Thursday 22 December 2016

Let It Grow And Keep It Trimmed!

We can't stress the importance of trees more. We need them in order to live. They purify our air, they provide us with lumber and they also provide us with food. While you need to make sure you are properly maintaining any trees on your property with trimming (http://www.allcleartree.com/trimming) or even removal (http://www.allcleartree.com/removal) if they've died, it's also important to plant new trees when you can. It's been said that for every tree you cut down, you should plant two in return.

Officials Are Stepping Upseedling

San Diego officials have certainly understood that saying and are working towards putting a bit more green into the scenery:

San Diego officials began planting 500 street trees in urban neighborhoods on Thursday to boost the city’s “tree canopy” and help meet some goals of its ambitious climate action plan.

“When we plant more trees, we are making our neighborhoods greener and our air cleaner,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. “Every additional tree gets us a step closer to reaching our goal of creating a sustainable future for generations of San Diegans.”

The trees are being funded by a $750,000 grant from the California Department of Forestry.

The grant also covers hiring consultants to conduct a citywide inventory of all street trees and to use lasers to determine the city’s tree canopy — the overall coverage of San Diego by trees.

The laser survey found canopy coverage is 13 percent —  nearly double the previous estimate of 6.8 percent using satellite imagery. That puts the city closer to meeting a goal of 15 percent coverage by 2020 in the climate action plan, which was adopted last year.

“Trees help to reduce our carbon footprint, but more importantly they contribute to beautiful, walkable neighborhoods and communities,” said Cody Hooven, the city’s chief sustainability officer.

City officials are also encouraging residents to help by planting and caring for trees in their front and back yards.

“Trees are incredible multi-taskers and provide so many environmental benefits like sequestering carbon dioxide, capturing storm water, reducing energy costs, extending the life of pavement, increasing property values and providing habitat for wildlife,” said Jeremy Barrick, the city’s urban forestry program manager. “We need everyone to water and maintain the trees we have and plant new trees where appropriate.”

The 500 street trees will be planted along Market Street, Imperial Avenue, Ocean View Boulevard, 25th Street and 47th Street. They are projected to collectively capture roughly seven million pounds of carbon during their lifespans.

Via: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-government-1202-story.html

Go Ahead and Breathe Easier

It's always nice when the city does it's part to make the environment better. Officials are working hard to plant an impressive number of trees. You can help by choosing to plant your own trees in your front or back yards. You can make it a family-thing with your kids or you can think of it as a way to leave your mark. Trees can live for hundreds of years. In some families it's a bit of a tradition to plant a tree for each member of the family. That tree grows with the family member and continues on long after. Many families plant trees or other plants in remembrance of those who have gone on before. It's a beautiful idea and it not only keeps the persons memory alive but it also serves as a living monument. What a nice idea!

Let It Grow And Keep It Trimmed! is republished from allcleartree.com



source http://www.allcleartree.com/trimming/let-grow-keep-trimmed

Friday 9 December 2016

Bring Out Your Dead: Trees That Is

When you live surrounded by, or even close to, nature you will often find yourself in a predicament. You don't want to be Buddhist enough for bugs to freely come and go from your home.You've also got to think about what you'll do if the trees you're surrounded by end up dying. If you live in California you've got the very real concern about dead trees drying out and feeding the forest fires that have been sparked by the ongoing droughts.

What Can You Do About It?

While you may be a concerned citizen,  you probably don't have a million dollars to address this problem. So what can you do? Well, that's where the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in California is coming into play:

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in California announced Monday it will provide financial assistance for private landowners with dead and dying conifer forest trees in certain counties, including San Diego.

“The dry conditions posed by California’s ongoing drought have increased the potential for devastating wildfires and insect-related tree mortality,” said Carlos Suarez, NRCS California state conservationist.

“In the upcoming year, NRCS will continue and expand our 2016 forest recovery efforts by initially allocating $4 million for tree mortality projects,” he said. “We will also provide additional forestry staff to meet the overwhelming demand for assistance.”

Landowners with dead trees on non-industrial private conifer forestlands in Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Tulare and Tuolumne counties may be eligible for financial assistance through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

The Forest Tree Mortality Initiative is focused on removing dead trees on larger, severely damaged, private forestlands. Applicants will need to develop a Forest Management Plan for their property, which must be a minimum size of one acre and at least 100 feet wide.

Applicants with more than 20 percent of their conifer forestland property covered with dead trees will receive priority funding consideration.

An approved NRCS Forest Management Plan for tree mortality will not include tree removal on lands within 100 feet of homes, and applicants should contact their county’s tree mortality task force about opportunities for removing dead trees around residences.

Via: http://timesofsandiego.com/life/2016/11/07/have-dying-conifers-cash-for-removal-offered/

Next Steps

It's great to know that the USDA is stepping to assist with such a serious problem. Dead trees are, at times, a massive fire waiting to happen. The stress that comes from living surrounded by such kindling can never be good. The question becomes: who is going to do the actual work?

