To: City of Wichita, Kansas. Department of Parks and Recreations
Thank you for signing Save Oak Park's trees and remove poison ivy petition!
Victory! The creator of this petition declared the campaign a success. You can still sign the petition to show support.
We need to save the trees in our local environment from unnecessary deforestation, while also protecting one another from poison ivy found within the public park. We, the people who visit Oak Park, want to preserve the historical oak trees, cottonwoods, and various tree species originally planted in this park approaching a hundred years ago.
Why is this important?
Oak Park in Riverside Wichita, Kansas is a location where many trees have been cut down in the recent months. I have contacted the Parks and Recreation Department, and they plan to cut down more trees that are nearly a hundred years old and have lost some branches over the years. This is their claim for why trees are unsafe. It is unfortunate because the trees that have been cut down and the ones that are marked to be cut down are healthy growing trees and do not affect the safety of visitors. However, the overgrown poison ivy needs to be removed, because it is unsafe and can cause severely painful rashes to visitors.
We need to save the trees in our local environment from unnecessary deforestation, while also protecting one another from poison ivy found within the public park. We, the people who visit Oak Park, want to preserve the historical oak trees, cottonwoods, and various tree species originally planted in this park approaching a hundred years ago.
Join us in signing this petition to defend and preserve the beautiful trees rooted in the history of Wichita. By signing this petition, you contribute significantly by removing poison ivy and protecting the natural forested area of Oak Park. Thank you for your time.
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August 4, 2015
Thank you Oak Park petition signers for contributing your voice to save the trees and remove poison ivy.
In the past few weeks after speaking and emailing Wichita’s Parks and Recreations about this issue there is resolution and mutual understanding.
"As Mr. Houtman has indicated, our inspection process is rigorous with priorities being on public safety and maintaining the tree as opposed to removal. There are many factors in an inspection which include, but are not limited to, overall tree health, structural stability, and species specific symptoms. More often than not, when a defect is detected, only minor pruning is required to mitigate the problem. Though this work is extremely important, it is rarely noticed by the casual passer-by. When removal of a tree is necessary, the aftermath is easily noticeable and often generates questions as to why the removal was performed."
"As for “reforestation” replenishing the canopy with new trees, City Forestry staff is on track to plant between 750 and 1000 new trees this next planting season. We take great pride in our efforts to increase the number of trees that line our streets and provide shade in our parks," as stated by Gary Farris, Park and Recreation, Forestry Arborist.
I am grateful to hear that Troy Houtman, CPRE Director of Parks and Recreation wrote, "To summarize, we currently do not have any removal of trees scheduled in this park."
During my last visit to the Oak Park it appeared that the poison ivy was sprayed for with herbicide. After speaking with Troy I was pleased to hear that they have been working on removing the poison ivy from the Wichita Wild area of Oak Park.
Parks and Recreation works hard to maintain the public parks and the over all appearance of the local park environment in Wichita Kansas. As a member of the visiting community I appreciate their open communication about Oak Park and their willingness to reach a mutual understanding and resolution.
We need to save the trees in our local environment from unnecessary deforestation, while also protecting one another from poison ivy found within the public park. We, the people who visit Oak Park, want to preserve the historical oak trees, cottonwoods, and various tree species originally planted in this park approaching a hundred years ago.
Join us in signing this petition to defend and preserve the beautiful trees rooted in the history of Wichita. By signing this petition, you contribute significantly by removing poison ivy and protecting the natural forested area of Oak Park. Thank you for your time.
_____________
August 4, 2015
Thank you Oak Park petition signers for contributing your voice to save the trees and remove poison ivy.
In the past few weeks after speaking and emailing Wichita’s Parks and Recreations about this issue there is resolution and mutual understanding.
"As Mr. Houtman has indicated, our inspection process is rigorous with priorities being on public safety and maintaining the tree as opposed to removal. There are many factors in an inspection which include, but are not limited to, overall tree health, structural stability, and species specific symptoms. More often than not, when a defect is detected, only minor pruning is required to mitigate the problem. Though this work is extremely important, it is rarely noticed by the casual passer-by. When removal of a tree is necessary, the aftermath is easily noticeable and often generates questions as to why the removal was performed."
"As for “reforestation” replenishing the canopy with new trees, City Forestry staff is on track to plant between 750 and 1000 new trees this next planting season. We take great pride in our efforts to increase the number of trees that line our streets and provide shade in our parks," as stated by Gary Farris, Park and Recreation, Forestry Arborist.
I am grateful to hear that Troy Houtman, CPRE Director of Parks and Recreation wrote, "To summarize, we currently do not have any removal of trees scheduled in this park."
During my last visit to the Oak Park it appeared that the poison ivy was sprayed for with herbicide. After speaking with Troy I was pleased to hear that they have been working on removing the poison ivy from the Wichita Wild area of Oak Park.
Parks and Recreation works hard to maintain the public parks and the over all appearance of the local park environment in Wichita Kansas. As a member of the visiting community I appreciate their open communication about Oak Park and their willingness to reach a mutual understanding and resolution.