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Trees Alive

Our effort to bring attention to the serious and ever growing problem of English ivy consuming acres of mature trees in our Adams Park neighborhood and park began with a few concerned neighbors working here and there within the community to free a tree from the ivy that would eventually cover and kill it by preventing the leaves from getting sunlight needed to sustain life.

Over time the magnitude of the problem hit home. Out of our 3 square mile neighborhood, the equivalent of hundreds of football fields of trees were infested with English ivy. We were faced with losing what gave Adams Park such natural beauty and charm - massive numbers of towering mature trees. Not only was the beauty at risk, the presence of towering ivy-covered trees hovering over our homes and streets were dangerous. A tree canopy covered by ivy would eventually die - and dead and dying trees have a tendency to fall. To make matters worse, dense ivy on a towering hardwood can add as much as a ton of additional weight to the tree, making it top-heavy and vulnerable to falling in high winds.

What was happening in Adams Park was part of a much bigger picture playing out across Atlanta. English ivy (and of course the kudzu) was marching up the trees all around, "the City within a forest".

A great deal of organized attention has been paid to the threat of ivy on trees in woodlands in public spaces across many parts of the country. Too little has been targeted towards the landscapes of homeowners, where given awareness and good practical solutions, a significant impact can be made on slowing and eliminating the spread of English ivy on the trees in private spaces.

The Trees Alive initiative was created to help prevent tree loss and the creation of dangerous trees on private property due to invasive English ivy. The hope is to create widespread partnerships to bring a sense of urgency in promoting constructive, sustainable actions to save the trees that are being silently consumed each day.

Adams Park Foundation