It's recommended to leave tree removal to the professionals and not attempt it yourself. We're trained for these situations and can safely remove the trees clogging up your backyard. It might sound like a simple job, but a lot of thought is required. Long gone are the days when you could just tie a rope around the base of a tree and haul it out with your truck. That is only going to damage your vehicle and potentially cause thousands of dollars of damage. We live in a world where there are services we can access for this kind of help. Don't you want to use them?

Bring Out Your Dead: Trees That Is is available on ACTS Blog



source http://www.allcleartree.com/removal/bring-dead-trees

Tuesday 22 November 2016

Held Hostage by Trees

If you've been reading the news at all lately you'll see that Hurricane Matthew is still dominating. This force of nature has been whipping through the country uprooting people, homes and trees alike. It's no surprise with winds like what most states deal issac_tree_on_car_1with that cities are bound to lose a few trees here and there. So far it's estimated that Hurricane Matthew has caused $10 billion dollars worth of damage. Ten. Billion. Dollars. Not sure about you, but we think that's a heck of a lot of money. There are so many things you can do with $10 billion dollars. Think of all the people that can be fed or houses that can be built with that money. Depending on what country you live in, that amount can help support a social system without burdening taxpayers.

For those affected by Hurricane Matthew, it is not enough.For all the money in the world won't bring back the lives lost from this tropical devastator.

When the hurricane isn't destroying cities like a toddler who's hangry, it's using trees to hold people hostage in their very own homes:

Going Nowhere Fast

FLORENCE, S.C. – David Perkins and his wife found themselves trapped in their Damon Drive home after Hurricane Matthew passed through on Oct. 8 when multiple large trees fell in their yard, blocking every exit from the house.

Perkins said he had to crawl out of the garage in order to get help once the rain and winds subsided. A neighbor used a chainsaw to cut through thick, heavy limbs to free Perkins’ wife and their dog, Toby. The couple has lived in their house for 28 years and witnessed a hurricane’s strength when Hugo came through the Carolinas in 1989, but Perkins said Matthew wasn’t the same.

“Hugo wasn’t like this,” Perkins said. “We lost more trees (during Hugo), but they weren’t as big, and they didn’t fall as strategically aggravating."

Perkins said it took just seconds for the high winds of Hurricane Matthew to take down four massive trees that fell either on or around their home. The destruction began at around 3 p.m. that Saturday as the wind speed started to pick up.

“It sounded like bombs going off,” Perkins said. “Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. We were scared to look at the window.

“It was a domino-from-hell effect.”

Perkins saw how one tree after another had fallen in succession, starting with their neighbor’s house two doors down from him. Perkins’ home suffered significant damage as one tree fell into their home and nearly went through their kitchen. Another tree destroyed their outdoor furniture in the backyard. A third tree fell from their yard and went crashing into their neighbor’s garage, and a fourth laid across their front lawn.

Via: http://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_179f51b6-93fc-11e6-a35f-af4dd523bb19.html 

Clean Up on Aisle 1

What are some of the things you notice when a storm rips through your area? You probably see lots of loose garbage and scrap pieces floating around and stuck in bushes.Trampolines also seem to escape the confines of their backyards and go on journeys during storms. Not only do people need to bring out a garbage bag to clean up the yard, they also have to identify any alien furniture they find.There's no secret that a storm of any strength causes a huge clean up effort. A variety of services are needed to bring back some semblance of normal sooner, rather than later. Tree removal services are crazy-busy during the aftermath of a storm. Trying to tidy up the mess nature left behind during one of her fits is hard work.

It's a hard job, there's no doubt. If you live in a storm-frequent area, you should make friends with your neighborhood tree clearing service. Who knows when you'll be the one calling?

Held Hostage by Trees Find more on: All Clear Tree Service's Blog



source http://www.allcleartree.com/removal/held-hostage-trees

Monday 14 November 2016

Ghosts in the Wood

There's something peaceful about walking through the empty woods on a crisp autumn day. Depending on where you live this albino-treemight be something easily accessible. Perhaps you live near the heart of a mystical wood like in stories by Hans Christian Anderson. Or maybe you have to drive a bit to get to that secluded little patch of forest where hunters seldom roam. Whatever the case, there's something to be said about walking through the woods, without interruptions, and allowing yourself to take in all that nature has to offer. There are many people who feel more at ease when they have the chance to listen to the natural sounds in the forest.

Imagine the surprise many have when suddenly confronted with a giant, pure white tree. We're not talking about a birch or something that is meant to be white. Imagine you've been sauntering through a fir forest and found a bright white tree. Think of those nouveau Christmas trees that are white right out of the box. Except this tree isn't artificial or in a box: it's right there where nature intended it to be.

Ghosts of Trees Past

A walk through California's redwood forests is a thrilling adventure in itself, but once in a while, a lucky hiker may come across a ghostly phantom tree, almost an apparition. The ghostly albino tree is the height of a man and bears bone-white foliage.

What the visitor has come across is an albino redwood tree, one of only about 400 known to exist. The strange tree is unable to produce chlorophyll, and so its needles are white instead of green.

