City of Lawrence, Kansas, Parks and Recreation Department

2018 TreeCity USA Community Highlights   and 2019 Arbor Day events.

On March 28, 2019, Lawrence was awarded the Tree City USA Designation for the 41st year in its commitment to effective urban forest management.  The city achieved Tree City USA recognition by meeting the program’s four requirements: a tree department, a tree care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capia and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, in conjuction with the U.S. Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters. Communities worldwide are facing issues with air quality, water resources, personal health and well-being, and energy use.  Lawrence is a community that makes planting and care of trees a priority. As a result of community commitment to urban forest management, we are helping provide a solution to many of these challenges.  Special thanks to city commissioners and Lawrence citizens for their support.

Trees provide multiple benefits to a community when properly planted and maintained.  They improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants and provide wildlife habiat, among many other benefits.  More informantion can be found at www.arborday.org/TreeCityUSA

The city of Lawrence will hold an Arbor Day tree planting event on April 13, 2019, at Lower Constant Park near Fifth & Tennessee streets to plant 35 Riverfront restoration hardwood trees.

Other upcoming community tree projects include:

· Saturday, April 20, city staff will be providing Arboretum tree tours for Earth Day in South Park.

· Saturday, April 27,  city staff will also be participating in the KU Big Event to engage students in tree maintenance and mulching in various city parks.

· Summer 2019 – staff will be teaching tree identification to LPRD summer camps in our arboretums.

· 2018 accoumplishments for city projects inlduing completeing following tasks:  

o 470  mature and unhealthy street & park trees were removed.

o 998 trees  pruned and /or raised for street and sidewalk clearance.

o 816 new trees were planted, including 33 memorial trees in the parks, arboretum, and cemeteries. Six separate projects to plant street trees in new subdivisons and right of way areas were completed.

· Forestry staff continued to facilitate the Emerald Ash Borer management strategies, including treatments, removals, disposal of green waste, and replanting projects in cooperation with local citizens.  

· Continued with city-wide urban forest restoration and rejuvenation to remove several over-mature and declining trees and replant with new species of large shade trees in parks, boulevards, medians, street trees, other municipal facilities .

· The Downtown tree grate project was continued with several new tree grates being installed and new trees being planted.  Twice weekly watering occurred to help with establishment of multiple years of new trees for all project areas during the summer drought.  In addition to street trees, new trees were planted at city projects including East Lawrence Center, Pump Station #10, Wakarusa Waste Water Treatment plant, and the Santa Fe Station.

· Continued to contract tree operations  with a local company to respond to tree emergencies such as storm-damaged right-of-way trees, conflicting  overhead wire issues other than primary electrical conductors,  and other hazardous tree removals that required multiple resources.

· Worked with citizens  and city engineering staff to mitigate tree root sidewalk issues.

· Partnered with local Rotary club volunteers and members to build a new  outdoor pavilion, plant trees, provide tree maintenance and add new tree markers to the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum.