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Seminar Focuses on Building With Trees
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2005 Building With Trees award winner Brookside Development. | NAHB and the National Arbor Day Foundation are working together to educate builders and developers on saving trees while building new homes.
The seminar, offered by noted arborist Charles Stewart, teaches participants how to determine which trees to protect — and then how to make sure they remain healthy during each phase of the development and construction process.
Right now, the Building With Trees seminar is slated for Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 3 and St. Louis on Oct. 10. “We’re always looking for ways to get the word out” and let builders know the classes are available, said Dan Lambe, vice president for programs at the foundation.
The Building With Trees partnership between the foundation and NAHB also provides recognition. Since 1998, builders and developers have been honored for exemplary projects during the annual Award of Excellence at the Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, near the foundation’s headquarters in Lincoln, Neb.
Last year, the Langston Development Company in Westfield, Ind. was honored for incorporating 900 mature trees into the design of its Brookside community. The Grande Dunes Development Company, LLC of Myrtle Beach, S.C. won for a transplantation and maintenance program developed for its new coastal community. And Woodlands Edge, developed by Rocket Properties, LLC of Little Rock, Ark., was honored for being able to keep 95% of its 460 acres forested.
The Building With Trees seminar can be offered by home building associations for their members or by individual companies for their employees and subcontractors — a one-stop shopping educational opportunity for environmentally sensitive development.
The Arbor Day Foundation provides the instructor, a workbook and snacks — for a set per-person fee. The HBA provides the students, and can charge participants or get a sponsor to pay for the seminar.
The seminars and the awards program provide an excellent public relations tool for builders and HBAs because they demonstrate the industry’s commitment to the community and environmental stewardship, says Debra Bassert, NAHB’s assistant staff vice president for land use policy. “Builders want to protect existing trees during the construction process because they add value to the finished development. The Building With Trees program provides both education and recognition when they accomplish that goal,” she said.
The seminar also is a good forum to bring HBA members together with local building officials and elected leaders, Bassert said. “Good development takes good planning, and good planning takes a positive relationship between the public and private sectors. Building With Trees helps promote that relationship.”
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
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