Buscaino is executive director of Casey Trees, a D.C.-based nonprofit that works to enhance and protect the tree canopy of the nation’s capital.
Does D.C. need more trees?
When you look around the country for cities in similar climates, we have a 35 percent tree canopy. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty set a goal of 40 percent. What that means is by 2035 we need to be planting about 8,600 trees per year.
Why are more trees necessary?
The first reason of course is cooling. A home shaded by trees can stay 7 to 10 percent cooler every year. It’s also widely known that homes located in areas with more trees have a higher resale level and neighborhoods with more tree canopy tend to be safer, and that is because people come out of their homes a lot more. There are also benefits for storm water. Trees intercept water in their leaves as well as in their trunks and bark and in the soil around them.
How many trees do you plant per year?
We plant anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 trees per year. Every year we hold 50 or 60 events in the spring and fall, and at each of those events community groups will request for us to assist in planting trees in and around their neighborhood. … We [also] work with universities and landowners, and the people who request the trees from us agree to water and maintain them for two or three years.
How did you become a tree advocate?
When I was a kid, I used to cut lawns and trim shrubs. When it came time to go to school, I got a degree in business. … I served in the Peace Corps for four years, and I got to know someone in the United Nations food and agriculture organization, and he was in the forestry program in Benin in West Africa, so I just started to work with him. … I went to get my masters degree in technical forestry.
— Susan Ferrechio
