of material options including inexpensive treated pine, beautiful cedar, or low-maintenance composite decking
• We will remove your ramp and recycle the materials when you no longer need it

For more information visit our website, email Joe Shade, or give us a call at 612.590.4881 for a free consultation and no obligation quote.

This Weekend's Yard Work

Plenty of people are wondering what kind of work they can do in their yards during the upcoming weekend. Tree Trust's Landscape Services Department has a few tips.

Water

There has been some rain lately, but we had a dry fall and winter. Lawns shouldn't need to be watered unless they are newly seeded or sodded. On the other hand, trees and shrubs are using immense amounts of energy at this time of year to produce new leaves and flowers and they may need water.

Check soil moisture by digging 3-6 inches deep in a few locations. If the soil is dry your trees or shrubs need water. One inch of water per week is a general guideline, but there is no substitute for digging in the soil and checking moisture content. If we are receiving steady rain, there is no need to water.

Bed Maintenance

Clean out planting beds! Remove leaves or debris around plants and cut back any spent perennial plant material left from last season to make room for new growth.

Mulch

Feel free to mulch trees and shrubs. At Tree Trust we prefer shredded mulch over wood chips. When mulching, remember: doughnuts, not volcanoes! The mulch should be a doughnut shape around the trunk and should not touch the trunk.

Plant
Plant trees and shrubs, but steer clear of other plants that have lower frost resistance. Learn how to plant your tree correctly.
 
Don't Prune!
Now is not the time to do any formative pruning of trees or shrubs. Trees are using tons of energy to produce new leaves and flowers. You don't want to divert the energy being used to leaf and flower to healing a pruning wound – unless it needs to be done due to storm damage.

Particularly avoid pruning oak, ash, and elm trees because of oak wilt, emerald ash borer, and Dutch elm disease. When a tree is healing a wound from pruning, it puts out pheromones that the elm bark beetle and the emerald ash borer are drawn to. Additionally, the tree is using a lot of energy to grow and you don't want to add to the stress level of the tree.

There is a lot that you can do to clean up your yard this weekend while enjoying the beautiful weather, just don't be too aggressive. No need to tear up the turf with raking if your yard is still spongey, and no need to plant anything that might be killed by frost. There is plenty of time yet this spring to get everything done.

Tree Trust removing buckthorn instead of snow

Buckthorn is an invasive species that was introduced to Minnesota in the mid-1800's. It was used as hedging material initially, but it was found to be very invasive. The incredibly mild winter that we have had so far has lessened the need for snow removal and allowed us to continue with one of our standard non-winter activities instead: buckthorn removal. So far this winter Tree Trust's Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) Program and Landscape Services (LS) Department have put in a lot more time removing buckthorn than snow.

Thanks to Aaron Freng, Landscape Services' Project Foreman, for the following description of YACC's and LS's buckthorn removal:

YACC and LS are at it again--busting buckthorn in suburban Hennepin County along the HCRRA’s [Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority] Hopkins to Chaska and Dakota Trails! While some years we offer snow removal and ice management services…this year we are out defeating buckthorn. Our crews led by Elliot, Charles, Nicole, Laura, Janessa, Matt, and Sam have cut and chipped nearly two hundred cubic yards of buckthorn. These fierce men and women go at it every day with one of the most horrific and obnoxious non-native and invasive species that our state has in its soils!

The crew leaders and crew members are out cutting, dragging, and chipping into 1-ton dump trucks and hauling the chips in for bio-mass recycling at SKB Environmental in Minneapolis. The 200 yards of chips that our team has processed in the last month would actually fill two full size semi-trucks with wood chips!

Since 2011 was a year of weather extremes, finishing out December 2011 removing buckthorn instead of snow should come as no surprise. However, this is still Minnesota so we know the snow will come eventually and we'll all be pulling out the shovels. Until then... buckthorn be gone!

Tree Trust's 2010 results

In 2010, we directly served 4,816 people through our programs. 67% of those served were under age 18, 56% were female, and 64% of participants in our employment training and case management programs represent ethnic minorities.

This past year we engaged 432 citizens who volunteered 1,454 hours with our Community Forestry program. These volunteers distributed 1,453 reduced-cost trees to homeowners, and planted 464 trees and 402 shrubs throughout the Twin Cities. An additional 21 ,volunteers provided 99 hours of administrative assistance.

Our Learning with Trees program involved 2,119 students in the creation of outdoor classrooms on the grounds of three Twin Cities elementary schools.

Our Community Support Program matched 816 parents with employment experiences at 169 host sites throughout the metro. 97% of participants who earned wages while participating reported they gained positive work experience and would recommend the program to others.

466 youth received individualized case management services and support through our Youth Development Services program; of these youth, 143 were also placed in internships. 82% of participants who exited the program in 2010 reported they have more confidence in their ability to find and keep a job as a result of being in the program.

Our summer Youth Conservation Corps program employed 889 youth who worked more than 90,000 hours and earned more than $700,000. 94% of participants who responded to surveys reported learning important skills that will help in future jobs.

87 youth completed community improvement projects while participating in our Young Adult Conservation Corps paid job training program. 92% who responded to exit surveys said their future employment opportunities were expanded; 84% said we helped them reach their employment goals.

Our YouthBuild program provided 37 young adults with paid job training and academic enrichment while they rehabbed three Minneapolis homes that will be sold to low-income first-time homebuyers. 100% of exited participants completed OSHA-10 safety training; 94% earned a high school diploma or GED, or returned to school to earn a diploma or GED.

Despite the struggling economy, Landscape Services, our earned-income venture, increased revenue from private sources significantly in 2010, proving to be a sustainable source of income to help to support our programs.

Life after summer

We often refer to the summer as our busy time of year; and no doubt it is a busy time for Tree Trust. But for many Tree Trust programs, fall marks the time when we take a deep breath and get ready for what we’re about to take on during the school year.

Community Forestry
Community Forestry has always been a part of Tree Trust, and over the years we’ve given people easy ways to improve the local environment and become more enlightened about their own ability to make a (green) difference.

This fall the Community Forestry Manager, Karen, is busy facilitating our fall planting events (five this year!), working with three Learning with Trees schools, and gearing up for what we expect will be another busy spring community planting season. “It’s always nice to think about how many people we’ve educated and involved, and the difference it makes for everyone,” says Karen.