Maintaining status, a tree at a time

Like many things on this earth, trees are an integral part of the ecosystem. They live for hundreds of years in the same place, cleaning the air while beautifying roadways. They help restrict storm water flow, give shade and provide habitats for animals. 

And as large as they may be, trees aren’t invincible; they have needs of their own.

“People forget that trees are long-lived, and until they disappear, people don’t miss them,” said Dale Dickens, urban forestry coordinator for the Alabama Forestry Commission.

That’s where a city’s tree commission and city arborist can come into play.

Tasked with managing the tall, leafy, permanent residents, among other things, city arborist Don Cafaro has been working with Mountain Brook’s surrounding nature for the past 17 years.

“It’s basically tree management on city property and right-of-way,” Cafaro said of his job. He also advises the Parks and Recreation Department on a case-by-case basis, works with the Planning Commission and the Board of Landscape Design and occasionally offers advice to residents.

He’s part of helping Mountain Brook maintain its “Tree City USA” designation, too.

Mountain Brook has been a Tree City USA for 23 or so years, Cafaro said, which recognizes the city’s commitment to its urban forestry program and greenery. 

Tree City USA is a national program that’s supported by the U.S. Forest Service and the Arbor Day Foundation, said Dickens. As of 2017, they are one of 32 cities in the state to be recognized as such.

“It’s kind of a national predication program that provides the framework for municipalities looking to establish or perpetuate their urban canopy,” said Mountain Brook Board of Landscape Design chairman and Friends of Jemison Park president Sim Johnson.

“The Tree City USA program is part of the system to say, ‘Hey, trees are important. We care about our trees, and we think they should be funded,’” Dickens said.

To be marked as a Tree City, a city must meet four requirements that work together to protect trees and educate the public about them.

At its most basic element, a city must have an identified party that cares for the trees within city limits. In Mountain Brook’s case, this is the Board of Landscape and Design, formerly the Tree Commission.

Members of the board work with city officials and each other to maintain and sustain the community forests and green spaces, and a city ordinance — which satisfies another requirement — identifies the board as the party responsible for the trees.

Johnson said recently, the Board of Landscape design visited Auburn to learn more about its urban forestry development program. He’s hoping this experience will help them grow the Village Master Plans to include a landscape component, as well.

“We’re also looking at our villages … [at] what we can be doing to add more trees and beautify our public green spaces,” Johnson said.

The board also plans events and community outreach programs. This Arbor Day, which the city is celebrating the first week of April, Johnson said the board is putting together three separate events. 

The first is a lecture on April 3 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens featuring ecological landscape designer Thomas Rainer, followed by the first annual Shades Creek Appreciation Day on April 7, at the intersection of Cahaba Road and Mountain Brook Parkway.

And throughout the week, Jemison said the Board of Landscape Design will continue its tradition of gifting saplings from the city’s champion trees to all of Mountain Brook’s first graders.

All of this, in addition to other events and programs throughout the year, fall under the educational component and Arbor Day celebration that is important to the Tree City designation. However, the city must also designate a portion of its budget to tree and green space management.

The minimum requirement is $2 per person, which for Mountain Brook would equate to $41,180 if using census data from 2016. 

“That’s not … $2 that necessarily has to come out of the city coffers,” Dickens said. “That’s $2 per person that has to be used on trees within city limits.” This can include a wide range of projects, including plantings, removals and trimmings. It’s all part of urban forestry and green space management.

But Cafaro said the city goes far above that requirement.

“We blow that out of the water,” he said. “There’s few municipalities that go to the lengths that we do.”

Cafaro said that over the years, appreciation for city landscapes have grown, and others have seen Mountain Brook’s commitment. 

And their commitment and work has paid off with numerous Tree City USA designations, including a Tree City USA Growth Award for 2017. This award recognizes increased effort by a city in the categories of public relations and education, partnerships, planning and management, and tree planting and maintenance.

Johnson said right now, he finds the villages to be in good shape, so they’re just looking to “gild the lily.” And a lot of that stems from the early years of Mountain Brook, when famed founder Robert Jemison Jr. first began construction.

“He chose the choicest land around,” Johnson said. “[We’re] just working to preserve the natural beauty that has been appreciated since the 1920s.”

“A tree’s not ever going to call the Mayor’s office,” Dickens said. “The tree’s not going to do that, so we have to think about the trees.”

Arbor Day events

► Lecture by Thomas Rainer: On April 3 beginning at 5:30 p.m., the Birmingham Botanical Gardens will be hosting a lecture by ecological landscape designer Thomas Rainer. He will be discussing planting native and resilient species.

Rainer has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, The New York Botanical Garden and more than 100 gardens along the East Coast. He will be coming to Mountain Brook from England as a part of an international lecture series.

► Shades Creek Appreciation Day: As a part of the first Shades Creek Appreciation Day, the cities of Homewood and Mountain Brook, the Friends of Jemison Park and the Friends of Shades Creek are coming together for a fun and educational event celebrating their local green space.

The event will take place on April 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. near the National Bank of Commerce property at the intersection of Cahaba Road and Mountain Brook Parkway. Johnson said there will be food trucks, live music, habitat displays of local animals and fly fishing demonstrations in the creek. 

► Tree giveaway: In addition to giving away trees at the Shades Creek Appreciation Day, Johnson said the Board of Landscape Design will be giving each first grader in Mountain Brook schools a sapling from the city’s champion tree line to plant. This is an annual occurrence and will take place the first week in April, when Mountain Brook is celebrating Arbor Day.