ACT News

A full compendium of ACT News Stories is in the ACT News Archive.

ACT publishes an electronic newsletter every Monday.  To join the NeighborWoods Network™ and receive our newsletter, email subscrib@actrees.org

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College Park, MD (January 9, 2012)- ACTrees members are invited to submit comments on revisions of the ANSI A300 national tree care standards. The period for public review is January 6 to February 5, 2012, for ANSI A300 Part 6- "Planting and Transplanting of Trees and Shrubs," and January 6 to February 20, 2012, for ANSI A300 Part 7- "Integrated Vegetation Management."

College Park, MD (December 29, 2011)- Congratulations to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful of Indianapolis, IN, for their winning National NeighborWoods^TM Month photo! Their photograph best captured the spirit of volunteerism that thrives in NeighborWoods^TM programs across the nation. Featuring three Indianapolis youth working together to plant a new neighborhood tree, the bright snapshot conveys the determination, cooperation, and positive action people are taking to strengthen their communities with trees.

College Park, MD (December 19, 2011)- During the November meeting of the Board of Directors and our Annual Member Meeting, ACTrees leadership reflected on the many reasons for our successful 2011. The primary reason is ACTrees' network of member organizations and their remarkable leaders and volunteers.

College Park, MD (December 12, 2011)- Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees) is pleased to announce the Alliance for Community Trees People's Garden Grants, a new grant opportunity designed to explore and deepen connections between trees and community agriculture.

College Park, MD (December 5, 2011)- The Vibrant Cities & Urban Forests report was officially released at last month's Partners in Community Forestry Conference in Orlando, FL. Bringing together the observations and recommendations of 25 experts across multiple disciplines, the Vibrant Cities Report presents a new framework for understanding the benefits of urban and community forestry.

By Mark Reutter

Baltimore, MD (October 24, 2011)- Just two days ago, a thin, bespectacled 51-year-old patted down the final shovelful of dirt near a corner of Latrobe Park and entered into his book "13,849." That's the number of trees- maples, oak, cherry, dogwood, river birch, among others- that Gene DeSantis has planted in Baltimore.

College Park, Md. (October 3, 2011) - In more than 150 cities around the country, local nonprofit organizations and their partners will participate in this year's National NeighborWoods^TM Month, organized by Alliance for Community Trees and sponsored by the USDA Forest Service, TD Bank, and Boise ASPEN's Project UP. After this year's many devastating storms destroyed towns and leveled trees across the country, now is the time for concerned residents to replant and return the benefits of trees to their recovering communities.

Tacoma, WA (September 30, 2011)- Puget Creek Restoration Society is dedicated to protecting, enhancing, and restoring the Puget Creek Watershed and similar streams, wetlands, and green spaces on Commencement Bay and Puget Sound. Through hands-on restoration and research, educational outreach, and advocacy-and by increasing environmental awareness-we seek to preserve this important habitat so it will continue to be an example of what people can do to protect and restore the environment in an urban setting.

College Park, MD (September 29, 2011)- The IS Foundation is highlighting National NeighborWoods^TM Month as one of its Featured Campaigns this fall. Alliance for Community Trees is proud to join in this collaborative partnership with IS Foundation and offer our national campaign for trees as "a way to make a difference."

College Park, MD (September 26, 2011)- On Saturday local and national partners joined forces with community residents and a diverse volunteer force to launch Project UP. This program to unlock the potential of neighborhood sites into revitalized green spaces is a partnership between Boise Inc. and Alliance for Community Trees. Saturday's project in Indianapolis to re-develop a former brownfield site into a beautiful community park was organized by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, and served as the kick-off event for National NeighborWoods^TM Month 2011.

Washington, DC (September 21, 2011)- In a new video released today, USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell reminds us of the value of urban trees and encourages everyone "to get involved both personally and professionally" in NeighborWoods^TM Month this October. Watch the video and read the transcript below to see what he had to say.

College Park, MD (September 13, 2011)- National Transportation Enhancements funding is on the chopping block. That is the 10% of all highway projects dedicated to landscaping, trails, historic projects, art and other amenities that go beyond just building roads.

College Park, MD (August 15, 2011)- ACTrees members are invited to submit comments on revisions of the ANSI A300 national tree care standards. The period for public review is August 5 to September 19, 2011, and applies to updates to ANSI A300 Part 5- Management of Trees and Shrubs during Site Planning, Development and Construction; and Part 6- Planting and Transplanting of Trees and Shrubs.

Bensenville, IL (August 9, 2011)- Boise Inc. announced today that the first urban park re-development site through the company's Project UP program will be in Indianapolis, Ind. Project UP aims to transform distressed urban spaces into revitalized green spaces for residents to enjoy.

Boston, MA (August 9, 2011)- Boston Natural Areas Network, organized in 1977, works to preserve, expand and improve urban open space through community organizing, acquisition, ownership, programming, development and management of special kinds of urban land - Urban Wilds, Greenways and Community Gardens. In all of its endeavors, BNAN is guided by local citizens advocating for their open spaces and assisting them to preserve and shape their communities.

Worcester, MA (June 11, 2011)- In an event covered by the Worcester Telegram and WCVB-TV 5 (ABC), volunteers from CSX, City Year, the Worcester Tree Initiative and the Alliance for Community Trees planted 100 trees from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Dodge Park on Randolph Road, a site hit particularly hard by the Asian Longhorned Beetle.

Washington, DC (June 3, 2011)- The Alliance for Community Trees strongly supports the Energy Conservation Through Trees Act introduced yesterday by Rep. Doris Matsui. This legislation, H.R. 2095, would support programs run by electric utilities that use targeted planting of shade trees in order to reduce residential energy demand. ACTrees staff and board members worked closely with the Congresswoman to develop the Act, which would encourage utility companies to partner with local nonprofit tree organizations to plant shade trees.

Nebraska City, NE (May 5, 2011)- Alliance for Community Trees member organizations were among the exemplary tree planters and environmental stewards who received National Arbor Day Awards for inspiring others to plant and care for trees. Shannon Ramsay, Founding President and CEO of Trees Forever and Treasurer of ACT, was honored alongside 15 other award winners including Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Tom Zetterstrom of Elm Watch, New Jersey Tree Foundation, and Our City Forest.

Bensenville, IL (April 22, 2011)- Boise Inc. is launching Project UP, a new civic sustainability initiative through its Boise ASPEN brand of recycled papers. Project UP seeks to transform distressed urban spaces throughout North America into revitalized, usable parks for communities to enjoy. To achieve this, Boise has partnered with the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT). ACT is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the environment where people live and work through tree planting, care, conservation and education.