We all know and love trees, and are grateful for their beauty, cooling shade, and benefit to our environment. They can live long lives, reach majestic heights, and often inspire awe! Many of us learn to identify trees by their leaves, bark, seeds, or other features, and this adds to the fun of our travels to parks, forests, and other areas. Some of us even hug them, physically or in our minds!

 

Recently, there has been a focus on the essential role trees play in protecting and sustaining our natural environment, improving our human environment, and combatting  climate change.

 

Professor Doug Tallamy has done perhaps more than anyone to educate us about the importance of trees and about our responsibility to plant our public and private properties according to the benefits provided by specific trees (as well as other plantings). He has identified the OAK TREE is one of the most valuable “Keystone” trees for the large number of living things that it hosts, especially pollinators and insects that feed birds.

 

There was a recent article in the NYTimes announcing that New York City has set a goal of planting up to 20,000 trees annually in parks and along streets to increase the “shade cover” of the City’s neighborhoods. The project will focus on those areas that are considered “shade deficient”, especially in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. It has been found that the air temperatures in those neighborhoods are actually many degrees higher on hot days than they are in well-shaded areas, thus adding to the daily misery of those living there!

 

One very important aspect of ‘DENDROLOGY” (official name for the study of trees) or “ARBORICULTURE” (the study and care of individual trees), is keeping track of how many trees there are in designated areas, which varieties and how many of each are represented and the change in these numbers over time. That is, we need thorough and regular “Tree Census” reports.

 

Our newly-formed HISTORY COMMITTEE, in going through our archives, has discovered a publication called “The Trees of Long Island”, written by George H. Peters, and published by Long Island Horticulture Society in conjunction with Planting Fields Arboretum. It is self-described as:

 

“A Short Account of their History, Distribution, Utilization and Significance in the Development of Long Island, N.Y….Also a Summary of the Big Tree Census Records of 1952, 1962, and 1972, including a List of the Largest Specimens of all Species Reported.” 

 

This was an exciting discovery about our own history was well as an important project that LIHS took on in the previous century! You can see several copies at our May Meeting when there will be a special display on “THE TREES OF LONG ISLAND” featuring this publication as well as a great deal of additional information about the Restoration of the L.I. Pine Barrens, the Island’s Oldest Tree(s), and many other fascinating and relevant topics.

 

This display will be in coordination with our Speaker, Evan Dackow, whose topic will be “Great Native Trees of Long Island”.

 

And of course, we have just celebrated “ARBOR DAY”, the holiday which expresses our gratitude and appreciation of trees and honors their central role in the environment and in our own lives.