November-December 2007

Reforest the Bluegrass

A successful volunteer program in Lexington, KY

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Stormwater runoff is a major problem in Lexington, KY, which is located about 75 miles south of Cincinnati and 75 miles east of Louisville. Increasing suburban growth and a population of 270,000 have stressed the aging infrastructure of the city’s storm sewer system. Unlike many other cities, Lexington does not have a stormwater utility, under which property owners must pay for the amount of paved surface on their land. Budget cuts and the lack of this financial resource have slowed repairs.

Scouts earn merit badges for planting trees.

These two drawbacks doubtless affect many cities’ ability to cope well with stormwater runoff. Lexington has another factor that makes it unusual. Known for its Thoroughbred horse farms, the countryside features green pastures with gently rolling hills, neatly mowed and edged in white fences. These beautiful farms influence how suburban homeowners maintain their lawns.

David Gabbard, civil engineer for the Lexington-Fayette County Urban-County (merged) Government (LFUCG) calls this custom “the Bluegrass aesthetic.” He explains that in central Kentucky, “citizens expect creeks to be seen and heard. Streambanks are mowed down to the water’s edge.”

There are plenty of trees in the Bluegrass, but they line fencerows and driveways, not the banks of streams. The soil of central Kentucky is rich in limestone, which contributes to strong bones in the horses who graze on the grass growing in it. Only 7% of streams in the United States are limestone-based, but in the Bluegrass, the upper limestone layer has a very high phosphorus content. This extra phosphorus measures 0.2 to 3 milligrams per liter of stormwater runoff.

Because algae can form where phosphorus measures 0.42 milligram per liter of water, it quickly grows in Bluegrass streams and their tributaries. It is particularly prevalent in the warmer waters where there is no shading tree canopy.

Past stormwater management simply involved channeling water away without considering how its quality deteriorated the farther it moved downstream. Besides urban stormwater runoff, other nonpoint sources of pollution in Fayette County are farming, horses, and cattle.

Responsible for seeing that Lexington meets the EPA’s Phase II stormwater guidelines, Gabbard was pondering his limited financial options when he attended a conference on water quality in 1998. A speaker explained how effective trees could be in reducing water pollution and runoff. When he added that the trees could be planted by community volunteers, Gabbard knew he had found a solution that would improve both the stormwater situation and the quality of local water.

As soon as he returned to work, Gabbard met with David Swenk, Lexington’s first urban forester. Swenk had just assumed his new post, but he was enthusiastic about the proposed project. His previous job had been in timber reclamation in Oregon, so he knew firsthand the benefits of forests.

“The essence of the Clean Water Act is to involve people at all levels in doing something proactive, in protecting their environment,” Gabbard explains. “With the whole project’s concept, you’re addressing different elements of the Clean Water Act, public involvement, and public education.”

Even so, Gabbard and Swenk met some resistance when they first proposed Reforest the Bluegrass. Some city employees claimed that even with the promise of a free lunch, not enough volunteers would show up. Then the city would have to pay money it hadn’t budgeted for to get the rest of the trees planted.

The Parks and Recreation Division was involved from the beginning because it was the only division of local government that owned and maintained long stretches of stream. Some of the Parks employees were reluctant to plant more trees. They preferred open spaces that required less maintenance and could easily be converted into fields for softball, soccer, or other team sports. As Gabbard recalls, “One disgruntled employee went so far as to say, ‘We don’t need a lot of trees. Trees fall on people.’”

Despite the skepticism, and partly because the city’s finances didn’t allow for any other solution, Gabbard and Swenk received permission to stage the first Reforest the Bluegrass. The project was created as a cooperative effort between the LFUCG Division of Parks and Recreation, the Division of Streets and Road (Urban Forester), and the Division of Planning (Storm Sewers).

An unexpected but welcome 600 volunteers showed up on the first day of the first event.

Because their proposed project did not have overwhelming support, Swenk and Gabbard figured that the first year’s outcome would determine whether or not the event continued. For the first Reforest the Bluegrass in 1999, they chose a site that had not previously been open to the public. A failure there would be less likely to be noticed or to impact possible future programs.

