The Willcox’s Spring Newsletter
Aiken Streetscapes own Dacre Stoker sat down to about the importance of Aiken’s historic Streetscapes.
Click HERE to watch the full interview.
“The trailing limbs of a live oak, the bristling needles of an evergreen, the soft southern bloom of a magnolia—Aiken’s trees are a defining mark of our city, stretching far beyond Hitchcock Woods into our neighborhoods, parkways, and South Boundary’s beautiful Avenue of Oaks. In addition to their beauty, our trees purify the air, removing certain pollutants, cooling the overall temperature in more developed areas, and absorbing excess stormwater to help mitigate the risk of floods.
The Arbor Day Foundation has designated Aiken as a “Tree City” for nearly forty consecutive years, but the city’s legacy of urban trees began over a century ago. In 1904, Mayor Julian Salley brought South Boundary’s two hundred live oaks from the banks of the Savannah River with the help of funds from a private citizen, Henry Dibble. This example of public-private partnership for preservation and beautification inspired Rob and Pam Johnston to launch Aiken Streetscapes in 2017.
The Johnstons recognized that Aiken’s trees, just like any other expansive resource, required a comprehensive management plan to help them flourish successively and safely. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Dacre Stoker, executive director of Aiken Streetscapes, to learn the many ways the organization is enacting their mission.
He first mentioned the concept of proactive pruning, a process of aesthetically pruning growing limbs before they run into powerlines, hang too low over roads, or become too heavy—thereby decreasing the potential damage if the tree were to fall. This preservation method can also help protect trees during storms; Dacre partially credits the survival of all South Boundary’s live oaks during Hurricane Helene to the proactive pruning made possible by Aiken Streetscapes.
In addition, the organization has partnered with Dominion Energy, the City of Aiken, and Aiken Land Conservancy to move utility powerlines underground on South Boundary—allowing trees to grow more fully without an additional concern for safety. Aiken Streetscapes preserves trees across the city and throughout our downtown parkways.”
Hear more about this wonderful organization and the role it plays in naturally beautifying our city in this video, or visit aikenstreetscapes.org to learn how to get involved.