Davey Tree Flipbooks

9 September/October 2022 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN trees are and how many potential sites there are for the client." Tree species identification can be tough, Bova said. There are a lot of unique species. It's a learning curve, even for seasoned arborists. The arborists on this project are all ISA Certified Arborists ® , and include site manager Eric Meyer, inventory arborist technician; Parshuram Acharya, inventory arborist technician; and Brianna Rohr, inventory arborist. "Technically, the arborists are lone workers on this project. We communicate with them virtually throughout the day to help identify difficult species by sharing pictures and information with each other," Bova added. Around 125,000 sites are expected to be physically inventoried by September 2022, which marks one year since the inventory began, with a projected end date in the spring of 2023. The inventory information is stored in TreeKeeper ® and is shared with the client and includes existing tree assets as well as vacant sites. About one-third of the inventoried sites are determined to be vacant according to the city's spacing guidelines. "The city is very active in planting new trees, so they use the vacant site information to know where to plant trees and grow their urban forest," Bova said. Above right: Brianna Rohr inspects a tree's leaves in a San Diego neighborhood. Right: From left, Jeff Harvey and Parshuram Acharya pose for a photo while working on the San Diego tree inventory data collection. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) committed to planting 10,000 trees annually through their Sustainable Tree Program, designed to provide environmental benefits to the community by increasing their tree canopy. A team from Davey Resource Group's (DRG) Utility Vegetation Management services (UVM) facilitates the program. UVM technicians Nathan Davila, program manager, and Madeleine Vilas, program specialist, work with local municipalities, tribal nations, nonprofits, residents, and the city of San Diego to provide or plant trees in rights-of-way, parks, and other properties. Additionally, this program has been an effective piece to the SDG&E's UVM System in terms of providing replacement trees, on time, after incompatible trees are removed from the right-of-way. "Maddi is amazing at talking with people who request trees, vetting them to make sure they are willing to adopt trees, because it is a commitment. It's a lifelong commitment, but the first four or five years until those trees are established are critical. Our job is to explain how the trees need to be planted, and cared for, including proper watering for the first few years," Davila said. As of the end of August 2022, 22,166 trees have been planted since the program began in February of 2021. The data from the tree plantings, including the number of trees planted, how many survived, and how many are making a difference in the community is stored in DRG's MyROWKeeper software, and is used to deliver data reports to SDG&E. "We track where every single tree goes, including addresses and property contact phone numbers so we can do an audit and follow up on these trees, and study the effectiveness of this program," Davila said. SUSTAINABLE TREE PLANTING PROGRAM ADDS TO SAN DIEGO CANOPY Pictured from left are DRG UVM technicians Maddi Vilas and Nathan Davila, standing next to a Lagerstroemia indica (crape myrtle) they had planted in San Diego, California's Cherokee Point neighborhood. ENHANCES STREET TREE INVENTORY

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