Our experience has shown that the quality of the canopy is threatened by invasive species. At right is a photo of Bentley Park before we made an effort to create a park. The overall map score for this park was in the medium-high range, largely because of the potential for forest preservation. As shown in the "after" photo, however, we were able to preserve very little of the existing tree canopy. The cost of removing the invasives and dead/decaying trees exceeded $8,000, including renting a herd of goats, spraying, tree removal, and mulching.  Reforestation and related expenses exceeded $19,000 - and that number is still climbing today.

Don worked as a Natural Resource Manager in the Baltimore County Dept. of Environmental Protection and Sustainability from 1987 until January of 2017, when he retired. For 15 of his 29 years with County government, he worked to implement the County's Forest Sustainability Program, which seeks to develop an maintain healthy forests, woos, trees, and conservation landscapes.  Importantly for the work of NeighborSpace, Don was the impetus behind the County's Urban Tree Canopy  Goals included in the Sustainability Program.  In 2015, he received the Lifetime achievement Award for Forest Management and Preservation from the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

Donors may sponsor a tree or make a contribution to the Society to be used to advance its purposes as needed.  Trees are available for sponsorship at a variety of levels beginning at $100 for new trees to $1,000 for legacy trees. All sponsored trees will be tagged with the donor's name or in recognition or memory of someone designated by the donor.  The tags also contain a QR Code, providing educational information about the genus and species. A sample tree tag is shown at right.  By clicking "DONATE NOW" at right, you can see the trees available for sponsorship.