Trees

Also Urban Forest and Shade Tree
==Background==
==Insights==
===Urban Forests Make Environmental and Economic Sense.===
Frederick Law Olmsted had little idea how prescient he was when he told the City of New York in 1872 that the midtown Manhattan park he was busy creating would serve as the "lungs of the city." Today, the urban forests found within city parks across the country serve not only as recreational and social centers, but also as organic sponges for various forms of pollution. 
Chicago's urban tree canopy removes 15 metric tons of carbon monoxide, 84 metric tons of sulfur dioxide, 89 metric tons of nitrogen dioxide, 191 metric tons of ozone and 212 metric tons of particulates, according to David Nowak of the U.S. Forest Service. 
Though scattered individual trees can absorb pollution, urban forests provide the most bang for a city's buck. "Parks with higher proportions of their area covered by healthy trees will provide the greatest impacts," says Nowak. Chicago's urban forest canopy, which covers roughly 11 percent of the city's total land, saves the municipal government more than $1 million every year in what would otherwise be spent on traditional pollution mitigation efforts. Nowak estimates that the removal of air pollution by New York City's existing tree cover saves taxpayers as much as $10 million each year.
Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest (FPUF) is an environmental non-profit dedicated to protecting and stewarding the City's tree canopy. The group aims to empower and engage Pittsburghers to help care for fragile city trees that must withstand a harsh urban environment.
====Tree Tender Course====
Learn everything from tree biology to tree planting and pruning. Dinner and childcare provided. Receive a tree tender t-shirt and certificate upon completion.
East Liberty Presbyterian Church @ 116 South Highland Avenue
**Thursday, September 13th Introduction to the Pittsburgh Tree Tender Program (6-8:30pm)
**Thursday, September 20th Tree Health Care (6-9pm)
**Thursday, September 27th Tree Planting (6-8pm)
**Thursday, October 4th Tree Pruning (6-9pm)
**Saturday, October 6th Field Laboratory (9am-12pm)
Suggested donation for the course is $30 which includes a one-year membership to FPUF. Scholarships are available! To register or for more details, call FPUF at (412) 362-6360 or email pittsburghurbanforest@gmail.com .
== ==
* Planks on trees from Mark Rauterkus
* Tom Murphy on Trees
==Links==
===Media===
* Shade Tree Commission gets Heinz Foundation money from May, 2006