Information: www.treesatlanta.org
Branching out with its educational programs, Trees Atlanta is building a new “TreeHouse,” though it isn’t suspended in a giant oak. Its backdoor does open directly onto the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine, the evolving network of parks, trails and transit along a former railroad corridor. The 3,800 square-foot TreeHouse on Krog Street in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood is scheduled to open in August. The AJC talked to Connie Veates and Greg Levine, co-executive directors of Trees Atlanta, about the new education center and the nonprofit, which began 30 years ago to green up downtown and since, has planted over 100,000 trees and educated Atlantans on the value of the urban forest.
Q: Why is the TreeHouse needed?
Veates: We saw a growing need in Atlanta for environmental education, specifically on the BeltLine. Our programming is developed around getting kids outside to conduct citizen science programs. They can do the indoor learning and journaling component inside the TreeHouse. We have gotten letters of support from three universities — UGA, Georgia Tech and Emory — for research along the BeltLine to be done through the TreeHouse.
Levine: Our focus is on urban forest ecology. The BeltLine is a 22-mile long learning tool that connects 45 neighborhoods. Over 1,300 acres of city parkland is to be added on. The arboretum is what we are bringing to the project.
Q: Can you talk more about that?
Levine: The arboretum is a public garden of woody plants for education, demonstration and display. The larger focus on the BeltLine is trees. Our intention is that Atlanta's arboretum will encompass the whole 22 miles, which will make it the longest arboretum in the world.
Q: What does the TreeHouse bring to Trees Atlanta?
Levine: We will be much more accessible on the BeltLine. We have an opportunity to educate people about prairie, trees, pollinators and soil. We can connect people back to nature and hopefully through education, they can educate other people about nature in their own backyard.
Q: Is Atlanta the Emerald City, as we are known?
Levine: We are. We don't have an ocean or mountains or a river running through our city. We do have a diverse forest of big, beautiful trees and plant species.
Veates: A study done recently found our canopy is actually denser than most other cities in the U.S. That said, we have three top 10 counties in the Southeast with the most tree loss —Gwinnett, Fulton and Cobb. That is primarily due to development.
Q: Other than their beauty, why do trees matter?
Veates: It has been shown that there is less crime on streets with trees and being in a forested area can actually lower blood pressure in developed areas.
Levine: Most of our food, especially fruits and vegetables, are insect pollinated. Trees provide food and habitat for insects, birds and other wildlife. From a water quality perspective, trees filter our water and help prevent erosion. They keep our creek systems cooler and cleaner. They improve air quality by producing oxygen, which we all need to breathe. They also collect particulate matter. There are a million different benefits that trees bring. We can talk on about them all day long.
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