​HIRING A PROFESSIONAL FORESTER – Saves village money
Little did the village know that by hiring an Urban Forester, Homewood would recognize reduction of costs related to EAB.
​
He started managing the Urban Forest by diversifying the resource and removing Ash trees. He used lessons learned from his forestry education and by attending numerous programs including Tree City USA Conferences where he learned of the EAB outbreak in Michigan six years prior to the Illinois EAB infestation. This active management practice of being proactive with EAB helped Homewood pay for the entire forestry program costs since the time Jim was hired. Jim has two associates degrees, Park Management; Horticulture and Bachelors from SIUC - Plant and Soil Science, focused in Forest Science.
Homewood is the first community to complete removals and replacement of all ash trees, 2582 ash trees were removed over five years, with all wood debris generated from the program going into co-gen energy, wood chips for nursery production, pallet production and grade 1 or better logs going into fine furniture manufacturing or similar activities at no cost to the Village. The overall cost would have been greater had he not integrated Ash tree removals and tree diversification into their normal operational costs six years prior to EAB reaching Illinois.
​
Homewood is the first community to complete removals and replacement of all ash trees, 2582 ash trees were removed over five years, with all wood debris generated from the program going into co-gen energy, wood chips for nursery production, pallet production and grade 1 or better logs going into fine furniture manufacturing or similar activities at no cost to the Village. The overall cost would have been greater had he not integrated Ash tree removals and tree diversification into their normal operational costs six years prior to EAB reaching Illinois.
​
As a part of the outreach program Jim initiated, the local high school was given sawn lumber from a practical management approach and wood use field day. The money saved by not having to purchase dimensional lumber for their industrial arts programs, went into designing and building a solar kiln to dry the wood. Students produced table tops for their automotive program, Adirondack chairs, award plaques and signage were all produced with trees from Homewood’s Urban Forest. This demonstrated the “seed to product” cycles of trees in our urban forests, allowing students to recognize marketing and production, real time.
With Jim’s supervision, Homewood’s education continues with municipal education and outreach, bringing employees from surrounding communities into the classroom to learn of plant biology, trimming, planting, tree selection, soil science, tree preservation, as well as worker safety and industry standards for proper tree care. Their Integrated Pest Management and outreach includes scouting for problematic insects and disease, and then a sharing of information and response so that the region is stronger, and community borders do not limit the approach of management. One example is the use of Entomophaga maimaga, a fungus found to control Gypsy Moth populations. Jim took a very hands on approach by collecting dead caterpillars, combining them and the fungal spores that killed them with soil. so, that he could share the fungal impregnated soil with neighboring communities.
Jim says “Urban forest diversity is more than just planting species absent from the parkways, or introducing trees that are currently all the rage. The practice of reforestation is based on whether a species will become invasive or not, soil pH, new/old construction soils, availability of soil volume, canopy requirements, rainwater interception, and a continuation of prehistoric biomes such as the bur oak savanna that ribbons the region. The practice continues with the goal of positively impacting the value of our resident’s subconscious emotional health by planting a wide range of species that offer different textures, sizes, shapes, flower, color and even fruit.”
​
Jim also proudly says that Homewood’s reforestation practices take into account the needs of the wildlife that they are indirectly responsible for and impact. This ranges from habitat for pollinators, to shelter and forage for larger animals.
Cyclic maintenance is also a directive of their program, with the goal of visiting each tree on a five-year rotation of maintenance, to lessen liability and increase trees lifetime benefits to the community.
Removals are timed as trees age and decline, die from disease, and are weakened by storm. Resulting stump grinds are utilized for reforestation locations, employing slow release nitrogen in the backfill to help microbial activity prepare the site for the next tree. Best Management Practices and their Urban Forest Management Plan accentuates Homewood’s Code and Ordinance so that a comprehensive approach to management is realized. Homewood has been awarded the SMA Urban Forest Accreditation due to the high-quality professionalism of the industry leading Homewood crew of Certified Arborists, Foresters and Horticulturalists that Jim is proud to be a part of, in managing the resource.
Homewood’s outreach and education regarding all things greens industry, both through volunteers and staff, occurs on a multi-tier approach from Green Thumb Saturday's, engaging the gardening public, to the Certified Arborist classes held twice yearly at Public Works.
According to Jim “Urban forestry is more than the sum of its parts for Homewood, Illinois. The practice of urban forestry is based on time, past, present, and future.” He concluded saying that “By recognizing the beginnings of Homewood and the resource that was present in the mid-1800's, what is currently managed both on the parkway, and what we influence on private property by our decisions and actions, and what the next generations that inherit the community resource will experience, keeps the Village motivated and on track for excellence.”
When Jim’s professional urban forestry hat is taken off at the end of the day, Jim likes to be with his family, play bagpipes, restore old trucks and fight wildfires as a part of the official Illinois Fire Crew.
His favorite trees are: Those planted in the right place, and all oaks