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SUSTAINABILITY INDEX

SUSTAINABILITY INDEX. Mark Westfall Environmental Coordinator/City Forester for the City of Coral Springs. SUSTAINABILITY INDEX. A sustainability index is a composite of several individual, unrelated measurements of environmentally relavent indicators.

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SUSTAINABILITY INDEX

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  1. SUSTAINABILITY INDEX Mark Westfall Environmental Coordinator/City Forester for the City of Coral Springs

  2. SUSTAINABILITY INDEX A sustainability index is a composite of several individual, unrelated measurements of environmentally relavent indicators. The index measures each individual indicator over time in relation to a “base” measurement. This provides information on trends and shows if overall the City’s commitment to sustainability is moving in the right direction. A negative trend on the index will indicate the need to take corrective measures to move the index back in desired the direction.

  3. Sustainability Index Sustainability has become a much more visible issue and gained significant traction among local governments. Motivated by a desire to protect the environment coupled with minimizing the impact of growing energy costs, the City has created a Sustainability Index to track a broad spectrum of green and sustainable benchmarks. This new tool is in line with our Neighborhood and Environmental Sustainability Strategic Priority. The index will be a useful tool to evaluate our performance in this area. Since the index is in its infancy, staff will be evaluating the need to add or delete components of the index and fine-tune the process during Fiscal Year 2011.

  4. THE NOT SO SIMPLE ACTOF PLANTING A TREE Mark Westfall Environmental Coordinator/City Forester for the City of Coral Springs

  5. WHAT IS PROPER TREE CARE? The goal of proper tree care is to create a long term, safe and sustainable tree that maximizes its environmental and aesthetic benefits. Proper tree care starts when first choosing a tree and never ends until the death of the tree.

  6. BENEFITS OF TREES THAT ARE PROPERLY CARED FOR Improve Air Quality Protect and Improve Water Quality Save Energy Protection of Asphalt Trees and Speeding Quality of Life

  7. TOO OFTEN WE FORGET THE BENEFITSOF TREES BECAUSE…

  8. MANY TREE FAILURES CAN BE AVOIDED BY PROPER TREE CARE! Proper tree care starts when first choosing a tree and never ends until the death of the tree.

  9. Know your planting site, know your tree Proper site selection is crucial to the long term survival of a tree. The following is a list of common mistakes in site selection. • soil condition (texture, ph, compaction, drainage…) isnot taken into consideration • Remember if all goes well the tree will grow…is the planting space sufficient for a MATURE tree? • Are there special constraints on the site(overhead power lines, fire hydrants, proximity to infrastructure)

  10. 9 ft.

  11. Evenly spaced main branches Single dominant leader At the nursery look for… Trees with good structure

  12. Roots are evenly distributed around the base of the tree • Major roots spread horizontally away from the trunk • No injury or damage to root flare • Look for signs of circling or girdling roots • Look for obvious damage to roots or the root flare At the nursery look for trees with a good root system GOOD BAD

  13. When planting a tree… It is better to plant a $50 tree in a $500 hole than a $500 tree in a $50 hole. Dig a hole that is at least 2-3 times the width of the rootball

  14. When planting a tree… It is better to plant a $50 tree in a $500 hole than a $500 tree in a $50 hole. Dig a hole that is not quite as deep as the rootball

  15. When planting a tree… It is better to plant a $50 tree in a $500 hole than a $500 tree in a $50 hole. Beware! Sometimes growers do a poor job!!

  16. ? Look for the root flare and the first large roots!

  17. NO MULCH VOLCANOS Add mulch… 2 – 3 inches deep Keep mulch away from trunk

  18. Pruning for young trees… The most important pruning is in the first 10-15 years of a trees life. After that all the bad habits have become established and correcting them is expensive and often damaging to the trees vitality.

  19. Branch Defense Zone Branch Bark Ridge Branch Collar BRANCH MORPHOLOGY

  20. IMPROPER PRUNING

  21. 3:00 9:00 IMPROPER PRUNING

  22. The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now!

  23. ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE LANDS Mark Westfall Environmental Coordinator/City Forester for the City of Coral Springs

  24. Article from the 1994 Winter edition of the Coral Springs “Citizen” describing the ESL Bond. On March 8, 1994 the citizens of Coral Springs voted. Among the issues to be decided was the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Bond Issue (ESL Bond). The City asked voters to approve the issuance of $7.5 million in bonds for the specific purpose of acquiring, enhancing and preserving environmentally sensitiveland within the city limits. The ESL bond was approved with a 63% majority.

  25. ESL SITES PURCHASED

  26. CORAL SPRINGS 1969 Sample Road University Drive Broken Woods Golf Course City Hall Sandy Ridge Sanctuary

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