Photo by Eden Brown.
Casey Trees held its annual Pruning 101 class on Feb. 4. Participants learned how to prune, when to prune, and why pruning is important, and then walked out onto the National Park Service Elm tree nursery where they practiced their skills with hands on pruning of the Elm trees the NPS grows to replace trees on the National Mall. The Elm trees, which provide shade on the Mall, have suffered from Dutch Elm Disease since the early 1900s and need pruning to help them grow up disease-free. For more information about Casey Trees, to take classes or volunteer, see www.caseytrees.org.