Annual Conference

GUFC Annual Conference 2009

With the theme, “Trees and Transportation:  The Urban Forest’s Role in the Safety, Health, and Quality of Life along Georgia’s Roadways,” the 19th Annual GUFC Conference and Awards Program was held November 4 and 5 at the Merle Manders Conference Center, 111 David Road,  Stockbridge, Georgia 30281.  Attendees enjoyed inspiring keynote speakers and informative sessions, as well as an outstanding urban forestry awards ceremony.  CEUs were offered.

 

Presentations from the conference can be found at http://www.gufc.org/resources/presentations/.

 

Photos from the awards ceremony can be viewed at http://www.gufc.org/programs/2009-annual-awards/.

 

Photos from the conference sessions can be viewed at http://www.gufc.org/programs/photo-gallery/

 

Keynote speakers:
Kathleen Wolf, Ph.D., Research Social Scientist, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington

Eric Dumbaugh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Program Coordinator, Graduate Certificate Program in Transportation Planning Department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, Texas A & M University

Presentations by Kathleen Wolf:

Trees & Urban Streets:  Research on Traffic Safety and Livable Communities -

Street trees are an important element in any city’s urban forest.  Placement of trees and landscape features within the public right-of-way is often perceived by transportation officials as a safety risk.  Yet there are many community benefits that result from having quality roadside landscape and street trees.  Within urban environments, transportation mobility and accessibility needs must be balanced with the welfare of city dwellers.  This presentation will review the many issues surrounding urban roadside landscape.  It will summarize both the quantified effects of roadside landscape and propose workable solutions for safe and livable urban communities.

Parking and Trees in Cities and Towns -

Parking lots occupy about 10 percent overall of the land in U.S. cities, and can be as much as 20 to 30 percent of downtown core areas.  Large surface parking lots can contribute to drainage and flooding problems, increase urban heat islands, become visual eyesores, and encourage people to abandon mass transit, thereby accentuating air quality problems.  This talk will explore how parking lots can be regulated, designed and built to reduce impacts, and create more livable communities.

 

 

Presentations by Eric Dumbaugh:

 

 

Urban trees and traffic safety: Why urban street trees aren’t the threat the traffic engineer thinks they are! -

Engineering concerns about traffic safety are often a major barrier to the adoption of urban street trees. This talk will outline the engineering perspective surrounding the hazards posed by streets trees, and present empirical evidence demonstrating that these concerns are misguided. It will conclude by discussing design strategies for balancing street trees and traffic safety

Safe Urban Form: Understanding the Relationships between Transportation,
Traffic Safety, and Community Design -

Most of the contemporary features of contemporary community design, such as disconnected residential subdivisions and traffic-oriented arterial roadways, were adopted in an effort to address traffic safety. This talk will detail the historical evolution of these ideas, and examine the empirical evidence on which they are based. It will conclude by outlining how to balance safety and aesthetics through an integrated approach to transportation and community design.

 

Concurrent Sessions:

  • Your Street Trees and the Georgia Department of Transportation: What We’ve Learned – Kris Thomas, Landscape Director/Certified Arborist, City of Dalton
  • Community Panel:  How Street Trees have Improved the Safety, Health, & Quality of Life in our Community - Representatives from Savannah, Columbus, & Thomaston
  • Tree Inventory Techniques for your Community - Shirley Trier, Davey Resource Group
  • Greening Your City’s Infrastructure:  Priority Levels to Achieve Environmental Health and the Best Economic Return - Nancy Hodges, LEED AP, Associate, Ecos Environmental Design
  • The Atlanta Beltline Arboretum – Linking  Neighborhoods through Trees - Greg Levine, Trees Atlanta
  • Complete Streets – Designing Streets for Cars, Public Transit, Bikes, Pedestrians of all Ages & Abilities - Philip Pugliese, Outdoor Chattanooga, National Complete Streets Coalition Steering Committee
  • The Silva Cell:  Allowing our Street Trees to Grow and Thrive - Brenda Guglielmina, DeepRoot

 

Attendees also enjoyed the 2009 Georgia Urban Forestry Annual Awards Luncheon, a one-hour “Exploring the Beauty of Trees” workshop with photographer Kathryn Kolb (helpful tips in promoting trees through photography)and sponsors/exhibitors showcasing urban forestry products and services.

 

Many thanks to sponsors of this year’s conference:  Bartlett Tree Experts; Bold Spring Nursery; Davey Resource Group; Sugar Hill Nurseries; Hughes, Good, O’Leary & Ryan; The City of Stockbridge; National Tree Preservation; Chameleon Ways; Scapes Group; Heaven’s Glow Greenhouses; and Thom’s Trees & Plants.