Reservoir Hill Improvement Council



Greening in Reservoir Hill

For information on articles in this newsletter contact
Christiana Usenza at 410.225.7547 or cusenza@reservoirhill.net

Tree Survey  •  Sculpture Garden  •  Green Rehab Workshops
Kids on the Hill  •  Bike Path in Reservoir Hill  •  Alley Gating

RHIC is working in conjunction with the city’s initiative to double Baltimore’s tree canopy. The tree canopy is a bird’s-eye view of tree branches and leaves that cover the view of the ground. Baltimore city’s tree canopy is currently 20% and in 30 years will cover 40% of the city. To help this process along, RHIC and Reservoir Hill resident volunteers are conducting a survey of all of our street trees using i-Tree (a software suite from the USDA Forest Service that provides urban and community forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools). We are gathering pertinent information on the health of each tree, the location, the species, the age, the size of the tree well, and whether the tree well is raised or not (raised tree wells are not permitted because they prevent rainwater from soaking into the permeable ground). With this gathered information we can seek funding to remove dead trees or branches, enlarge or fix tree wells (new regulations state they must be at least 30 square feet), create more tree wells, fix sidewalks and most importantly--plant more trees. There are many benefits to increasing the amount of trees in the city:

1. Carbon sequestration and cleaning our air—CO2 is a gas that gets trapped in the atmosphere and heats up the earth which is leading to global warming. Trees do us the wonderful benefit of using CO2 in the production of their own food and they turn this into oxygen for us to breathe! Thus they clean our air and make it better for us to breathe.
2. Habitat for wildlife—trees provide food and shelter for birds, squirrels and other animals.
3. Decreases temperatures— by providing shade in the summer.
4. Cleans our water— by allowing water to filter through the soil and leaves before going back nto streams, rivers, the bay and ocean.
5. Increases property values—Trees make a neighborhood more aesthetic, clean and desirable.
6. Beautifies our community and makes Baltimore a better place to live.

The survey will be complete by July 2008. We hope to get funding and start the process of increasing tree wells and planting new trees by September 2008. This will thrive with the help of volunteers.

RHIC is hosting the fourth annual summer greening project in Reservoir Hill with Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ). JFSJ brings teenagers from around the country to conduct social justice volunteer work. This year from June 30th through July 11th, we will have 20 high school students from JFSJ work in the Sculpture Garden on the 2200 block of Madison Avenue along with Kids on the Hill. Together we will beautify and revitalize this nationally accredited attraction by cleaning the park; repainting the sculptures, walls, ground and stage; stenciling the walls of the sculpture garden; and planting a butterfly garden, to create a habitat for native butterflies and birds. We will also install signs to name the park. We will fix the tree wells to be in accordance with city standards and advocate for the city to improve the lighting to make it a safer atmosphere. This space is created with the themes of youth empowerment, safe public space, and environmental awareness. We will have a celebration on Friday, July 11th at 1pm to commemorate the project and to welcome everyone in the community into the park. So come on out and join RHIC, JFSJ volunteers, and Kids on the Hill for food and live music to celebrate their hard work and to enjoy this revitalized public space!

RHIC hosted our first Green Rehab workshop with Kristen Humphrey from the Neighborhood Design Center and Jeff Carroll from Gardiner & Gardiner General Contractors, LLC. In attendance, were 20 residents from Reservoir Hill interested in rehabbing their homes with environmentally sound materials that will reduce their energy costs. This first workshop covered the basics of green rehab, i.e. installing Energy Star appliances; green roofs that host plants on top of a house; cool roofs that have a reflective white paint to reduce heat in the summer; solar panels for electricity and solar water heaters; and the basics on how to reduce a draft in your home to save heat and energy. At the conclusion of the meeting we decided that this group would benefit from a series of workshops that will focus more in-depth on green rehab techniques. RHIC is starting planning for a series that will look like a Green Rehab Institute open to the public and lasting a few months with a class every other week for a set period. Topics will include but are not limited to: green roofs, cool roofs, green materials, solar installation, worm composting, front and backyard gardens, and a rain barrel making class. If you have any suggestions please contact Christiana Usenza at 410.225.7547 or cusenza@reservoirhill.net

The city has created a bike path plan to improve biking conditions for those who like to ride bicycles for pleasure or commuting. Baltimore City has been notoriously unsafe for cyclists; but this is improving. The city is working to create awareness about biking in the city, and how to ride safely. The master bike plan can be found at:
http://www.liveearnplaylearn.com/Publications/BaltimoreCityBicycleMasterPlan/tabid/98/Default.aspx

A proposal is being advanced for a Reservoir Hill bike path that connects to the larger bike path plan, since our neighborhood has not been included in the master plan. Bike paths in Reservoir Hill could connect to the Gwynns Falls trail to include commuters from the west side of Druid Hill Park. Here is a link to a petition to include these neighborhoods:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/gwynnsfallsbikes/?e

If you have suggestions for designated bike routes in Reservoir Hill, or would like to form a committee around this issue, please contact Christiana Usenza at 410-225-7547 or cusenza@reservoirhill.net.

Some residents in Baltimore City have already organized to gate their alleys and make their alleys green. What this means is they decided to close off their alley from traffic with a gate and turn the alley into a shared green space with trees and gardens. There are several benefits to a green gated alley: 1) It increases safety. 2) It increases property value. 3) It strengthens bonds between neighbors. 4) It has sanitation benefits (people start to feel ownership of the space and keep it clean which reduces waste and rat problems). 5) It has health benefits (it leads to more time spent outdoors and time to relax for mental health). 6) It has environmental benefits (trees, grass and plants clean air and cool temperatures, and removing concrete reduces toxic stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake Bay).

There are several steps to the process. First, one must start bringing neighbors together to get excited about the process and to form a committee. Then, there must be 80% approval from everyone on the block to green and gate the alley in a way that does not obstruct traffic. There must be 100% approval from the neighbors if it does impede traffic (such as trees planted in the middle of the alley). The block must get permission from the Departments of Solid Waste, Transportation, Police and Fire. Then the residents must submit an application to the Department of Public Works. If the application is approved there will be a public hearing to finalize the process. Then the block can begin the work that is left up to residents’ imaginations! This information and more can be found in Baltimore Greens, Alley Gating and Greening Toolkit. You may contact RHIC for an electronic copy of this handbook, and it will appear on the RHIC website (www.reservoirhill.net) in the near future.

Greening in Reservoir Hill