Tree Basics Classes and Tree Walks

Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards offers a number of free classes and tree ID walks during the year.  The walks have been offered at public places and historic sites such as the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont, Darden Towe Park, Pen Park, and the Downtown Parks.  Starting in Fall 2021, we have been offering presentations for the Tree Basics classes by  Zoom.

Upcoming classes and walks with registration links are listed below.  The classes already presented in Fall 2022  are listed below with links to the slide presentations.  Information on future classes and walks will be posted here on our website, or you can ask to be on our mailing list by completing this form.

2023

Upcoming Tree Basics Class:  

Tree Identification by  Season: Spring (Zoom),  Tuesday evening, April 11, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.    Register here.
Which comes first leaves or flowers?  Join us to hear about the different strategies trees use at bud break.  Emily Ferguson, a Charlottesville Area Tree Steward, will review the conditions for bud break, the various parts of flowers, and different flower arrangements found on trees this time of the year.

Upcoming Tree ID walks: 

UVA Tree Walk  Sunday, April 9 from 9:30 to 11:30 am.  Limited to 15 Adult Participants.  Register here.

Join Tree Stewards Dana Denbar and Carol Wise at the University of Virginia on this walk through a gently sloping area of paved walkways and grass, under a high canopy of trees.

Enjoy beautiful surroundings as we discuss the history of some specimen trees as well as species identification and biodiversity function of native and nonnative trees. This is an easy to moderate walk over both paved and lawn areas.

Meet at the brick area outside the UVA Chapel, located on the UVA grounds at 145 McCormick Rd, on the corner of University Ave (West Main St) and McCormick Road. Parking is available at Central Grounds Garage, 400 Emmett Street S, Charlottesville, VA 22903.

This walk is free, but donations are appreciated. Thanks!

Spring Tree ID Walk  Saturday, April 15 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.  Limited to 13 Participants.  Register here.

Join Emily Ferguson at the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDoF) to see which emerges first from buds: leaves or flowers.  VDoF is located at 900 Natural Resources Drive in Charlottesville.

This is a mostly shaded and easy-to-moderate walk over woodland trails that join the Rivanna Trail.  If you are already a tree enthusiast please bring your favorite tree ID book, hand lens, and/or binoculars as aids.  Also, remember to dress for comfort as we will not be walking very fast; wear hiking boots or sneakers, and bring water and food if necessary.  Note that there are no restrooms available on the weekends.

Tree Basics Classes & Walks from Spring 2023
  • How to Prune Landscape Trees (Zoom) Tuesday, January 24, 2023, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Slides from presentation here.
  • Tree Identification by Season: Winter (Zoom)  Tuesday, February 7th, 2023, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Slides from presentation here.
  • How to Select, Plant and Care for Trees (Zoom) Tuesday, March 7, 2023 7:00 to 9:00 pm.  Slides from presentation here.
  • Identify and Control Non-Native Invasive Plants in Spring/Summer – Part 1 (Zoom) Tuesday March 21, 2023 7:00 to 9:00 pm.  Slides from presentation here.
  • Identify and Control Non-Native Invasive Plants in Spring/Summer – Part 2 (Zoom) Thursday March 23, 2023 7:00 to 9:00 pm.  Slides from presentation here.

2022

Tree Basics Classes from Fall 2022
  • Identify and Control Non-Native Invasive Plants in Fall/Winter
    *        Part 1: Introduction and Identification (Zoom), Tuesday evening,  December 6, 2022, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.  See slides from presentation here.
  •    Part 2: Control Methods (Zoom), Thursday evening, December 8, 2022, 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.   See slides from presentation here.
  •    Associated Walk, Saturday morning, December 10, 2022, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at Pen Park.
  • Select, Plant, and Care for Trees  (Zoom), Tuesday evening, September 20, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.    See slides from presentation here. 
  • Tree Identification by  Season: Fall (Zoom),  Tuesday evening, October 25, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.    See slides from presentation here. 

Mailing List

Stay tuned to this site for the addition of new opportunities to learn more about the trees around us.  If you would like to be on our mailing list to know when other registrations open, click here or come back to this page for updates.

Learn to Identify Common Native Trees of Virginia

To help those who want an introduction to tree identification, we have developed a beginner’s guide to 20 native trees found in the Charlottesville area.  We also recommend Common Native Trees of Virginia published by the Virginia Department of Forestry.  It is available as a PDF file here, or you can purchase a printed copy for $5.00 at the Virginia Dept. of Forestry, 900 Natural Resources Drive, Charlottesville.   This well-illustrated book describes 77 of the most common native tree species found in Virginia’s forests.  As an introductory guide for tree identification, it provides full-page descriptions of each tree as well as a useful key to various features that can help you when you encounter an unknown tree.

For information on the next Tree Steward Training Class and volunteering, see Become a Tree Steward Volunteer.