I Like it Here

Huntsville's Five Points neighborhood is where I've lived for almost 50 years. So yes, I definitely like it here. I can’t remember why I first felt the attraction and came under the “spell” of Five Points. I’m sure though that the neighborhood’s shady, tree-lined streets were one of the big reasons.

That is why it concerns me when I see something I’ve been noticing more and more lately. Five Points is losing trees, slowly but surely. This is inevitable, of course, given that trees are living entities with finite lifespans. Then too, their lives can be shortened by disease, storms, and the like. We also lose trees because some homeowners (sometimes the city as well) decide they’re too much trouble, or in the way of a project, pose a threat of property damage, or possibly even endanger personal safety. 

Some tree loss of course is a natural process and wouldn’t really be a concern if lost trees were being replaced by enough new planting activity to make up for the losses and removals. To be sure, there is some replacement activity, but it’s usually not at the same rate as the losses. And obviously it takes more than a few years to replace a mature tree. So, the result is what I call urban forest attrition. It shows up as bare areas or gaps in the tree canopy.

To illustrate the point, I can offer some photos I’ve taken over the years. For instance, the one above illustrates qualities I appreciate about Five Points.

 

But pleasantly shaded sidewalks like that are becoming more scarce around the neighborhood due to thinning of the tree canopy. More and more streets and sidewalks are becoming exposed to full sun, reducing the opportunities to comfortably go walking in fresh air.

For another example, here’s a scene from a neighborhood block party at which musicians and audience members took advantage of shade under a large tree. But that tree is now gone -- cut down two or three years ago -- and not replaced.

Unfortunately, scenes like these are not the general rule in Five Points and they’re becoming less so as time goes by. Again, it’s the problem of attrition. 

To illustrate how attrition is impacting the neighborhood, I’ve created a map showing gaps in the tree canopy, locations where specific trees have been removed, as well as where some clearly unhealthy trees appear to be on their last legs. 

Also, I’ve been photographically documenting neighborhood tree losses plus some examples of recently planted trees. A selection of photos can be viewed here:

Missing Trees: a thinner urban forest | Flickr

The problems of tree attrition and shrinkage of the tree canopy are by no means unique to Five Points or even Huntsville overall. For instance, consider this regarding Charlotte, N. C.: “Charlotte is losing over three football fields a day worth of trees. That’s the sobering conclusion of a study by the University of Vermont in collaboration with TreesCharlotte, detailing how development, age, storms and other factors have cut down Charlotte’s tree canopy. The percentage of Charlotte covered by tree canopy fell from 49% to 45% of the city between 2012 and 2018.” (https://treescharlotte.org/news/treescharlotte-canopy-study-shows-sharp-decline/)

For those who share my concern with and would like to see Five Points remain as “green” as possible -- or as is practical anyway -- the question is, how? How can we keep our tree population and canopy strong and healthy? Sure, we can just plant more trees and try to save more of the ones that are threatened. Ah, if only it was that simple! Each of those remedies is easier said than done. But one way to pursue such goals would be to look at other cities where residents have devised pro-tree programs and seen positive results. For example:

City Program or organization

Nashville, TN Nashville Tree Conservation Corps; Nashville Tree Bank; 

        Nashville Tree Foundation

Atlanta, GA Trees Atlanta

Montgomery, AL MontgomeryTrees.org

Knoxville TN Tree Conservation and Planting Plan

Asheville NC GreenWorks program

Charlotte NC TreesCharlotte

Greenville NC Releaf program

Savannah GA Savannah Tree Foundation

Greenville SC TreesUpstate.org

Louisville KY TreesLouisville

Baltimore MD Revitalizing Baltimore program; TreeBaltimore

Washington DC Comprehensive municipal planning and efforts, detailed in                                                                         Washington Post article, “D.C. planted nearly 80 trees a day …” 

                                        (Post, March 27, 2020)

Also, there's the “NeighborWoods” program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation and being used by many cities to encourage and support planting of trees.

The list of cities could be expanded nationwide, making it much longer. Clearly then, there’s widespread concern about the status of urban forests, as well as organized efforts to address problems and needs. 

And of course, locally there’s the North Alabama Land Trust as a model for what an organization can accomplish on the environmental front, but in a different direction -- that is, not focused on the urban forest.

What about our situation in Huntsville proper?

The city does conduct activities such as the annual Mayor’s Tree Planting event and a Native Plants Giveaway, two commendable efforts. Both are put on by the city’s Operation Green Team, part of the Landscape Management Department. There’s also a city board, the Huntsville Tree Commission. The board, however, has no funding and it has not held a meeting since February 2020. We don’t have any nongovernmental pro-tree organization or program.

Overall, it appears to me (and I’m not the only one) that more can and should be done. Attrition of the tree population and shrinkage of tree canopy density are trends which I’m convinced are real, and which we need to quantify so that they can be addressed and -- optimistically speaking -- be turned around. The organizations and programs in other cities as listed above could serve as resources, offering ideas for more proactive, pro-tree efforts here. 

If positive changes are to happen though, the most essential need is for more residents to think about why they like it here. Are trees one of the reasons? If so, conservation of our urban forest, which means supporting and getting involved in pro-tree activities, is critical … and needs to happen before it’s too late!