Gardens & Tonic: The Life Cycle of Trees in Baltimore: Tree Planting and Urban Wood Reutilization

Baltimore City’s Forestry Division plants and maintains trees to maximize their benefits to city residents, but rather than discard those trees at the end of their life cycle, they create valuable wood products like lumber, furniture, play equipment, and firewood at their Camp Small facility. Learn more about both processes and the challenges we face in caring for trees, both dead and alive from Sam Seo, TreeBaltimore Manager, and Camp Small Yard Master Shaun Preston. 

Gardens & Tonic is a series of virtual webinars about plant-related topics, including adventures, stories, art, and garden design. Grab your favorite beverage and join us to explore the world of plants from a new perspective. Presentations are generally 30 to 45 minutes long and with time at the end for questions and answers.

Registration is free, but required to receive the Zoom webinar and recording links.

Register Now

Program Details

• Registration is free, but required to receive the Zoom webinar and recording links.
• The webinar link will be included in the confirmation email received after registering online.
• This webinar will be recorded and available for 2 weeks after the presentation.
• Recording link will be available 2 days after the webinar.
• Participants must download Zoom.
• Email us if you have accessibility needs for this program.
• For more information, review our program and event policies  or call the Scott Arboretum office at 610-328-8025. 

Help keep these virtual programs free! If you would like to help fund the Gardens & Tonic series, we invite you to donate online  or with a check for your desired amount to: the Associates of the Scott Arboretum with a note on the memo line “For G&T series.” Thank you!

About the Presenters

Shaun Preston is a Maryland native who developed a love for being in the woods and building things out of wood as a child. But it was his joy for making art that would send him to Stetson University in Florida to learn oil painting, which eventually brought him to Baltimore. Shaun spent a decade working as an artist, carpenter, metal worker, museum curator, and bartender before deciding that trees and nature and conscientious action for our environment were what he wanted to be involved with. When he’s not at work, he’s most likely in the woods with his family.

Sam Seo is an urban forester, horticulturist, and educator. Having served in various capacities within greening organizations and completed graduate studies in public policy, Sam brings a strong understanding of how people interact with and benefit from vegetation in the built environment. Currently serving as the manager of the TreeBaltimore program, he oversees the City’s efforts towards growing the urban tree canopy and supports tree planting partners.