The University of Kentucky (UK) was converting agricultural land, its Coldstream Research Farm, into an academic and commercial research park. Part of the land could not be developed because it was on a floodplain. UK gave this area to the LFUCG for restricted use, in passive recreation, such as trails or riparian forests.

Swenk wanted to use paid migrant laborers to plant the tree seedlings. Gabbard held out for volunteers, thinking they would take more care with the planting, and the money saved could be used to buy more trees.

Gabbard wanted citizens involved for another reason. They would have “a sense of ownership of the project, and that support is critical in the early stages of forest growth—when the project looks ‘weedy’ and ‘wooly.’”

To educate the public about the new tree planting project and recruit volunteers, Swenk embarked on a local speaking tour. He spoke to corporations, the local chapter of the Sierra Club, the councils of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, and any community organization that was willing to listen to him.

Corporate sponsors, including Kentucky American Water Co., Kentucky Utilities, and Lexmark, committed to helping the project with both financial donations and employee volunteers. Print and broadcast media publicized the event, asking volunteers to register in advance.

When 600 volunteers showed up on the first day, Swenk and Gabbard knew that their project was a success. At the end of the day, now-retired Parks Division Supervisor John McClellan pulled alongside them in his truck. He said, Gabbard recalls, “Guys, this is awesome. I didn’t know it would be so great. Whatever you need for next year, you’ve got it.”

The initial Reforest the Bluegrass in 1999 was held on more than one day. When it was finished, more than 1,200 volunteers had planted 25,000 tree seedlings over 45 acres of floodplain. The event had made more favorable impact on the local environment than even the most optimistic people involved had expected. Every aspect was better than the organizers had hoped for.

Not only were there plenty of volunteers, but they came from diverse groups within the community: scouts, Sunday school classes, fraternities and sororities, various environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Nature Conservancy, and families.

The format of Reforest the Bluegrass has remained essentially the same as it was that first year. The event lasts from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a Saturday in April. Lunch, snacks, and Reforest the Bluegrass T-shirts are provided for volunteers courtesy of local sponsoring companies.

University of Kentucky graduate students in forestry serve as team leaders, taking groups of 20 to 25 volunteers to planting areas. The students show the volunteers how to plant the tree seedlings (assorted native species) using Dibble bars, planting bars with wedge-shaped blades. Because there is no minimum age limit, children as young as toddlers plant trees, with some help from their parents.

Organizers spray paint a grid so that volunteers will plant trees evenly spaced. The pink and green paint grids designate areas for tree species that tolerate wet roots and those that must be planted farther away from the stream. The seedlings for each volunteer are in bags with the corresponding appropriate colors.

In succeeding years, the same diversity of volunteer groups has continued, and many of the same individuals and families come back every year to plant more trees. Even when the event has coincided with cold rainy weather, at least several hundred volunteers have shown up.

“Rain is perfect weather for planting bare root tree seedlings,” says Timothy Queary, Lexington’s current urban forester, “but it’s not perfect for volunteers.” He, Gabbard, and John Saylor—an LFUCG arborist and Reforest the Bluegrass’s director—thought they might have to postpone Reforest the Bluegrass earlier this year.

The appointed Saturday dawned not just with rain but also with heavy downpours and cold temperatures. When their truck with supplies got stuck in the mud, the three organizers wondered if this was an omen.

They decided to “at least get the tent set up, so if anyone comes they’ll have a place to get out of the rain. If no one shows up by 10 or 11, then we’ll cancel,” recalls Queary.

To their surprise, at 9:00 a.m. 50 to 60 people were there, ready to go. Most of them wore rainsuits, but a few volunteers had improvised with large plastic trashbags worn over their clothes.

“They kept coming all day, over 400 of them,” Queary says. “If it had been sunny, we’d have had twice the amount of volunteers, or more.”

The aforementioned tent, which measures 40 by 100 feet, is the organizers’ secret weapon against bad weather and tired volunteers. They got it for the second Reforest the Bluegrass and soon found it to be cost-effective. Having the tent gives volunteers a place to sit down, warm up if the weather is chilly, and have something to eat and drink. Then, Queary says, “They’ll go back and plant some more trees instead of going home.”

