We are currently working on our Annual Report covering period July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018

Academic Scholarships

During this reporting period, Trees Virginia awarded $8,000 in Undergraduate and Graduate scholarships.   

Community College scholarship recipient

• Chrystal Hillary, Northern Virginia Community College, A. A. S. Horticulture (2017)

Undergraduate scholarship recipients

• Holly Waterman, Virginia Tech, B. L. A. Landscape Architecture (2017)

• Michael Webb, Virginia Tech B.S. Forestry, Urban Forestry Option (2016)

• Jillian Miller, Virginia Tech, Landscape Architecture (2016)

Graduate scholarship recipients

• Cody Kiefer, Virginia Tech, Ph. D. Urban Forestry (2017)

• Fran de la Mota, Virginia Tech, Ph. D. Urban Horticulture (2016) 

Trees Virginia Workshops

Trees Virginia held three workshops to provide education on urban forestry and tree care to hundreds of professionals, volunteers, and other community members.

• The Risky Business of Trees (March 2016, Roanoke, 137 attendees) 

• Reveling in the Magnificence of Trees (September 2016, Waynesboro, 250 attendees)

• Canopy Counts (March 2017, Roanoke, 110 attendees) 

Urban Forestry Roundtables

Trees Virginia held seven roundtables to promote understanding of specific urban forestry topics. 

Northern Virginia Urban Forestry Roundtables

• Building Better Urban Soils: Soil Amendments (February 2016, 75 attendees)

• Sustainable SITES Initiative: A New Tool for Urban Forestry? (May 2016, ~45 attendees)
 
• Forest Health Challenges: Locality Planning and Response (August 2016)

• Homeowners’ Associations: Strategies to Increase Tree Canopy (December 2016)

• Undergrounding Utilities When Preserving Trees – Above is Possible (February 2017, 49 attendees) 

Hampton Roads Urban Forestry Roundtables

• Creating Tree Trails to Promote Urban Forestry (October 2016, 20 attendees)

• How Much is Enough?  Achieving Urban Forestry Canopy Goals (June 2017, 33 attendees) 

Big Tree Interns

Trees Virginia supported the work of two interns for the Virginia Big Tree Program. 

The 2016 Virginia Big Tree Program Intern was Alexandria Cassell, a double major student in the Environmental Resources and Environmental Informatics programs at Virginia Tech.  Alexandria assisted the Big Tree Program coordinator in managing the Big Tree Register and recertifying trees throughout the state.  Alexandria worked with volunteers to recertify 136 trees on the current big tree list (all big trees need to be recertified every 10 years) and also managed the process of certifying 45 new tree nominations. 

David Formella (2017 Big Tree Intern) is a Natural Resources Conservation major in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.  He is also a Marine option midshipman at VT, on track to commission into the United States Marine Corps as an officer in 2019.  As part of his Big Tree internship, he measured newly nominated trees and led efforts to re-measure the 195 big trees due for recertification. 

Tree Stewards
 
Trees Virginia supports Tree Stewards, volunteers providing education and tree care in their communities.  There are more than 475 Tree Steward volunteers in a dozen different groups across Virginia, and they have completed more than 13,000 hours of service to benefit urban forests.

Municipal Forestry Institute Scholarships

Trees Virginia also provided scholarships to professionals to attend the Society of Municipal Arborist’s Municipal Forestry Institute, covering the full cost of their registrations.  Past recipients include:

• Nick Drunasky (of Fairfax County)
• Alexander J. (A. J.) Elton (of Richmond)
• Rachel Griesmar-Zakhar (of Fairfax)
• Continued fundraising for the Bonnie Appleton Memorial Fund
• Provided funds to communities to plant Arbor Day Trees, reimbursing up to $100 for the cost of a tree.  The 2016 Arbor Day Communities were the Town of Luray, City of Fairfax, Town of Vinton, Town of Ashland, Town of Buchanan, City of Waynesboro.  The 2017 Arbor Day Communities included the Town of Appomattox, Town of Abingdon, Town of Marion, City of Waynesboro, Friends of Reston, Town of Vinton, Town of Luray, and City of Lexington

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