Category: Environment

Environment, PRA, Trees

More Trees for Parkwood

Jeff Griffith, PRA Newsletter Editor

If you compare pictures of Parkwood from 10-20 years ago to the scene today, the loss of tree canopy is obvious. The causes of tree loss—aging street trees, storm damage, and clear-cutting lots for new construction—show no sign of relenting. However, if you walk the streets, you will see numerous new tree plantings. This investment in the health and beauty of our neighborhood is something you can take part in, for free!

Need more convincing? Of the many benefits of trees, the two identified with the highest direct economic benefit are increased property values and storm water management.  See this USDA article.  Pepco also recognizes the important benefit of home energy savings and offers free trees to customers (more on that below). Additional benefits include noise control, improved air quality, and improved landscape. 

There are various opportunities to get new trees on your property for free or reduced cost:

Free trees, planting included:

  1. Montgomery County Street Trees. If you do not have a tree on the county easement on front of your property, had one removed, or have a current tree in bad shape, the County will plant one for free. Call 311 or visit this county webpage.  For more information about tree removal, stump grinding and the tree species available, visit this county webpage.
  2. Tree Montgomery, per their website: “Tree Montgomery is looking for places to plant shade trees on private property for free. Our trees are more than 10 feet tall when we plant them, and they will eventually grow to more than 50 feet tall, providing many benefits for you and your neighborhood.” To apply for free yard trees, visit this page. After applying, you will receive an email from Tree Montgomery within 6-12 months. Tree plantings occur only during the winter months.
  3. Reforest Montgomery run by the Montgomery County Planning Department.  This program has a goal to increase the tree canopy in urban areas. Parkwood is in the eligible area. Applications for fall plantings are accepted from February 1 through February 8 of each year, while applications for spring plantings are accepted from August 1 through August 8 of each year. See this page and mark your calendar now!

Free trees, plant yourself:

Pepco periodically partners with Arbor Day Foundation to provide free trees to customers. Pepco will mail 2-4 foot tall trees on a first-come-first-served basis. To be notified when trees will be made available next, enter your email address at this website. In 2023, I received a tiny dogwood tree that is now 6 feet tall despite being eaten by deer the first year (I.e., be prepared to provide screening protection for small trees). 

Coupons towards a tree:

  1. Click here for the Reforest Montgomery $50 coupon. The coupon lists the qualifying trees and participating nurseries
  2. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources provides a $25 coupon. A list of participating nurseries is available here.  

Lara Akinbami

Oldfield Drive

Environment, Solar Energy

Going Green-Driving on Sunshine

Jeff Griffith, PRA Newsletter Editor

(Editor’s note: A thoughtful, highly informative, and engaging article by Gerald Sharp about how he came to provide his house with electricity and power his car with solar energy.)

When I added a floor to my house on Edgefield Road about 10 years ago, I had the electrician run a tube from the attic to the electric panel in the basement, thinking that someday I’d want to put solar panels on the roof.  And I also had a door installed on the roof so I could get to it from the attic without using a long ladder.  I even took a night class at Montgomery College on photovoltaics where we were actually taught how to install the panels, but still I delayed having a system installed.  Last year I asked myself what was I waiting for?   Did I think we’d have better government subsidies to pay for solar panels?  Were prices of panels going to come down?  Was PEPCO going to be reducing what they charged for power?   With the answers to all these questions being “no”, I made the leap in 2023 to tapping the free electricity coming from the sun.  And then I also ended up buying an electric car that would be powered by sunshine.

The deciding factor for me was last August when I learned about the Washington Area Solar Switch program where they get bids from local solar panel companies and give home owners in Montgomery County (and DC and Northern VA) access to the lowest bidder. This seemed like such a smart idea, and it also took the decision of having to figure out which company to hire out of my hands.  I figured the program would pick a company not only with the best prices, but one that they had vetted that was likely to do a good job.  Last summer Lumina Solar in Baltimore was one of the contract companies, and, according to the Solar Switch website, about 2,000 houses in our three-jurisdiction area signed up for the program.  Lumina told me their price was a 20% discount from the usual cost plus there was a 30% federal tax credit and a $1000 state rebate from Maryland.   I paid the Solar Switch fee of $150 to find out how many panels could be installed on my house and what the system would cost.

Read the full article here.