Community Tree Management Tour

This tour will take you to the heart of some of Atlantas public and community tree planting efforts. A stop at Centennial Olympic Park will acquaint you with the tree planting effort that was mobilized to prepare for the 1996 Olympics.

The heart of this tour is the Atlanta Beltline and Beltline Arboretum, Atlantas biggest project. This masstransit corridor is being designed to include community greening projects and has great potential for forest restoration, tree planting, partnerships and community involvement.

Trees Atlanta has played a major role in Atlanta tree planting efforts. You will visit the Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center, located along the Beltline, and a Leed-Certified green building. Several demonstrations of innovative tree planting techniques will be highlighted at the site. Atlantas Olmsted Linear Park Association is dedicated to realizing the original vision of a series of Olmsted-designed linear parks that are historic assets to the city. You will be able to see how this restoration project has progressed.

Trees & Development/Green Building Tour

Southface is an Atlanta-based nonprofi t that encourages earth-friendly building practices. A visit to the Southface Energy & Environmental Resource Center will showcase more than 100 innovative green ideas and technologies, showing how to conserve energy, water, and other natural resources, reduce waste, and use recycled building materials.

The adjacent Eco Office applies these same lessons to commercial construction. Green Street Properties is an urban infi ll real estate developer that focuses on creating environmentally sustainable neighborhoods and walkable urban spaces. You will visit two of their in-fill projects: Glenwood Park features a mix of different housing types as well as retail stores, offi ce space, civic buildings, people-friendly streets, parks, and recreational facilities. The nearby Kirkwood Forest is a 3-acre, forested parcel where 14 new homesites have been developed. An Atlanta Habitat for Humanity project demonstrates how trees can be planted for energy efficiency.

Trees & Social Issues Tour

This tour will provide insight into a wide variety of project-types that fall under the category of Trees & Social Issues. A visit to Woodruff Park, will introduce the work of Park Pride, an organization dedicated to investing in park improvement to improve neighborhood safety. A visit to Atlanta's Pittsburgh community will take you to a neighborhood that undertook a community directed blueprint process to inventory their green infrastructure; Trees Atlanta followed up with an Arbor Day tree planting project for the neighborhood.

Stops at Emory University will allow you to see how spaces at this forested campus are being designed to encourage recreation and reflection. At Emory's Wesley Woods, you will meet Kirk Hines who will show how their gardens and greenhouses are used for horticultural therapy. A stop at Oakhurst Community Gardens will let you see how connections with nature and connections with people are formed at this garden dedicated to the next generation of environmental stewards.