Words by Sophie Franchi
The Akron Tree Commission met twice this July to work on the Public Education Strategy. The in-person working group session on July 07, 2023, was not live-streamed on YouTube, as the monthly virtual meetings are, and left unfinished business to be continued at the July 18 meeting. This meeting focused almost entirely on the strategy for raising awareness about Akron’s Urban Tree Canopy and about the Akron Tree Commission’s role in supporting the City of Akron in managing our tree canopy to provide a safe, healthy, and sustainable urban forest.
At this meeting, the Tree Commission discussed pricing for T-shirts with the Akron Tree Commission’s new logo. Sarah Vradenburg received a quote from Rubber City Clothing. After commissioners began to offer to pay for their own shirts due to the cost, Commissioner Jim Aitkin mentioned that at previous Blue Heron Homecoming Festivals, Akron Waterways Renewed was handing out T-shirts throughout the festival. He offered to look into how those were funded. Meanwhile, Vradenburg will request quotes from other vendors, and Commissioner Patricia Wyatt suggested Talk of the Town, another local printing company. The goal is to make the T-shirts before the Fall/Winter public awareness campaign begins.
The Tree Commission then discussed the information to be included in a brochure that will be passed out at local events, ward meetings, etc. Vradenburg had created a rough draft of the brochure based on information points discussed in previous meetings and the July 07 working group. She was waiting for a response from the City of Akron Chief Communications Officer Stephanie Marsh about graphics for the pamphlet. Continuity between the graphics in the brochure and those on the City’s new website (soon to be public) is the goal.
The group discussed feedback on the brochure’s contents, with participants saying they were pleased with the format and look. However, all agreed that there was not quite enough information, and they discussed ways to bulk up the bullet points to contain more details.
The planned contents include an introduction to the Tree Commission and an explanation of what they do; information about the benefits of trees; and resources for further information, such as books about trees, references to various organizations (such as the International Society of Horticultural Science (ISHS), the Ohio Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Urban Forestry, Trees Are Good and the Arbor Day Foundation), and the Tree Commission’s future webpage, contact information, and logo. Commissioner Jeff Fusco suggested including something about who to contact if an organization wants to host a Tree Commission speaker. There will also be a tear-out portion that can be used to nominate a Heritage Tree Corridor, among other things.
The Tree Commission planned to have content ready by the August meeting and work on printing it ahead of the Fall public awareness campaign. Vradenburg offered to mock up a brochure based on members’ feedback and email it to all members ahead of the August meeting.
Some items of business were discussed beyond the Public Education Strategy. The Tree Commission acknowledged that the web domain for their future webpage had already been established. Also, several City employees monitor the Tree Commission email inbox. They also discussed the timing of letters being sent out to city residents informing them of upcoming tree lawn plantings in front of their homes. Aitkin requested that Parks Maintenance Foreman John Hilkert ensure the letters are mailed well in advance of the tree plantings this year. Last year there were some instances where the letters did not arrive prior to tree plantings in residents’ tree lawns. Hilkert emailed the letter template to the Tree Commission members, so they know what communication residents have received about the tree planting prior to making an objection or requesting an appeal hearing.
The Tree Commission is still attempting to reach the Firestone High School student who won their logo contest. Summer hours interfered with presenting the student with their $100 gift card award. They hope to contact more school administrators once they return.
The next Tree Commission is TBA. When the date is set, an announcement will be posted on the City of Akron’s Public Service Department webpage.