The tent is also used as a display and education area for Bluegrass PRIDE (Personal Responsibility in a Desirable Environment), the Sierra Club, Fayette County 4-H, and other environmental groups. These people also have the opportunity to talk about their organizations and invite Reforest the Bluegrass volunteers to become involved with them. By discussing such topics as recycling, lawn care, and proper disposal of hazardous household waste, these environmental volunteers educate the public about the city’s ongoing problems with stormwater. They reinforce the message of how the tree planting is helping create a cleaner environment.

After planting trees, volunteers receive educational material to take home along with their Reforest the Bluegrass T-shirts. Kentucky Utilities, one of the event’s major sponsors, gives them tree seedlings to plant at home. Some of the children’s activities are also in the tent.

Reforest the Bluegrass has proven to be a wonderful event for families. Some of the children who participate will stay here and someday show their children the trees they planted when they were little. Saylor recalls bringing his daughter in her stroller to watch the activities. This year, in a pre-event publicity photo session, young Kathryn showed some members of the media how to plant a tree.

Over 130,000 trees have been planted through Reforest the Bluegrass.

Queary thinks Reforest the Bluegrass has become such a success “because it’s family-friendly. That may be the only opportunity a child, growing up in a city, will have to do something good for the environment, to plant a tree.”

He notes that “many of the teenagers and young adults who come to the event have never planted a tree in their lives. They grew up in an apartment or where a landscaper did all of the planting.”

Children are allowed to plant trees, if they wish, and other activities just for them are available. Making a birdhouse to take home is always popular. LFUCG employees show the children how to assemble the precut wooden forms. Many of the kids like to make pinecone birdfeeders. Smucker’s donates Jif peanut butter, made in its Lexington plant, to fill the feeders.

Sometimes the kids are given empty trash bags and encouraged to pick up litter, an activity they turn into a game. Pony rides and a petting zoo were included in the early years of Reforest the Bluegrass but haven’t been on the schedule for some years. The children seem to have enough to do without them.

Most children, especially those of elementary age and younger, come with their parents. Saylor says he has noticed an increasing number of grandparents with grandchildren. Many scouts (sometimes entire troops) show up in uniform with their leaders, for participating counts toward merit badges.

Of a community tree planting event, Saylor says, “A lot of folks just see the work involved and say, ‘If we just do it ourselves or hire it out, it’ll be quicker.’ But it’s relatively easy to gather volunteers, and that gets them behind the project. They’re in the loop.” Saylor thinks the main reason for the program’s success is that “it’s just the opportunity to plant a seed for the future.”

Reforest the Bluegrass’s statistics show what a success the program is:

• More than 5,000 volunteers have participated.
• More than 150 acres of floodplains were restored.
• Over 130,000 tree seedlings were planted.
• Less than $105,000 of local government funds were spent, plus $75,000 of donated funds.
• If the projects had been carried out by paid workers, the cost would have been $750,000.

Volunteers at Reforest the Bluegrass plant trees not only along streambanks but also within detention basins. In 2002, along Welling Way and at Wellington Park, citizens planted thousands of trees in two large detention basins. “We need to plant trees in these basins because trees uptake methane and cool the water,” Gabbard explains.

Volunteers plant trees using Dibble bars, planting bars with wedge-shaped blades.

To people who protest that the trees’ roots take up room and thus decrease the detention basin’s capacity, Gabbard says this idea is not true. “Once the trees grow, their roots penetrate the compacted soil and loosen it. The roots absorb water, too, so there’s more storage volume in the detention basin [with the trees than without them].”

Planting trees in older detention basins as a retrofit flood management practice has proven to be cost-effective. The city engineers have dubbed this the ReNEW Project.

Queary calls the Wellington project “one of the best examples of Reforest the Bluegrass.” For years the land had been owned by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Except for tobacco warehouses and a few buildings, the property was vacant. Part of the land was leased for cattle farming. The stream flowing through the area was not fenced to keep the cattle out of it.

When the land was sold and divided for residential and commercial use, a section was given to the city for a park. This section was the one that had been used by the cattle. Their hooves had eroded the banks of the stream, and its water was polluted.

