By Danny Burbage
People was the overarching thought when the Trees SC Conference Committee met at the onset of 2021 to plan this year’s annual conference. We all wanted an in-person conference. We wanted to be in Greenville during the fall with our mentors, colleagues, and friends. We wanted to look into each other’s eyes, remember each other’s faces, and stand shoulder to shoulder in support of trees in South Carolina and across the world. Urban forestry is about people as well as trees and we so wanted to celebrate the relationship between those two. And we wanted to celebrate our relationships with each other.
The committee planned for a hybrid-type conference in which some folks could attend the host hotel in downtown Greenville while others attended online. That approach seemed safe and efficient. At the spring planning session, we were hopeful. COVID cases were going down and South Carolina was growing closer to wellness. But during July and August cases began to rise, many hospitals filled to capacity, and the Delta variant made us apprehensive…again.
Reluctantly and sadly, but wishing to err on the side of safety, we pivoted. The Trees SC Board of Directors voted to sponsor, as we did last year, a completely virtual conference. We will miss the camaraderie, the networking, and the larger-than-life personalities of our Trees SC members. But it is those members and personalities we seek to protect as we converge in cyberspace this October, waiting patiently wait one more year to gather together in Greenville.
If personal interaction will be lacking at this year’s conference, intellectual stimulation will not. The Conference Committee lined up some great speakers who will share cutting edge knowledge on many topics.
-Dr. Michael Raupp of the University of Maryland will speak on “Climate Change and How it Affects Tree Pests”
-Dendroclimatologist, Dr. Valerie Trouet of The University of Arizona will share her expertise on understanding climate by interpreting tree rings.
-Karen Firehock of the Green Infrastructure Center will share on writing effective tree ordinances in “A Planner’s Toolbox”.
-Always popular Charlotte Urban Forester, Laurie Reid, will present on “The Top 10 Things That Damage Trees”.
-Dr. Bob Polomski of Clemson University will discuss tree root issues.
-Dr. Brice Fraedrich will present on” The Landscape at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City-His and Bartlett Tree Experts involvement.
This is an engaging, all-star lineup of researchers, lecturers, and practitioners that we are proud to present. Come connect with us.
FURTHER ON UP THE ROAD
You may have heard that Karen Hauck, Trees SC’s talented and insightful Executive Director of the last 12 years, is moving on to another position. Clark Beavans in his Passport to Trees column, in today’s Acorn, discusses some of Karen’s achievements and attributes. He’ s done it very well, so I won’t try to duplicate. I’ll let the poet Longfellow speak for me.
THE ARROW AND THE SONG
By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
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