>Topeka Team Branches Out

In May 2006, Lynn Hultquist, arborist and horticulturist, and Mark Saylor MD, retired surgeon and member of the Mayor’s Cleanup Topeka Committee and the Topeka Parks Advisory Board, established the Topeka Tree Team (TTT) as an all volunteer, community beautification service organization, or citizens’ club. The group’s overriding purpose is to make major, instantly visible, positive changes in the aesthetic presentation and health of literally hundreds of trees and shrubs in Topeka’s frequently visited parks and green spaces, both public and private, throughout Topeka’s greater metropolitan area TTT coordinates its activities in full cooperation with the professional forestry staffs of the City of Topeka, Shawnee County, and the Kansas Department of Transportation, drawing on their guidance to augment their very difficult mission.

Saylor says the team complements, not competes with, the excellent projects also being done under the auspices of other groups, such as Keep America Beautiful – Topeka/Shawnee County, Master Gardeners, and the Topeka Beautification Association.

“Our volunteers will be trained in correct tree and shrub care techniques, will always be properly supervised, and will be made to follow necessary safety requirements consistently at all times,” he says.

“We want as many folks as possible, including other clubs and organizations, to join with us on as many beautification projects as we can identify.”

On a typical Saturday, TTT aims to work from about 9am to noon, possibly longer, plus some weekdays from time to time.

In the future, TTT has tentative plans to offer instructional information to citizens about what is needed for the proper care of trees in their own yards and neighborhoods, such as when, where and how pruning should be done, which parts of the work can be done safely by the citizens themselves, and which should be left to professional arborists.