Davey Tree Flipbooks

W hen you think of stormwater runoff management, gutters, curbs or drains may come to mind. But what about trees? In streetscapes and cities, trees effectively reduce stormwater runoff, promote nutrient presence in soil and transform pollutants into less harmful substances. This was the theme of Stormwater to Street Trees: Engineering Urban Forests for Stormwater Management, a collaboration between Davey Resource Group (DRG) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). DRG investigated the work over the span of one year to explore how urban stormwater runoff is a problem, how trees can manage stormwater runoff and how natural runoff systems can be integrated into developed cities and streetscapes. "This was a little out of the box for DRG," says Shirley Vaughn, DRG project developer and co-author of the guide. "It worked out really well, and we did form a solid relationship with the EPA." Tina McKeand, urban and community forestry specialist, co-authored Stormwater to Street Trees. The two authors worked with Project Developer Andrew Hillman and Project Manager Ruth Ann Sobnosky. The Stormwater to Street Trees guide is one of the first to investigate the specific role of trees in stormwater runoff management. This was a challenging project for DRG because not a lot of prior messaging about the subject exists, including little hard facts about the volume of rainfall or runoff trees intercept and manage. "The whole idea behind this project is to introduce a concept and how to go about integrating it," McKeand explains. "It was a really fun project to work on to explore our creativeness and a topic outside of the work we normally do." Stormwater to Street Trees is currently available online at water.epa.gov/polwaste/green/ upload/stormwater2streettrees.pdf. A Collaboration to Spread Knowledge Stormwater to Street Trees is a collaboration between DRG and the EPA to investigate how street trees can help manage stormwater runoff damage. 16 | November/December 2014 P ortage County, Ohio, is home to not only Davey's corporate headquarters but also nearly 1,300 acres of park land and 14 miles of trails. This land offers endless opportunities to hike, bike or just relax in the open, fresh air. To raise awareness about the benefits of local park land, the Portage Park District held the 16th annual Portage County Environmental Conservation Awards dinner, at which Davey was present. Karen Wise, regional operations manager for DRG's natural resource consulting group, was the chair of the planning commit- tee. Davey also helped sponsor the event and donated to the event's silent auction. The Portage County Environmental Awards Dinner is held to recognize businesses and individuals for green business practices, sustainability programming, land conservation and stewardship, environmental education and volunteerism in the community. The Portage Park District hopes to open many acres of new land to the public, as well as incorporate stewardship, programming and facilitating the preservation of higher quality natural areas in the future. More Open Land is Coming to Davey's Home New open public land will provide more room for leisure activity and healthy ecosystems to benefit the Davey employees and other community members who live and work in Portage County. Karen Wise (right) stands with Todd Peetz (left), director of planning for the Portage County Regional Planning Commission, and Kirsten Peetz, biologist and resource manager for Mill Creek Metroparks.

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