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Growing Tree Cities in Kentucky: A Conversation with Jack Baggett
83 Plays14 days ago
In this episode of Hort Culture, the team is joined by Jack Baggett to dive into the world of urban forestry, community engagement, and the impact of the Tree City USA and Tree Campus Higher Education programs in Kentucky.
Jack shares his fascinating career journey — from working with swine operations in Kansas to becoming a certified arborist and leading community forestry efforts. He reflects on his time with Cooperative Extension, running Master Gardener programs, managing farmers markets, and serving as an urban forester in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The conversation highlights:
- What it takes for a city to achieve Tree City USA designation
- The benefits for communities — from grant opportunities to civic pride
- How Tree Campus Higher Education is growing across Kentucky
- Strategies for expanding urban forestry into underserved regions
- Fun stories about community tree celebrations, Arbor Day events, and... chickens named Dorothy!
Jack also emphasizes the importance of collaboration between city officials, Extension agents, and community members to build greener, healthier towns.
Sprinkled throughout is the usual Hort Culture humor — from favorite snack chat to "manifesting horticulture swag."
Kentucky Division of Forestry-Contacts
Questions/Comments/Feedback/Suggestions for Topics: hortculturepodcast@l.uky.edu
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Transcript
Manifesting Desires with Horticulture Swag
00:00:17
Alexis
friends, plants, true leaves, plant people, all of the above.
00:00:21
Plant People
I thought you were going friends like country Romans.
00:00:24
Brett
Yeah.
00:00:24
Plant People
i mean, I thought you were going some kind of famous speech there for a moment.
00:00:26
Brett
Lend me your photosynthetic power.
00:00:29
Plant People
Yeah.
00:00:30
Alexis
Let me your, let me your chlorophyll.
00:00:30
Plant People
Lend me your annuals.
00:00:33
Alexis
Yeah,
00:00:34
Plant People
Yeah. Oh, nice. Nice. said We'll wordsmith that up a little bit, but yeah.
00:00:38
Alexis
yeah yeah, we're working on it.
00:00:38
Brett
Yeah.
00:00:38
Plant People
Famous speech.
00:00:39
Alexis
New, new intro, new swag gear, like lend me, i don't know, we'll come up with something
00:00:43
Brett
Stop saying
00:00:43
Plant People
We're always
Snack Talk: Avocado Chips and More
00:00:44
Plant People
looking for audios.
00:00:44
Brett
swag.
00:00:44
Alexis
the
00:00:44
Brett
We already even have people asking us for it.
00:00:44
Plant People
Yes.
00:00:46
Brett
we and
00:00:46
Plant People
Yes.
00:00:47
Jack Baggett
you get hor You got a hort culture swag?
00:00:48
Alexis
If I keep saying I'm manifesting, Brett. I'm manifesting, okay?
00:00:51
Plant People
We need horticulture swag. Alexis keeps bringing it up and we don't have anything. We don't have anything.
00:00:56
Alexis
It's called manifestation. you got to keep throwing it into the universe. You want it to happen. You want that new cool plant, you got to manifest it. And you have to pick the right place at the right time to plant it.
00:01:06
Plant People
Okay. Yeah.
00:01:08
Alexis
And you have have the money to plant it.
00:01:09
Plant People
Speak it into existence.
00:01:10
Alexis
Very good, Jack.
00:01:11
Plant People
Sure. Speak it into existence.
00:01:12
Brett
yeah
00:01:12
Alexis
That's true as well.
00:01:13
Plant People
Okay.
00:01:14
Alexis
Me, every time I go by a tree, I go, oh, help me, I'm poor.
00:01:18
Plant People
Yeah.
00:01:19
Jack Baggett
and
00:01:19
Plant People
With the price of nursery stock, I feel that way more and more, especially if it's a good size nursery stock.
00:01:25
Alexis
Yeah, yeah.
00:01:25
Plant People
Yeah.
00:01:26
Jack Baggett
Thank you.
00:01:26
Alexis
um
00:01:27
Alexis
Well, we usually start off with some sort
Trader Joe's Snack Addiction
00:01:29
Alexis
of like fun little question to get to know, you know, each other. and we have a guest on today. And i think um keeping it in the food realm, as i usually do, ah what is, ah we'll we'll start with Jack, our guest today. We'll let him introduce himself after he tells us about His favorite snack like going at the moment.
00:01:49
Brett
Yeah.
00:01:52
Alexis
Not of all time. Just, you know, like in the past week or two, you're really into what?
00:01:57
Brett
Front loading the snack content.
00:01:58
Plant People
Wow. Alexis and a snack content.
00:01:59
Jack Baggett
Oh my goodness.
00:02:01
Plant People
Shocker. Shocker.
00:02:02
Alexis
I need inspiration.
00:02:04
Jack Baggett
Okay. I have been lately really addicted to this avocado and cream cheese chips.
00:02:06
Plant People
Hmm.
00:02:14
Jack Baggett
Now I can't remember the manufacturer of it, but this is something that if you put in front of me, it is like heroin.
00:02:15
Alexis
and
00:02:22
Brett
Oh, wow.