Five years after the Reforest the Bluegrass event there, the tree seedlings are growing up and the streambank is stabilizing. Queary says, “The Wellington habitat has changed. There are a lot more species of songbirds that were never there in the past.”

Reforest the Bluegrass has weathered one major setback. In 2000, a contractor mowed the area, blatantly ignoring the recently planted tree seedlings and their surrounding cardboard mats. He later claimed that he thought they were trash. The local newspaper reported the unfortunate incident, complete with photograph. Some volunteers complained that they would not participate in the program again. Seedlings were replanted by volunteers and city employees.

The organizers learned from this incident. Seedlings are now planted within shiny black plastic mats, both for better visibility and to deter growth of competing vegetation. Trees along the border of each section are encased in protective plastic rings. All city departments are aware of exactly where tree planting has been done.

The overall survival rate of Reforest the Bluegrass trees is a phenomenal 75%. Gabbard’s instinctive feeling that people who care enough to give up a Saturday morning and volunteer for their community would take care to do the work well has proven to be accurate.

Reforest the Bluegrass follows the EPA’s Rule 2.3, Forming Partnerships. It does so first with the other LFUCG agencies who have been involved since the beginning. Another partnership has been formed with the state government. The Kentucky Department of Forestry has supplied both trees and workers. The partnerships with Bluegrass PRIDE, the Sierra Club, and other organizations involved in protecting the environment have brought in more dedicated volunteers to plant trees.

The corporate partners make the event possible on a scale large enough to make a difference. Their donations of funds and employee time allow the event to function smoothly for volunteers in registration, parking, and meals.

 Gabbard sums up Reforest the Bluegrass as a response to the Clean Water Act by saying, “It’s about effectiveness. Doing something to be doing something because you’re required to do something isn’t compliant with the Clean Water Act.”

The story with trees is “what you don’t see,” says Gabbard. “Most people think that tree roots extend 10 or more feet. But the roots of most trees, even the tallest ones, are less than 3 feet deep.”

What makes trees so efficient are their horizontal root systems, extending far beyond the drip zone (the farthest width of the leaves). A single tree is not an effective means of preventing a streambank from eroding. But when trees are planted in a stand, as they are in the Reforest the Bluegrass program, their root systems “are interconnected,” Gabbard explains. “The trees support each other. That’s the concept that’s missed.”

Tree root systems create what Gabbard calls “a microdetention system.” At first the ground is smooth on the surface. As the tree and its roots grow larger, “the surface develops microdetented areas that will capture sediment, debris, nutrients, and pollution.”

As an Urban Forester, Queary is, admittedly, pro-trees. “All of the benefits of trees combined are much better than a concrete flume,” he notes. Queary terms the stabilization of streambanks as “probably the most significant benefit of planting trees.” The shade that trees provide over streams will create a more diverse aquatic habitat, he adds.

Queary cites research by Kim Coder, Ph.D., of the University of Georgia. Coder determined that “for every 5% of tree cover added to a community, stormwater runoff is reduced by approximately 2%,” Queary says.

He acknowledges the ongoing problem municipal engineers have with stormwater. “They have to think regionally and long-term, even globally. The days of piping stormwater off of the property and letting the person downstream worry about it are over.”

Reforest the Bluegrass has proven how cost-effective and beneficial a tree planting program can be for a community. Streams listed on the state’s 303(d) list of impaired waters are being restored. Landscaping habits of residents are gradually changing as they have learned what they can do to protect water quality.

Esther Moberly, program manager of Bluegrass PRIDE, says that Reforest the Bluegrass sets an example. “Planting trees and not mowing to the edge of streams is easy [for anyone] to do. You can help the environment without having to get an architect or an engineer.”

The program thwarts citizen apathy by involving members of the public in an enjoyable and meaningful event. It educates them, through participation on the day of the event and through reading material they take home, on the detrimental effects of stormwater and pollution on their environment. And that public involvement and education well satisfy requirements of the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase II guidelines.

Author's Bio: Margaret Buranen writes from Lexington, KY, on the environment and business, for several national publications.