13
March/April 2018
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
BALTIMORE'S TREES COUNT
Nestled near Baltimore's Inner Harbor is an English elm that,
legend says, was planted around 1835 by Frederick Douglass,
a runaway slave who became a central abolitionist.
Baltimore residents knew stories about notable trees like
this. But other trees were shrouded in mystery – until Davey
Resource Group (DRG) began the city's first street inventory
of approximately 200,000 trees.
Covering 1,784 acres, DRG arborists are collecting data on
the city's current street trees while also pinpointing potential
planting areas. With this data, Baltimore can prioritize and
manage the tree crew's workload, discover new areas to
plant trees and budget for future tree needs. This information
will also help the city achieve its goal of 40 percent tree
canopy by 2037.
DRG has completed the first leg of the project, which took
place from April through October of 2017. This spring, DRG
will head back to Baltimore to complete data collection.
So far, the client is thrilled with the results and work ethic
of DRG. Cheryl Daniels, project manager, handled big-picture
matters while Sam Heywood, site manager, managed
day-to-day issues. Shawn Bruzda, Melanie Ferrell, Reid
Gibson, James Rocke, Sophia Rodbell, Andrés Solís Molina,
Joe Steinfeld and Dave Stewart worked as inventory
arborists on this project.
"Thanks to you and all of the Davey staff for all of your hard
work and a safe and successful field season," wrote Nathan
Above: The DRG team continues to inventory trees throughout
Baltimore's 1,350 miles of streets.
Below: Last year, DRG inventoried trees like this, and now they're
ramping up to finish the job.
Randolph of the city's department of recreation and parks in
an email to Heywood and the DRG team. "The data we have
is already helping us to improve workflows, plan budgets,
target areas for plantings, and make important decisions
about our urban forest."
Heywood knows an excellent client experience comes down
to communication. "It's about being open, sending updates
often and being upfront with anything unexpected," Hey-
wood said. Daniels agrees that "a lot of client interaction" is
integral to deliver results like this.