Because the albino redwood trees cannot produce sugar for energy, they are usually smaller than their giant green-needled relatives, and they don't live as long as them, either. But the mystery of how these ghost trees are able to survive at all has perplexed naturalists since the first one was documented in 1866.

It's interesting to note that Native American tribes knew about the ghost-like trees, and they have been recorded in tribal legends. California's indigenous Pomo people called the albino tree the "spirit Tree." and used it in their traditional cleansing ceremonies.

Biologist Zane Moore is a doctoral student at the University of California, Davis. The 22-year-old expert on albino redwoods became interested in them after hearing Dave Kuty, a docent at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Santa Cruz give a talk about the trees on the radio in 2010.

That interview set in motion a quest to find one of the ghost trees for himself, and eventually to pursue a study of the strange trees. When talking about the albino tree being able to exist, Moore says, “It shouldn't be here. It should be dead, but it's not. Just like a ghost.”

Via: http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/science/the-mystery-surrounding-california-s-ghost-redwoods-may-be-over/article/476895#ixzz4NMWifcvw

Fact or Fiction?

These trees are surely the things of legend and myth. Something that shouldn't exist, but does. Certainly not something that a lot of people have in their yard, and DEFINITELY not a candidate for tree removal. There are many humans and various animals that also present as albino. You can tell them by their pale white skin, pale white hair and red eyes. Different cultures have different legends about these people but it's very interesting when plants display the same behavior. We know that there is science to back up what we see. While we can't always trust our eyes, science can confirm it for us. It might have been unnerving the first time someone saw such a seemingly unnatural tree. This white tree in the middle of such greenery.

If you go to the California redwood forests you will see these trees today. You have to look carefully as they are hard to spot. It's almost like there are truly ghosts silently watching us from their safe-haven in the forest.

Ghosts in the Wood was initially published to ACTS Blog



source http://www.allcleartree.com/removal/ghosts-in-the-wood

Monday 31 October 2016

Timber!! When Trees Attack

Picture this: you're sitting at home, maybe enjoying a nice glass of wine by the fireplace. The television is tuned into some show you're not even watching and the kids are sleeping soundly in bed. You've had a hectic week and all you want to do istree-in-house relax. You finish your glass and start to doze on the couch when suddenly you're interrupted by the rude reminder that Mother Nature isn't in the mood. She only cares about what she needs. And what she needs to do right now is to smash a tree into your house.

Sounds a little ridiculous, doesn't it? Were you asking to have your house destroyed  by a tree? Probably not. Does Mother Nature care? No, not really. She enjoys throwing a wrench in most people's plans and will do so in whatever way she can. This is why a good tree removal service can save the day. This also might be something that you've only seen on television in movies or news reports but for one family, this was incredibly real:

Bye-Bye House

THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. -- Several people are cleaning up from extensive damage to their homes and cars in parts of Pierce and Thurston Counties after Saturday's storm rolled through Western Washington.

Some of the worst damage affected a home near Olympia.

Dale Jodway said the winds were fairly calm when a massive fir tree cracked and fell onto his home at around 4 P.M. Saturday. It essentially split his home of 20 years into two pieces.

"We were just sitting in the back of the house watching TV and then this came through the front of the house," Jodway said while placing tarps over parts of his roof. "We all stood up like ‘What’s that noise?’ And then is just crashed. Crashed right through the house."

What happened to his home is especially difficult to comprehend considering the work they had just finished putting into the home over the summer, including a new paint job, a new fence around their back yard, and a remodeled bathroom.

Via: http://komonews.com/news/local/massive-fir-tree-falls-splits-thurston-county-home-in-half

It's no secret that Mother Nature follows the beat of her own drum. She's not easy to please and it can be difficult to predict her. For these poor people they thought things were fine until their house split in half.

The question then becomes: what happens now? Now what do you do when your house gets beat up by a tree?

We Can Rebuild It

Depending on how severe the damage is, you might be able to rebuild. If a branch takes out a window pane, that's easily replaceable. If the trunk falls on the corner of the house you may also be able to rebuild it. However, as a tree split your home so neatly in half,  your options are limited.

There's no question structure is compromised by something like this. So what does that mean for you? It might be in your better interest to just tear the house down and rebuild it. This involves a lot of work and a lot of businesses will need to come to your property. You've got tree removal companies, contractors, city officials, electricians, carpenters; it's a lot to take on. In some instances you might be better off to just cut your losses and tear the place down. But you still need a place to live, don't you? So what happens then?

Then you get to talk to your insurance company and see what kind of claim you can file. This is why it's so important to have that insurance because you never know when nature is going to decide your house is a blot on their screen. Insurance is designed to protect you from situations like this. If you're lucky and had the right coverage, you  might be able to get out of this with the down payment on a new home. Hopefully this time you can keep the destructive trees at bay.

The following blog post Timber!! When Trees Attack was initially published on http://www.allcleartree.com/



source http://www.allcleartree.com/removal/timber-trees-attack