Athens Shade Tree Commission reviews recent plantings, plans BioBlitz and weighs reporting options for dead trees

At its March 18 meeting, the Athens Shade Tree Commission welcomed new commissioner Sam Corey and focused much of its discussion on tree maintenance and how residents report requests to the city.

The commission said trees planted along the city bike path that earlier had been leaning are now staked after outreach to parks staff. The meeting chair reported, "they are now all staked," and commissioners said the stakes appear to have stabilized the saplings in the flood-prone area.

New commissioner Sam Corey, an associate professor of civil engineering at Ohio University, introduced himself and said he moved to Athens as a student more than 30 years ago and "I'm here to help." Commissioners said they expect his pavement and canopy expertise will aid future work on street trees and tree impacts on infrastructure.

Volunteers and commissioners planned a BioBlitz for Saturday, April 18 to document street trees using iNaturalist and to import the observations into the commission's GIS. Routes discussed included areas around Highland Park, Central Avenue and stretches of Washington and West State Street; organizers said the event will be posted on GivePulse and promoted on the city's Facebook page.

Commissioners also reviewed the tree inventory and asked volunteers to help identify iNaturalist observations. The chair said she had reached out to city planner Megan Jennings, who indicated the data could support an Environmental and Sustainability Commission greenhouse-gas analysis and that outside groups such as the Ohio Environmental Council may offer assistance.

Attendance at the Tree City USA awards on April 1 at Hocking College was discussed; registration was cited as $35 per person and commissioners said the city typically reimburses members who attend if they retain receipts.

A significant portion of the meeting centered on how residents should report dead or hazardous trees. One commissioner said they had tried to contact parks staff member Kevin Scurlock and received a message that the email address was not active. Commissioners agreed the city’s ClickFix portal currently allows the public to upload photos and geo-locate reports and creates a public record, but they also said response times and internal routing are inconsistent. The commission discussed contacting the staff member believed to manage ClickFix to clarify whether the platform can or should be used consistently for tree issues.

The commission noted problems with its internal city listserv and with updating its public contact information on the Shade Tree Commission web page; the chair said she had contacted IT and would circulate the commission bylaws and arrange to add the new commissioner to the site.

The commission approved the minutes from its previous meeting by voice vote and adjourned after routine business. Commissioners identified follow-ups including improving reporting channels for tree requests, updating the website and bylaws, and recruiting volunteers for the April BioBlitz.