Judy H. Yi

Photos of the Virginia-Highlands Tree Planting 12/10/11. Thank you Virginia-Highland-Druid Hills Patch!

NYT: Atlanta facing ‘Treepocalypse’

Video from www.11alive.com July 22, 2011 - Interview including Trees Atlanta Program Director, Greg Levine.

Click here to read the origianl New York Times article: Atlanta Finds Its Identity as Tree Haven Is Threatened. By Robbie Brown, July 21, 2011

Meet Connie Veates, Trees Atlanta Interim Executive Director

Connie has long had a passion for trees  — for their beauty and for the protection that they provide to people and our planet.  As an “almost” native of Atlanta since she was 4 years old, she has loved living in the city of trees.

Connie has been active with Trees Atlanta for many years. She was a member of its Board of Directors for 10 years, including being President for 5 years. During that time she served on many committees and was instrumental in the building of our new facility in Reynoldstown.

Professionally, Connie was an executive with BellSouth and later AT&T working in many functional areas. In 2010, after 30 years of service, she left AT&T and spent a year exploring more creative endeavors such as metalsmithing and indulging in her love of travel. 

Connie has always been proud to call Marcia Bansley (immediate past Trees Atlanta Executive Director) her friend and is happy to step in as Interim Executive Director while a search for the permanent Executive Director is being conducted. Since May, Connie has quickly become a natural addition to the Trees Atlanta canopy… we mean: family!

“It is so wonderful to come to work every day and sit in a place surrounded by trees and know that our organization is truly making a difference” she says. “Trees benefit us all! It is a pleasure to work with the volunteers, great staff and so many other supporters throughout the city to ensure that Atlanta is green and healthy for years to come.”

Of course, the answer to THE QUESTION: Connie’s favorite tree changes all the time…this week it’s the Japanese Maple!

Trees Atlanta participated as the Georgia host for Plant-a-Wish and planted a Long-Leaf Pine near the Fulton County Central Training Center.

This video trailer for their movie in production is beautifully produced. Enjoy!

»» ««

Plant a Wish: The Film is a feature documentary that follows a couple from Hawaii who embark on a mission to plant “wish” trees with communities in all 50 states.

Produced/Directed by Sara Tekula & Joseph Imhoff at Noni Films.

All music by Joe Fred, at joefred.info

For more information, visit film.plantawish.org

Every season has a reason.

We are tree planting MA-chines in the fall and winter! Now as spring turns to summer, Trees Atlanta shifts into tree care and maintenance mode.

We focus on mulching, pruning, and watering our trees. Come sweat it out with us any Saturday! Every Saturday - 9 am to noon.

Some tips for volunteering this summer:

• RSVP to your weekly volunteer email if you plan to come so that we bring enough equipment and have a good guesstimate of our group (or just send us an email at susan [at] treesatlanta.org.)
• Wear sunscreen! We start at 9 am, but the sun is working as hard as you. You may also want to bring a wide brimmed hat — it’s so fashionable too! 
• Bring & drink water!
• Bring work gloves if you have them… but we have some well used (read: grungy) gloves for you to borrow during the project.
• Bring a friend! Everyone (singletons or groups) is welcome, but everything is more fun with your bud by your side, right?! Children who can work independently are welcome also — we do work near busy roads with traffic, so please use your good judgement.
• Bring a little lunch money. We’ll head to a local eatery — most often a pizza joint — to share a few slices and cool down with some icy drinks. 
• Have fun! 

Project: Virginia-Highlands - May 28, 2011 | Photo: J. Yi

RT @wabegoss: Monday on Morning Edition—a conversation with Atlanta’s “Tree Lady”—Marcia Bansley, former exec dir. of Trees Atlanta; 735a&835a #wabenews 

RT @jim_langford: My friend Marcia Bansley will be on WABE this AM. Head of Trees Atlanta for many years. She has “roots” in Gordon County like me. 

RT @wabedalton: Coming up on #wabenews on 90.1: Part II of @wabegoss’ interview with Marcia Bansley, outgoing director of Trees Atlanta. 

ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Marcia Bansley served 26 years as the executive director of Trees Atlanta—a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the city’s diminishing tree canopy. She retired from that position on May 13th. Here, she talks with WABE’s Steve Goss.

