Carbondale Tree Board explores summer outreach: mulching pilots, tree walks and champion-tree activities

The Carbondale Tree Board used much of its May 21 meeting to brainstorm summer outreach projects, including volunteer public mulching, demonstration plots to test different mulch types, tree walks tied to the towntree inventory update and a champion-tree scavenger hunt to raise local interest.

Vanessa said she will begin preliminary planning for public mulching this fall and proposed the Board identify priority trees and estimate mulch needs. Dan and others emphasized selecting sites where volunteers could be effective; Dan also reported that event brochures (emerald ash borer, planting guidelines) distributed at Dandelion Day generated many homeowner questions about removing Siberian elms.

Members debated mulch materials. Ross noted recent reporting recommending caution with bark mulch; "they're really starting to pull back from bark mulching," he said, and said he would circulate the article. Vanessa and Carl favored wood-based mulches and arborist chips for their decomposition and pathogen-free qualities, while others noted inorganic crusher-fines may resist washout during floods.

The Board also discussed educational programming: pruning workshops (already run this spring), demonstration gardens behind the recreation center to show planting progression, measuring and submitting champion trees for recognition, and tree-appraisal demonstrations to teach homeowners about long-term value. Carl suggested integrating tree-measuring and inventory tasks into the planned tree walk so volunteers and students can contribute data to the updated inventory.

The Board did not adopt any formal policy on mulch types or event funding at the May meeting; members asked staff and volunteers to research materials, prepare written proposals and return recommendations at future meetings.