A pin oak in Loose Park will help inform residents about the benefits of trees
What’s on a tree’s mind? That question will be answered this month by a pin oak, nicknamed “Penny,” in Kansas City, Mo.’s, Loose Park. Using the popular Web application Twitter, the stately deciduous will befriend residents across the region, making regular status updates to inform followers about the benefits of trees.
People can follow Penny on Twitter by visiting twitter.com/PennyOak. Residents are also invited to take pictures of themselves with Penny. The clearly marked tree is located in the southeast corner of the park. Send photos to treemail@bridgingthegap.org. Some photos will be shared through Twitter.
Penny is one of 135 trees that will be tagged in the second annual Tree Tag campaign. Temporary price tags installed on the trees will show the monetary value of their environmental, economic and social benefits. The 2008 campaign helped the Heartland Tree Alliance (HTA) earn a Gold Leaf Award from the International Society of Arboriculture for Outstanding Arbor Day Activities. Tree tags will be installed in the next week in six counties: Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri, and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. The benefits of all the tagged trees are valued at more than $2.4 million.
The dollar amount attached to each tree is based on its estimated returns to the community, including reducing stormwater runoff, improving air quality, raising real estate values and more. The estimates are based on the tree’s species and life span. Some of the heftier price tags include bur oaks in several locations, which provide benefits worth nearly $50,000 each. Most of the values range from $10,000 to $30,000 per tree.
Tree tag coordinators include the Mid-America Regional Council, Heartland Tree Alliance, Kansas Forest Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation. For more information or to see a complete list of where the tags will be installed, visit heartlandtreealliance.org.
Related links
www.twitter.com/PennyOak
Heartland Tree Alliance - www.heartlandtreealliance.org
Monday, June 1, 2009
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