Atlanta City Council Proclaims May 16, 2011 Marcia Bansley Day!

Immediate past Executive Director, Marcia Bansley, lead Trees Atlanta for 26 years. In honor of her service to Atlanta, the City Council recognized Marcia on Monday.

Sponsored by Cleta Winslow, the Atlanta City Council, issued a proclamation naming May 16, 2011 Marcia Bansley Day! Congratulations Marcia, and thank you for your TREE-mendous career of service to Atlanta and trees everywhere!

Atlanta City Council Chambers - May 16, 2011 | Photo: J. Yi

Did you know that you can take a tour of the Atlanta Beltline? It’s free. It only takes a few hours. It’s amazing to see the project in its entirety in one go. 

Visit the Atlanta Beltline website for fantastic information on this tremendous urban project happening right now in Atlanta! Tours are offered on Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle buses with an Atlanta Beltline guide start off at the Inman Park-Reynoldstown MARTA station and loop around the entire Beltline. Click here to sign up.

I (@jyi) recently took the tour and briefly chronicled it via Twitter. Click on the date/time link for each tweet to view the original tweet, along with photos and video where indicated. I hope you enjoy the quick summary, and encourage you to find out more about this project. 

Tweet Tour of the Atlanta Beltline 

About to leave on a full loop tour of the Atlanta Beltline! (Think its me + a busload of Realtors.) :-/ http://4sq.com/hfyYhO Apr 15 @ 9:14 AM

ZacharyLong - @jyi Cool, have fun! I’ve never seen all of it I don’t think - just pieces here and there Apr 15 @ 9:15 AM

@ZacharyLong yeah, me too - on foot. This is the whole enchilada! Will tweet highlights. :-) Apr 15 @ 9:26 AM

Diverse neighborhoods you never knew existed along the #atlantabeltlinetour. Left Reynoldstown, through Englewood Manor, Peoplestown. Apr 15 @ 10:04 AM

Ryan Gravel, who conceived of the Atlanta Beltline, lives in Capitol View Manor. Now in SW section of #atlantabeltlinetour. Apr 15 @ 10:12 AM

Murphy Crossing may host multimodal station, including western end of new city trolley cars. #atlantabeltlinetour Apr 15 @ 10:17 AM

Yay! Tour guide Butchie gives @TreesAtlanta arboretum props for their green plan along the #atlantabeltlinetour! Apr 15 @ 10:20 AM 

“Tribute to West End” mural by Mrs. Favorite along #atlantabeltlinetour. http://twitpic.com/4l52pj Apr 15 @ 10:36 AM [PHOTO]

Passing by notable B.T. Washington School in Washington Park, founded by Herman Perry for affluent African Americans #atlantabeltlinetour Apr 15 @ 10:52 AM

Key partnerships include Marta, Trust for Public Land, PATH Foundation, and @TreesAtlanta. #atlantabeltlinetour Apr 15 @ 10:57 AM

Once completed, the new Westside Reservoir Park will be larger than Piedmont Park. #atlantabeltlinetour Apr 15 @ 11:01 AM

RT @TreesAtlanta: This old granite quarry will hold 2billion gal of reservoir water! Looks amazing! (Video) #atlantabeltlinetour http://twitvid.com/P5HM6 Apr 15 @ 11:29 AM

Passing through Lindbergh, old trestles of the Beltline Corridor. #atlantabeltlinetour http://twitpic.com/4l5x7i April 15 @ 11:43 PM  [PHOTO]

Paving along the trail near Piedmont Park will be done this summer and likely will be complete for Art on the Beltline. #atlantabeltlinetour Apr 15 @ 12:00 PM

Beautiful completed project on the #AtlantaBeltlinetour. Also near a skate park supported by Tony Hawk. http://4sq.com/eurUT5 Apr 15 @ 12:09 PM

Almost completing the loop through Inman Park. #atlantabeltlinetour 15 Apr @ 12:24 PM 

Done! Incredible project, literally and socially connecting diverse Atlanta. It’s a wrap! #atlantabeltlinetour Apr 15 @ 12:32 PM

Ten Ways to Celebrate National Arbor Day

National Arbor Day is this Friday, April 29th.  Though we  celebrate Georgia’s Arbor Day in February with tree planting, there are plenty of other nice ways you can appreciate trees this week.

