Nonprofit conservation organizations (NCOs) are encouraged to apply for grants to help fund land acquisition through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Applications are due Aug. 1, 2021, for the following NCO grant subprograms:
Continue reading “Funding Opportunity Available For Nonprofits Through The DNR”
Project Learning Tree® (PLT) recently released a new curriculum guide to engage kindergarten through eighth-grade students in exploring the environment.
Fifty field-tested, hands-on activities integrate investigations of nature with science, math, English language arts and social studies. Copies of the Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide can be purchased at PLT’s online store.
PLT is a long-established, award-winning environmental education program that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to advance environmental literacy, stewardship and pathways to green careers. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative administers the national program.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) has launched a partnership to develop a new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard for application in North America and potentially globally. SFI will collaborate with five urban forestry leaders: American Forests, Arbor Day Foundation, the International Society of Arboriculture, the Society of Municipal Arborists, and Tree Canada.
A task group composed of leading experts will develop the new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard. The partnership and task group will explore opportunities to seek remedies for the climate crisis and other serious challenges that urban forests are ideally positioned to help address, including access to public spaces, social cohesion and more.
Continue reading “Urban Forestry Sustainability Standards to be Developed”
Linda Williams, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Woodruff. Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0665.
Emerald ash borer (EAB) has been identified in Langlade County. Although this is the first find of EAB in Langlade County, it was found in three separate areas of the county in the towns of Ainsworth, Parrish and Wolf River. Two of these locations were within the area hit by the derecho storms in July 2019.
This was the first new county EAB detection for 2021 and is the 59th county in Wisconsin to identify the insect. There are no regulatory changes due to these detections since EAB was federally deregulated as of January 14, 2021, and Wisconsin instituted a state-wide quarantine in 2018.
Check out the interactive Wisconsin map showing which Townships and Municipalities are known to have EAB.
Bark removed using hatchet to show EAB larval galleries underneath.
By Patricia Lindquist, DNR Urban Forestry Communications Specialist, patricia.lindquist@wisconsin.gov, 608-843-6248
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Arbor Day Foundation has suspended their requirement to hold a public Arbor Day celebration in 2021. Communities will be able to maintain their Tree City USA designations without meeting this standard. An Arbor Day proclamation is still a requirement.
As an alternative to a public gathering, we encourage you to use social media to celebrate trees and their many benefits. Social media is an excellent tool for spreading the message that trees and tree care/management are vitally important to our communities.
Feel free to use our suggested messages here, or develop your own creative tree campaign.
Continue reading “Celebrate Arbor Day Using Social Media (Check Out Our Suggested Posts Below)”
By Patricia Lindquist, DNR Urban Forestry Communications Specialist, patricia.lindquist@wisconsin.gov, 608-843-6248
Looking for ideas for celebrating Arbor Day during the pandemic? Here are a dozen possibilities:
Continue reading “Suggestions For Alternative Arbor Day Celebrations”
April 26-30 is Every Kid Healthy Week. This national celebration promotes the importance of well-rounded health in children – not just physical, but also social and emotional health. One easy way to maintain each of these types of health is to spend time outside. Spending time among trees is scientifically proven to reduce stress and boost the immune system. When kids appreciate the benefits trees provide not just us, but also our planet, it can start them on the path of lifelong love for the natural world.
Each year the last day of Every Kid Healthy Week also happens to be Arbor Day! In Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) helps celebrate Arbor Day with an environmental education program designed to teach students the importance of trees. We provide thousands of free tree seedlings to Wisconsin fourth grade students for this celebration on a yearly basis.
Bill McNee, Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh, Bill.Mcnee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942
Ash tree branch in West Allis has been attacked by woodpeckers looking for larvae to eat.
Municipal foresters and property owners with healthy, valuable ash trees should consider treating the trees with insecticide this spring to protect against emerald ash borer (EAB). The pest is currently the most damaging threat to trees in Wisconsin, killing more than 99 percent of the ash trees it infests.
Woodpecker damage during the winter is often the first sign that an ash tree is infested, so it is essential to examine your ash trees. Now is an excellent time to consider insecticide protection because the treatments are usually done between mid-April and mid-May once leaves begin to return. Treatments on already-infested ash trees are more likely to be successful if the trees have low or moderate levels of woodpecker damage.
Continue reading “Treat Your Valuable Ash Trees Against Emerald Ash Borer”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the availability of up to $6 million in grants under two programs. The grants aim to address environmental justice issues, including COVID-19 effects, climate change, and natural disasters.
Proposal packages are due May 7.
Learn more about each of these grants here:
Leafing Out, Episode 5: Common Tree Diseases With Brian Hudelson
Thursday, April 15, 2021, 12:00-1:00 PM
This webinar is produced in collaboration with the Dane County Tree Board.
Join 1000 Friends and Brian Hudelson, the Director of Diagnostic Services at the UW-Madison Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic, to learn about the most common diseases impacting our urban trees. Brian will teach us the most prevalent tree diseases and share methods for their management and prevention.
We’ll stop periodically throughout the presentation so Brian can answer any specific questions you have. Brian is a frequent guest on the Larry Meiller Show on WPR and is excited to answer any of your tree disease questions. We encourage you to send questions in ahead of time to be sure we answer them.
Continue reading “1000 Friends Of Wisconsin’s Leafing Out Webinar Series”
