TreesSC 2023 Golden Acorn Award – Rob Johnston and Aiken Streetscapes
Aiken Streetscapes is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to protect Aiken’s tree canopy. It began with an offer by Rob Johnston in 2017 to personally fund an inventory of Aiken’s entire public tree resource. Ron, who grew up in Aiken, and his wife Pam, concerned that Aiken was losing some of its majestic historic trees, contacted the City offering to assist in studying and conserving the City’s trees.
As a result, Aiken Streetscapes was created and a public/private partnership formed in conjunction with the Aiken Land Conservancy and the City to protect and conserve one of the City’s most notable features, its trees.
In 2017 and 2018, a comprehensive tree inventory was conducted by Bartlett Tree Experts and the results were presented to the City Council in April 2018. The inventory of public trees along the Parkways in the City of Aiken identified 10,933 trees, which included 375 species.
Aiken’s South Boundary Avenue has long been a battleground for those who wish to protect the Live Oak canopy, the power company with its need to keep the power lines safe, and DOT with requirements to keep the right-of-way clear. In 2020 Aiken Streetscape took on the ambitious task of extensive maintenance of the iconic South Boundary Live Oak allée, which happens to be a 2005 Heritage Tree Award winner. This included public relations, fertilization, pruning, and the undergrounding of power lines. Through publicity and education, the work was done with little complaint from the area residents. The resulting canopy looks natural with proper pruning rather than the often-unattractive utility pruning.
Through the extreme generosity of Mr. & Mrs. Johnston, the City of Aiken now has a comprehensive tree inventory and the support of Aiken Streetscapes and the Aiken land Conservancy.
For more information visit: https://aikenstreetscapes.org/
To view Preserving Aiken’s Majestic Trees for Future Generations, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYvJTPaHxaM
The anonymous private citizen mentioned in the video is Rob Johnston, the 2023 TreesSC Golden Acorn winner.
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