10.  Make the mulch rings in  your yard wider 

9.  Save some rainwater or bath water and give your trees a nice drink

8.  Hug a tree (this is as much for you as for the tree)

7.  Volunteer at the Inman Park Festival! 

6.  Have an arborist examine your older trees

5.  Make a donation to Trees Atlantaso we can plant more trees

4.  Go to the Inman Park Festivaland sit under the shade of one of their many trees

3.  Drink a PBR while sitting in the shade of a tree

2.  Stroll through one of Trees Atlanta’s 7 Neighborhood Arboretaand think about what trees do for us in our own neighborhoods 

1.  Visit an Atlanta Champion Tree orGeorgia State Champion tree and marvel at its size and beauty 

Whichever way you choose to celebrate, have a happy Arbor Day!! 

Written by Trees Atlanta, Neighborwoods Coordinator, Susan Pierce. When she’s not leading volunteers, you may likely find Susan enjoying her favorite food: Coconut Ice Cream all summer long! Yummo!

Please click on the photo above and consider donating to Trees Atlanta. Any donations received through this link during April 2011 will qualify the donor to receive a gift from Artist R. Land, in conjunction with sponsor Pabst Brewing Company. Thank you! 

New Leaders will Help Distinguish the Connections between Trees, The Built Environment, and Human Health 

Atlanta, Georgia – April 20, 2011 – Trees Atlanta announced new additions to its Board of Directors today.  The twenty-six year old non-profit tree planting organization is pleased to welcome Dr. Rob Schreiner, Executive Medical Director, The Southeast Permanente Medical Group (TSPMG) and Ms. Camille Evans, Director of Corporate and Employee Communications, AGL Resources, Inc. to its leadership roster for a 3-year term.

Dr. Schreiner leads one of Atlanta’s largest multi-specialty medical groups, with overall executive responsibility for the cost and quality of healthcare provided to over 240,000 Kaiser Permanente members in the 28-county Atlanta metropolitan area.  He is passionate about trees and the environmental, economic, social and health benefits they provide and is enthusiastic about helping Trees Atlanta communicate this information to the public.

Ms. Evans is responsible for enterprise-wide corporate communications including media relations, public relations, community outreach and internal communications for AGL Resources, a Fortune 1000 and leading natural gas distribution company with operations in eight states. Her strategic counseling and reputation management experience will  provide beneficial for Trees Atlanta as the organization embarks on an ambitious project to design and complete the 22-mile, linear “Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum” around Atlanta’s city center.

About Trees Atlanta

Trees Atlanta is a nationally recognized citizens group that protects and improves Atlanta’s urban forest by planting, conserving and educating.  Since 1985, Trees Atlanta has planted and distributed more than 81,000 trees.  The organization offers six programs which focus on tree planting and care, education and community building.  Trees Atlanta’s headquarters are in the Reynoldstown Community of Atlanta in the LEED Platinum Certified Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center.

For more information, please visit www.treesatlanta.org or call 404-522-4097.

Where do all the hip tree people hang out? Where the P.B.R.!

April isn’t just host to National Arbor Day — it’s PBRbor Day with Trees Atlanta and Pabst Brewing Company!

Celebrate PBRbor Day with Trees Atlanta and Pabst Brewing Company throughout the month of April. Please consider donating to the special Friends of Pabst Blue Ribbon campaign all month long to help us raise much needed funds for tree planting and maintenance.

All donors who give through the PBRbor Day campaign will receive a special souvenir designed by Atlanta visual artist, R. Land.

Also, watch for Trees Atlanta at the 2011 Inman Park Festival to learn more about this fun red, white, blue and green partnership. http://www.treesatlanta.org/

ILLUSTRATION BY: R. Land

Some BIG characters teamed up with Trees Atlanta and volunteers from to help make the city greener.

Kirk Hinrich, Jason Collins, and Pape Sy are assisted by Thrash (Atlanta Thrashers), Harry (Atlanta Hawks), and lots of helpers from Home Depot, Philips Arena, and Trees Atlanta.

Fabulous photos by Jennifer Boxley of yesterday’s Green Week 2011 project. More at: http://on.nba.com/e728mk  

Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena Launch New Environmental Initiatives and Encourage Fans to “Follow Our LEED”

World’s First LEED-EB Certified NBA and NHL Arena and Its Teams are Scoring for Sustainability with Season-Long and Green Month Programs

Trees Atlanta is also excited to announce a generous program presented by The Home Depot: Threes for Trees and Green Goals.

