UDC took people on a campus tour to highlight needs for tree-care money and expertise

Some of the trees on UDC’s Van Ness campus. (Forest Hills Connection photo)

by Kathy Sykes

The University of the District of Columbia has many trees on its Van Ness campus. They are in need of expert care, and on November 18th, UDC held its first community walk to demonstrate the need and generate support for a commitment to fund the university’s tree care plan and bring in the expertise of an arborist.

Leading the walk: Tsakani Ngomane, the director of UDC’s Center for Urban Resilience, Innovation, and Infrastructure (CURII) within the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), and Urban Ecology professor Kelly Russo-Petrick. Tonya Edington, the wife of UDC President Maurice Edington, was in attendance, as was Lee Brian Reba, the senior advisor from the Office of the President.

Tonya Edington (in the red jacket), UDC’s first lady, joined the Nov. 18th tree canopy walk. To her left (in the blue owl hat) is Kelly Russo-Petrik, who led the walk with Tsakani Ngomane (second from the left). Also pictured: UDC-trained Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners, a Casey Trees board member, local arborists, and community participants.

The photographer: Lee Brian Reba.

Ngomane and Russo-Petrick talked about factors that can lead to a tree becoming hazardous – exhibiting a high risk of failure that could damage property, harm people or even cause death. They showed participants how trees that were not maintained properly had structural defects. One tree may have been a victim to an herbicide application. Others were surrounded by a mulch volcano, excessive mulch by the tree trunk. Over-mulching can suffocate tree roots, tap moisture and lead to conditions that promote pests and diseases. The proper mulch application leaves a ring-shaped donut around the trunk without covering the tree flare.

UDC has long recognized that addressing tree health issues contributes to a more sustainable environment. Last year, an advisory committee for the tree canopy was established. The first order of business was to create a tree inventory that included tree species, the width of the trees, need for pruning, invasive plant removal, over-mulching at the tree base and identifying hazardous trees that needed to be removed.

What it found was a canopy of 436 trees consisting of 56 unique species. Ten trees were flagged as hazardous and in need of removal.

It was decided that rather than wait for a budget to maintain and care for the trees, the university would request assistance from students and alumni of UDC’s Master Gardener and Master Naturalist programs. In addition, a UDC program training students for environmental jobs such as tree care helped take down two of the trees marked for removal. The Tree Care Advisory Committee greatly appreciates the nearly 300 combined hours volunteers and committee members have contributed to the care of the campus trees this year, including removing invasive plants such as amur honeysuckle and English Ivy, and undertaking the tree inventory.

UDC was officially designated a “Tree Campus” in January 2025, after the university’s tree care plan was formally approved by the Arbor Day Foundation. This month, UDC planned to submit for approval its 2026 care plan.