Durham Tree Keeper Workshop Offered Feb. 7-8

A two-day workshop for learning more about urban tree care will be offered in Durham on February 7 and 8, 2014, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants will become the community’s first-ever "Tree Keepers."

Workshop participants will learn about a variety of techniques to help expand, maintain, and protect Durham’s trees. Topics will include tree biology, planting, maintenance, basic identification, tree insects and disease, and tree protection methods. Participants will then be expected to provide 15 hours of volunteer tree care during the next 12 months as part of the Tree Keeper volunteers.

The workshop will be held at the Durham County Cooperative Extension, 721 Foster St., and at the City of Durham General Services Department, 2011 Fay St. The cost to attend is $25 per person, which includes materials. A limited number of scholarships are available and the registration deadline is January 31, 2014.

According to Durham City-County Sustainability Manager Tobin Freid, this workshop will expand Durham’s ability to increase and protect the community’s tree resources by training Tree Keeper volunteers. “Not only will workshop attendees learn directly from qualified professionals, they will also help plant, care for, and inventory trees through 15 hours of service to the community,” Freid said. “Protecting Durham’s tree canopy is such an important issue that it’s a joint initiative through the City and County’s strategic plans. Ultimately, our Tree Keepers will play a very important role in helping to grow and preserve Durham’s tree canopy for generations to come.”

The workshop is sponsored by Trees Across Durham, which is a broad-based partnership dedicated to making Durham a healthier and greener community now and in the future through the planting and protection of trees; the education of tree care-takers and the general public about how to maintain healthy trees; and the measurement and communication of the benefits trees provide to the environment and community. For information about Trees Across Durham, visit http://tinyurl.com/DurhamTrees.

To register for this workshop contact Pana Jones, program assistant for the Durham County Cooperative Extension, at (919) 560-0525 or by email at prjones2@ncsu.edu.