For each goal the Thrashers score and each three pointer the Hawks score during the 2010-11 season, a donation is being made to Trees Atlanta to plant and maintain trees in the areas of highest need in Atlanta.  Through this program, presented by The Home Depot, a $10,000 donation will be made this season for trees, commemorated with check presentations at the April 5 and April 8 games.   On April 6, representatives from the Hawks, Thrashers, Philips Arena and The Home Depot will participate in a tree mulching project in Vine City.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jennifer Boxley (4/6/11)

Trees Atlanta Executive Director - Marcia Bansley Announces Retirement

A letter to Trees Atlanta volunteers and supporters from C. Edward Dobbs, President, Trees Atlanta Board of Directors. (4/1/11)

= = =

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your ongoing support of Trees Atlanta. On behalf of the Board and Staff of Trees Atlanta, I am writing to share some important news. On May 15, Marcia Bansley will close 26 years as the guiding light of Trees Atlanta. Marcia has been the Executive Director of Trees Atlanta since its beginning in 1985. Her outstanding leadership, dedication and energy have been the driving force behind the success and growth of Trees Atlanta.

Marcia has decided to spread her wings to further develop her growing international non-profit consultancy and love of architecture. Thankfully, she will continue to be involved with Trees Atlanta as an advocate and fundraiser.

At this time, the Board is pleased to announce that Connie Veates, the immediate past President of the Trees Atlanta Board of Directors, has agreed to serve as Interim Executive Director. The Board will retain an executive search professional to assist us in indentifying and selecting a successor to Marcia.

Trees Atlanta will update you with plans to honor Marcia for her 26 years of dedicated service to Trees Atlanta and the entire Metro Atlanta community.

You may read the press release that we are sending to the media on the Trees Atlanta website. Again, let me thank you for your volunteer service to Trees Atlanta. Thanks to support like yours, Trees Atlanta has planted and distributed more than 81,000 trees in Atlanta and helped connect thousands of people across our region.

If you have any questions about this transition, please do not hesitate to call the Trees Atlanta office at 404-522-4097.

Sincerely,

C. Edward Dobbs 
President, Trees Atlanta Board of Directors

UPDATE 4/2/11: To view a summary of social media mentions and responses to Marcia’s retirement, please click here: http://t.co/5decvVH 

Shovel-CAM! Can you dig it!? Yeah!

Thank you to Trees Atlanta veteran Volunteer Chris Hrubesh for sharing a unique perspective on a Saturday Volunteer Project… from the viewpoint of the shovel! 

Chris commemorates the hard work and solid spirit of our great volunteers. See a bit of “beyond the shovel” too at :50 sec in this short 1-minute video of the replacement of trees stolen from the first tree planting in West End. (Yeah, can you believe we have tree rustlers among us? sheesh.)

To join us any Saturday, please volunteer by signing up at: http://www.treesatlanta.org/Volunteer.aspx.  Thanks Atlanta!

UPDATE: If the video link above does not work, please view on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1934574650697&notif_t=video_tag

The Deal is Done!

Thank you Atlanta! Our Groupon tree planting fund raiser “deal” got “done” around 8:20 pm last night and the deal came to a close at midnight with 83 donations of received.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

A little house-keeping… (a.k.a., Do I have to do anything further?)

1. Groupon confirmation email: you should have received an email last night with a PDF attached — that looks like the one pictured above. Log into your Groupon account to view the receipts. It’s just for your record. You will receive a separate PDF for each $10 donation you made (if you “bought” more than one).

2. The Groupon says: “Must register donation by 6/18/11 for acknowledgement.” You do NOT have to do anything further. We’re all good. This is just part of the standard language of Groupon “deals”.

3. On the other hand, if you would like to record your donation with us, please follow the instructions on the Groupon. Trees Atlanta will send you an acknowledgement via email that you can use for tax purposes if you wish.

4. Lastly, if you haven’t signed up for our weekly Volunteer Emails, we welcome you to stay informed and join us on any Saturday for our volunteer projects! The trees funded by this campaign will be planted on Sat., March 26. Sign up to join us put these babies in the ground! Yay!

