He thinks that he shall never see ...

   Mark Lubera is a one-man forest.

   Thanks to his efforts in Lancaster, it is estimated that the town has 15,000 more trees than it would have had without him.

   In a couple of weeks, we'll start remembering all the trees that were lost when the October Surprise storm hit and the debate will begin anew over whether damaged trees can be saved and whether we were too quick to allow other trees to be removed.

   But rather than curse the damage, Lancaster can celebrate its own Johnny Appleseed.

Comments

[HapKlein]

I am cheered that Lancaster has been so active in maintaining its tree stock and had such a qualified person involved. Wisely they take their trees seriously and future generations will reap a healthier more enjoyable community because of this effort.

Most government bodies have become such bean counters in the past fifty years that trees have increasingly been ignored as community assets.

After the October storm and Buffalo Re-Tree was formed to save the city from itself I attended a hearing during which an expert from Department of the Interior demonstrated with aerial photos that Western New York was seriously bare of what is considered to be a healthy urban forest. He explained that to maintain and develop any sort of a healthy forest, urban areas had to replace up 25% of their trees annually. Most of Western New York had replaced the blighted Elm trees in the 1960’s and now their replacements mostly planted within a ten year period were nearing the end of their life.

I was surprised and inquired in my local government in the City of Tonawanda what our inventory and budget was. I found there had been no budget for several years but the October storm had resulted in some funding. There was no inventory of trees and no long range program.

I guess this is the case of most munincipalities in Western New York. I am saddened that the bleak landscape that is most of the urban areas will obviously be our legacy to the future. At least Lancaster can be used as an example for what to do when you really care for your community and ensure the future has trees.

[Vinayaraj V R]

Nothng in the world can match contribution to tree planting. Long live Mark Lubera. May his tribe increase and be an inspiration to generations to come!

Vinay
http://cmonletsplantatree.blogspot.com/

[Molly]

Thinking of the trees in my hometown of Lancaster brings back good memories. The chestnuts to collect on the way home from school on Church street, the catalpa with its giant leaves and wonderfully fragrant white flowers, the cottonwoods leaning over the channels in Como Park.
My new community thinks so little of their trees that they allow the residents in the community to pave the street tree belt for parking lots.
Be careful Lancaster! On a visit home I spotted this same violation in my old, dear hometown.