Special to the Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
TREES Inc. will celebrate 20 years of improving the urban forest in Terre Haute on Sept. 28 with a dinner featuring nationally-known urban forester Dr. Burney Fischer.
The celebration, which is open to the public, also will recognize individuals and business supporters of TREES over the past two decades and announce seven state champion big trees located in Vigo and Clay counties.
Formed in 1990 with the goal of replacing a declining tree canopy in Terre Haute that the city had no funds to replace, to date, TREES has planted more than 2,300 trees in city tree rows and parks and expanded its mission to include beautification and recycling projects.
Trish Eccles, TREES’ president, describes Fischer as “the most knowledgeable person about urban forests in the state of Indiana.”
Fischer is clinical professor and director of undergraduate programs in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is also an adjunct professor at Purdue University. His research is in the area of urban forest management with a particular focus in how collaboration plays a role in sustaining urban forests, particularly at the neighborhood or sub-municipal level.
As state forester, Fischer established urban forestry in Indiana. His office provided guidance to TREES' founders in the early years, and he has remained a mentor.
“Burney Fischer knows the history of urban forestry — he knows where it is today — and he is on the cutting edge of the supporting science and technology for tomorrow,” Eccles said. “Burney is an energetic, easy-to-listen-to speaker and we are excited that he will join us for TREES' 20th anniversary celebration.”
The celebration will begin at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. Tickets are $35 per person. Reservations can be made by calling Jane Morse at (812) 877-3902 or contacting TREES through its website, www.treesinc.org. Reservations must be made by Sept. 21.
In addition to the anniversary dinner, TREES focused on five projects to mark its 20th anniversary: the replanting of the tree canopy of historic Ohio Boulevard in March, the seventh-annual dogwood planting in April, planting of the eastside highway medians at U.S. 40 and Indiana 46, the West Central Indiana Recycling Summit set for Oct. 14 at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and recognizing the seven state champion big trees.
