Janesville Shade Tree Advisory Committee, Janesville Wisconsin, urban forest, shade trees jstac

Spotlight - Member of the Year
2008 Chair, Cliff Englert

Cliff has been the glue that has held JSTAC together from its inception through the present. His goal has always been very clear - to improve Janesville's urban forest. Cliff was one of the founding members of JSTAC. He was there when the first glimmer of an idea that a cooperative committee made up of forestry professionals and residents could benefit Janesville's urban forest came into being. About 12 years ago local arborists SpotlightCliff

were fielding complaints from Janesville residents about the over-pruning of street trees. They took their concerns to the city and Cliff (who is park superintendent for the City of Janesville) helped create JSTAC which was, and still is, made up of many of those very same arborists, city and state forestry professionals and concerned citizens. The goal of the group, then as now, was to address issues that faced Janesville's urban forest. He has been at the very core of this organization from that beginning on through through its most ambitious project, his brainchild, the JSTAC street tree inventory - a project that can help us all to better understand and care for our urban forest. He's been a consistent source of knowledge, inspiration and strength within JSTAC and in a larger sense in the entire community. Without Cliff JSTAC would not be the dynamic organization it has become. Cliff will be retiring from city service in about a year. Upon retirement he and his wife Bea will be leaving Janesville and moving to the land of sunshine and flamingos, Florida. For years Cliff has served JSTAC as Secretary/Treasurer but this year was elected chairperson - a fitting tribute to his years of service on the committee. The City of Janesville and JSTAC have been greatly enriched by his service.

Thanks, Cliff - for everything. Photo by David Graham

Who we are and what we do
Our History
Members
J-STAC by-laws
Memorial Tree project
Janesville - Tree City USA
Suggested replacement trees
Eight Reasons Not to Top Trees
Promoting the Diversity of Janesville's Urban Forest
ArborFest - a Celebration of Janesville's Urban Forest

Meet our friends
Rotary Botanical Gardens
UW-Ext Master Gardener program
Welty Environmental Center
Friends of Riverside Park
Friends of Rockport Park
Rock Trail Coalition
Ice Age Trail of Rock County

Calender of events
All JTAC programs are free!

May 13, 2008, 6:30 pm (Tuesday) - Traxler Park Warming House - Selecting and Planting a Tree in your Yard - How to
pick the right tree (species, variety), what to look for when choosing a tree (form, health, potted, b&b (balled and burlapped), bare root) and how to plant it properly. This will include an on-site planting demonstrations.
May 17 - 8am to 4 pm (Saturday) - Rotary Gardens Horticulture Center - Plant Division Sale with plants from Rotary Gardens - JSTAC will participate with a booth and educational materials.
August 12, 2008, 6:30 pm (Tuesday) - Traxler Park Warming House (Please note - this event may be relocated due to aftermath of the flooding. Visit this site for the final location. Thanks!) - Evaluating the Health of Your Trees - How do I know if my tree is healthy? What problems are "no big deal" and which are serious threats to my trees? How can I tell if my tree is a hazard tree? This will include on-site assessment of trees with common maladies.
September 6, 1-5 pm (Saturday) - Rotary Gardens GardenFest/ArborFest - Say Cheese for Trees Amateur Photography Contest, tree hikes, scavenger hunts and educational programs on How to Measure a Tree, How to Select and Plant a Tree, How to Prune a Tree. This is a family-friendly event.

Trees in the News

Urban Forestry Fast Facts - did you know...

In Sacramento County,CA it was estimated that doubling the canopy cover to five million trees would reduce summer temperatures by 3 degrees. The reduction in temperature would reduce peak ozone levels by as much as 7% and smoggy days by 50%.

A study across the Chicago region determined trees removed approximately 17 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), 93 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), 98 tons of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and 210 tons of ozone (O3) in 1991. (It is estimated the average person puts 9.75 tons of CO into the air each year.) In addition to the uptake of harmful gasses, trees also act as filters intercepting airborne particles and reducing the amount of harmful particulate matter. The particles are captured by the surface area of the tree and its foliage. These particles temporarily rest on the surface of the tree, as they can be washed off by rainwater, blown off by high winds, or fall to the ground with a dropped leaf. Although trees are only a temporary host to particulate matter, if they did not exist, the temporarily-housed particulate matter would remain airborne and harmful to humans. Increased tree cover will increase the amount of particulate matter intercepted from the air. Large evergreen broad-leafed trees with dense foliage collect the most particulate matter. The study determined that trees removed approximately 234 tons of particulate matter less than 10 micrometres (PM10) in 1991.

Large healthy trees greater than 75 cm in trunk diameter remove approximately 70 times more air pollution annually (1.4 kg/yr) than small healthy trees less than 10 cm in diameter (0.02 kg/yr).

Trees

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Joyce Kilmer -- 1886–1918

Places to Go and Things to Learn - Educational Links

J-STAC meetings are held monthly in the conference room at the Department of Natural Resources Janesville Service Center, 2514 Morse, Janesville, at 4 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month. The meeting location may be changed, if necessary. For further information please contact Secretary/Treasurer Mary Thompson at 754-2123. Meetings are open to the public.

The Janesville Shade Tree Advisory Committee is a component of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin. Charitable CFSW

donations in support of J-STAC activities and Janesville's urban forest can be made directly to the Foundation. For donations or other information about J-STAC, the Community Foundation, or other conservation or park related community groups, please call the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin at 608-758-0883. JSTAC is NOT an official committee of the government of the City of Janesville.

"The suburbs are where they cut down all the trees and then name streets after them!" -
Mad: The Half-Wit and Wisdom of Alfred E. Neuman (Warner Treasures, 1997)

Network for Good is a resource where individuals can find charities and non-profits that need financial help and volunteers.

FREECYCLE! The right idea at the right time!

Click to join JanesvilleWisFreecycle

Interested in keeping recyclable items out of our landfill? There's a beautifully simple solution. Give them to someone who wants them! Janesville Freecycle is a Yahoo Group that gives local residents a highly effective way to participate in community recycling. Need a computer monitor? Knee pads for a roller-blader? Flower pots? A refrigerator? An area rug? ASK! Got a hamster cage to give away? Books? A tree? Packing peanuts? A girls bicycle? A canoe? OFFER! It's a fun and exciting idea that provides a golden opportunity for community involvement that really works!

Site updated: 6-21-08

For more information write to:
Janesville Shade Tree Advisory Comm
P.O. Box 2056
Janesville, Wis. 53545
or send an email.

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