Stillwater Neighborwoods

Forestry Coordinator

Introduction

Stillwater Neighborwoods is a cooperative project that combines the efforts of private businesses, individual citizens, and city government to plant thousands of trees without depending solely on city tax money or federal grant money. The idea originated in Austin, Texas, and it has been successful in planting thousands of street trees each year in Austin. Neighborwoods is a model with a proven success record that Stillwater can copy to its advantage. This program is based on the thinking that the government's role is to facilitate tree planting by working with businesses (who pay for the trees) and the citizens (who plant and water the trees) rather that being the direct provider of tree planting. In this way the people who are willing to put forth the effort to plant and maintain the trees are the people who receive the direct benefit of the trees. Not like planting a tree in an arbitrary place and having the city maintain it.

In The First Three Years The Neighborwoods Program In Austin Has:

• Planted 9,700 five gallon container-grown trees by resident adopters, at an average cost over three years of $23.74 per tree
• Received $80,000 in support from Jack Brown Dry Cleaners
• Received in-kind services and citizen cash donations totaling $2,776,140
• Direct cost to tax payers totaling $56,000 ($5.77 per tree)

The Ultimate Way To Give Back to Your Community

Stillwater Neighborwoods is a way for local businesses and companies to "give back" to their community. People don't forget who gave them the trees in their front yard. They come home every evening to a cooler driveway in the summer, and they string their Christmas lights on it in the winter. Their trees are a very significant part of their home. Buy providing support to this program, any environmentally conscience business or company can guarantee that each person that receives a tree will have a positive outlook on the sponsoring business. Whether your business is a service oriented or industrial based, positive public exposure is always important, and your company , as a participant in Neighborwoods, will receive direct exposure to the public as an environmentally aware business.

How does it work?

The program plan is outlined on the following pages. The first step will be to find sponsors for this program. The second step will be to locate suitable neighborhood areas for planting along the street. Next, the areas that are selected will be marked with flags. Each flag will have a logo from the sponsor who adopted the area (optional), and on the other side it will say "Free Tree Here!" with an arrow pointing down. Each resident that receives flagging in their yard will also receive a door hanger flyer which will explain the program, let them choose one of five species to be planted, and require them to sign a two year maintenance agreement. After the flyer is completed, they will tear off a portion of the door hanger and send it in to receive their tree(s). A bid will be made by the forestry coordinator for the trees, and a specific delivery date will be made. After the bid is chosen, confirmation letters will be sent out to every person who wanted a tree. Delivery to each neighborhood will be included in the bid. During the delivery of the trees, each home owner will receive instructions on planting and care for the trees which will have coupons and advertisements for the sponsor (optional) attached. From this point on it is just a matter of sending maintenance reminders and surveys to check on the results of the program.

Program Mission:

To purchase trees with donations from local businesses and coordinate with residential homeowners to plant and water trees in the right of way in front of homes in Stillwater to increase comfort, beauty, property values, and save energy by cooling the neighborhood environment with shading streets.

Program Elements:

1. Project Coordination: The Stillwater Tree Board will coordinate the project through the Forestry Coordinator. The Forestry Coordinator chooses how the project will be done. They coordinate between other City departments, citizen groups, businesses, contractors, and others involved in the project.

Selection Criteria

1. Neighborhoods must be inside of the City limits
2. Neighborhoods must have immediately available planting locations (i.e. no dead or dying tree removal problems)
3. Neighborhoods must show a canopy coverage rating of less than 20%.
4. Older neighborhoods are preferred
5. Active neighborhood associations are considered beneficial