Covington Living - CityScape: Trees

This past Tuesday evening I attended the regular meeting of the Newton County Board of Commissioners.  If you're attending for a particular reason, like a planning or zoning issue, the meeting is naturally of interest.  At other times, the regular business of running the County can be mundane and a bit boring.  It's all important, but one has to tip their hat to the Commissioners for continuing to do what has to be done, exciting or not.

Quite often, however, you pick up tidbits of interesting information having nothing to do with the reason you're sitting in the historic courthouse listening to boring County business.  This past meeting was one of those times for me.

Harold Quigley, the head ranger for the Newton-Rockdale-DeKalb Forestry District gave his annual report to the Commission.  And in that report, he said something I'd never thought about.

I do a lot of business with builders and developers in the several counties surrounding Covington.  They develop and build a lot of great new neighborhoods.  And the great majority avoids "clear-cutting" the property they're developing at all costs.  Sometimes it's necessary to clear-cut, or at worst, remove trees they don't want to remove, to place infrastructure and homes.  But, because the developers I work with are environmentally conscious, and because they know that consumers want shaded lawns and green spaces, they leave every tree they can.

What Quigley reported to the Commission was that many of the trees being planted today in new subdivisions and around shopping centers will be dead in ten to fifteen years!  Why?

Developers are certainly following County ordinances requiring them to plant three trees for every house they build.  And this past year, according to Quigley, more new trees were planted in the State than ever before.  But, here's your trouble...

Many, if not most, of the new trees being planted by developers, builders and homeowners are ornamentals and trees with short life spans like dogwoods, poplars and willows.  Very few people think of planting oaks and other old growth hardwoods... and even pines.

I think I'll talk with my developers and builders.  I hope other Realtors® will do the same.

Like Quigley said, "You can't hang a swing on a dogwood!"  Think about it.