Trees

A Trifling Place, Episode 6: When Cankerworms Attack

Tasnim Shamma — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:41:33 +0000

Welcome to "A Trifling Place," a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

In our last episode (Charlotte's Tree Obsession), we ended with this sound bite: "Die, cankerworm, die!"

That's city arborist Donald McSween back in 2008 when WFAE's Lisa Miller followed him on his war against the cankerworms.

He also had some help: citizen soldiers like Sophia Hollingsworth.

"We picked them off and didn’t feel bad at all about mooshing them because we felt it was one less cankerworm," Hollingsworth says. "And I don’t feel bad about any of them dying. It’s the canopy that Charlotte is known for and the trees are more important than the caterpillars. Hate the green monster."

Five years later, the fight against the inch-long creatures continues.

By The Numbers: Charlotte's Trees

Tasnim Shamma — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:06:10 +0000

49: Percent of tree canopy lost between 1995 and 2008
One: Public tree for every seven residents
$11.83: Amount spent per person on its street trees
215: Tree species in the city's inventory. Predominant tree species are willow oak and crapemyrtle
$166: Total benefits of an average street tree
28: Million cubic feet of stormwater intercepted annually
$2.1: Million dollars in stormwater management savings

Episode 5: Charlotte's Tree Obsession

Tasnim Shamma — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:45:51 +0000

Welcome to "A Trifling Place," a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

Of the seven cities I've lived and worked in, Charlotte has got to be most green. When you're getting ready for an airplane landing, it's like you're descending into a forest. Once you're on the ground, you quickly learn trees are a big part of the city's identity.

Greensboro Strikes Back Over Duke's Tree Trimming

Julie Rose — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:11:03 +0000

Duke Energy has more than 90,000 miles of overhead power lines across the Carolinas, which makes for a lot of tree-trimming to keep the lines clear – and a lot of complaints about that trimming. In Greensboro, the typical frustration is shaping into a legal battle between Duke and the city.

"Vegetation management" is the technical term for it, but residents of several old neighborhoods near downtown Greensboro use other words.

"Duke Power came in and just clear-cut the area," said Jay James at a Tuesday night meeting of the Greensboro City Council.

Several Hundred Trees Cleared Since Billboard Law's Passage

Tasnim Shamma — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:32:56 +0000

A new North Carolina law that allows the state to override local tree-protection ordinances has resulted in the loss of several hundred trees that covered at least 50 acres near billboards in Charlotte, according to the city's arborist.

How the legislation is implemented is still being determined by the state Department of Transportation. The process involves a public comment period that ends Friday.

Before Senate Bill 83 passed last March, billboard companies were at the mercy of local ordinances if they wanted to cut down trees.

Tree Climbing's Not Just For Kids

Julie Rose — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Charlotte is known for trees, so it's fitting that every year arborists gather here to show off their tree-scaling skills. The Charlotte Arborists Association's Annual Tree Climbing Competition is Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Freedom Park. WFAE's Julie Rose went for a preview.

http://66.225.205.104/JR20120427.mp3

Eulogy for Charlotte's Cankerworms

Lisa Miller — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:00:00 +0000

It's a tough week to be a cankerworm in Charlotte. The planes have taken to the air and are dropping a substance that's designed to make a deadly meal for the wormy millions. City officials hope this week’s spraying will vastly thin the ranks of the cankerworms. They expect the green worms back next year, but in lower numbers. WFAE's Lisa Miller considers the plight of the cankerworm as the corpses begin to mount.