Atlanta, you always make us proud! Thank you for your continued support! Thank you to Groupon for selecting us a the Featured Community Campaign from March. 15 - 17, 2011… it was like finding 83 four-leaf clovers! 

Groupon, the popular daily deals & discounts site, has selected Trees Atlanta as “Today’s Featured Campaign” from March 15 - March 17, 2011!

What does this mean for Trees Atlanta & what can I do to help?

It’s a huge opportunity to share our mission with a wide audience in Atlanta! Not EVERYONE in Atlanta knows about Trees Atlanta and what we do… yet! (I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true! :-)

Being featured in Groupon’s daily email for these three days provides a TREE-mendous opportunity to be seen by new potential volunteers… and of course, we hope you and others choose to CLICK and donate $10 (or more) to help plant trees in Atlanta.

100% of the proceeds raised through Groupon will go to Trees Atlanta — provided if the “deal” gets “tipped”! That means, when at least 80 people donate from March 15 through March 17, Trees Atlanta is funded to plant more trees! Winning!

Thank you to all who are able to give a donation and/or share this offer with your network of friends! (A tweet or posting on your Facebook wall is helpful, too: http://www.groupon.com/deals/trees-atlanta !) 

Big Tree Hugs, y’all! tXtX!

Questions? Like, “Do I have to come and plant the tree?”

No, we’d LOVE to see you at any of our volunteer projects, but donating does NOT require you to come plant the tree yourself. With your contribution, we’ll be able to fund the purchase of trees for a special tree planting project scheduled for Saturday, March 26, 2011. You can come… if you want!

How do I donate through Groupon?

1. Go to: http://www.groupon.com/deals/trees-atlanta 
2. Click “BUY” and select quantity, e.g., 1 = $10, 2 = $20, etc.
3. COMPLETE ORDER.

The donation goes through your credit card. It’s completely safe, and a charge will appear on your account. Easy peasy. 

Since when is Groupon promoting fundraising campaigns?*

Since the very beginning. Before Groupon metamorphosed into its current incarnation as a daily deal provider and the Internet’s Best Source For Photos of Stereos™, it was The Point, a fundraising and collective-action website. Utilizing corporate synergy and the same cocooning technology beloved by caterpillars, the G-Team emerged as the new way for Groupon subscribers to connect with causes.

More information is available on the Groupon.com website!

*From Groupon.com’s FAQs.

Share the message so more people can participate!

1. Copy & Paste this tweet and spread the love! 

Support @TreesAtlanta via Groupon March 15-17! http://ow.ly/4eSfS Let’s spread the GREEN!

2. Go to Facebook and “share” this link:

http://www.facebook.com/TreesAtlanta/posts/160099770714568 

Please help support one of my favorite Atlanta community groups!

Something pretty cool is coming… 

                     … something purrrty dern cool.

A Big Thanks to the groups that helped out in February

… we always welcome all groups and individuals each Saturday!

To learn more about volunteering, please sign up for our weekly volunteer newsletter at: http://www.treesatlanta.org/Volunteer.aspx

And thank you to everyone else who helped out!  It was a great month.

• Americorps Members from Youth Villages Inner Harbour Campus 
• iOpener Entertainment 
• Weston Solutions 
• Sigma Nu Fraternity, Georgia State University 
• Emory Net Impact Club 
• Kate’s Club and LEAD Atlanta (Video from WSB-TV http://bit.ly/i0fYlr)
• Metro Atlanta Youth Build
• Chi Psi Fraternity, Georgia Tech
• Atlanta Housing Authority 
• The Integral Group 
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Clark Atlanta University 
• Volunteer Emory
• Agnes Scott Students
• WABE staff and listeners

Thank you to these groups and the hundreds of individual volunteers who help to make our mission come alive! Did we miss your group on this list? Go ahead and brag a little and give your group a shout out on our Facebook page: www.fb.com/treesatlanta! 

While you are there, SHARE a Volunteer’s Badge on your Facebook wall. Go here to claim your badge! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=101730933218119&aid=23212

Georgia Arbor Day planting with WABE.

Thank you WABE for sponsoring and volunteering at the seedlining planting at the Atlanta Beltline!

Photo above courtesy of David Barasoain, WABE.

To view more photos of the project: Flickr