00:02:22
Jack Baggett
Okay. So it helps.
00:02:23
Plant People
Good stuff.
00:02:24
Jack Baggett
Yeah, it's good stuff. And it's like I've told my wife, we got stop to stop bringing this by, you
00:02:30
Plant People
Oh,
Appalachian Charcuterie Board Ideas
00:02:31
Plant People
yeah.
00:02:31
Jack Baggett
know, because we can't bring this home at all.
00:02:33
Jack Baggett
You know, so it's because honestly, I will go.
00:02:35
Brett
So is the chip... What's the chip itself made of?
00:02:37
Jack Baggett
I'll go through a bag. What's that?
00:02:40
Brett
what What is the chip itself?
00:02:41
Jack Baggett
Oh, potato chips.
00:02:41
Brett
Like, is it a corn chip or is it a potato chip or is it...
00:02:44
Jack Baggett
oh hat chi It's a potato chip with some avocado in it and sour cheese on it.
00:02:46
Brett
Oh...
00:02:51
Jack Baggett
I don't remember the actual. I think she got it at eight. are we Are we allowed to tell grocery stores here?
00:02:59
Brett
Oh, yeah.
00:02:59
Alexis
Sure.
00:02:59
Plant People
oh yeah
00:03:00
Jack Baggett
Crater Joe's. They do.
00:03:01
Plant People
There you go.
00:03:01
Brett
Okay.
00:03:02
Alexis
o
00:03:02
Brett
TJ.
00:03:02
Jack Baggett
um
00:03:03
Brett
The TJ.
00:03:03
Alexis
Going tomorrow, baby.
00:03:03
Brett
Ooh, TJ strikes again.
00:03:05
Plant People
they are they They have lots of good stuff.
00:03:05
Jack Baggett
oh
00:03:08
Plant People
They have lots of good snacks.
00:03:08
Jack Baggett
a you
00:03:08
Alexis
Ironically, my addiction snack that I can't bring home is also from Trader Joe's. So um ironically, but not really because it's Trader Joe's.
00:03:17
Plant People
You can break in
00:03:17
Brett
what
Introducing Jack Baggett: Kentucky Forestry Coordinator
00:03:18
Plant People
bring it home, but every it's a single serving no matter how big the bag is.
00:03:18
Brett
is it?
00:03:20
Alexis
What? They have – I love them, um and I have to put them, like, in an area that's kind of hard to get to so that I don't pay attention to them as often when I do bring them home.
00:03:32
Alexis
But it's just, like, a ah package of the triple ginger ginger snap cookies –
00:03:36
Jack Baggett
to the public.
00:03:39
Alexis
So it's got like the grated ginger, the crystallized ginger and some other ginger and they are just, and there they're like small and like perfectly crunchy and you can have like two of them and you're like, yes, you know, there's like a little, just a little something, something, you know?
00:03:56
Alexis
So that's, yeah, see that's the problem.
00:03:56
Brett
And then you have two more, then you have two more, two by two.
00:03:56
Plant People
Good stuff.
00:04:00
Brett
Noah's Ark kind of situation, just two by two.
00:04:00
Plant People
Yeah.
00:04:01
Alexis
that's the problem.
00:04:02
Plant People
It's more exponential. Yeah. Two times two doesn't have to be real tall.
00:04:06
Alexis
That's why I have to put them like where I have to really reach and they're out of sight, out of mind. And then they last a little bit longer.
00:04:12
Brett
Which, I mean, that could be five foot eight off the ground or so, if you're if you're reaching. and
00:04:18
Alexis
I can reach.
00:04:18
Plant People
Yeah.
00:04:19
Alexis
I'm not that
00:04:21
Plant People
When you're hiding snacks, it's always my question.
00:04:22
Alexis
I can reach. I can reach up like ah over a six, like to over a six foot shelf.
00:04:23
Plant People
Are you hiding them from yourself?
00:04:28
Alexis
Thank you very much.
00:04:28
Brett
That's great. I admire your confidence.
00:04:28
Plant People
She can climb.
00:04:30
Plant People
Shimmy. Yeah. Shimmy around. Shimmy up there.
00:04:33
Alexis
I do not have imposter syndrome. um Okay, Brett, what is your go-to snack right now?
00:04:39
Brett
um So my several, I guess my my my in-laws sent us a box of some ah Harry and David like pears and summer sausage and cheese and crackers.
00:04:52
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:04:52
Brett
And so I've been eating that in various permutations and
00:04:54
Alexis
Yum.
Jack's Career Journey in Forestry
00:04:56
Brett
combinations recently.
00:04:58
Brett
I like the, I like the like, can't, can't stop. Like once you pop, you can't stop snack question better. And I was to think if I had an example of that. I have a lot of them. I'm choosing just one, maybe like caramel corn would be like, like slightly salty caramel corn.
00:05:11
Plant People
Ooh, not kettle corn.
00:05:11
Alexis
You're like, get this away from me.
00:05:13
Jack Baggett
Oh, yeah.
00:05:13
Brett
Woo.
00:05:13
Plant People
Yeah, good stuff. It's so good.
00:05:16
Jack Baggett
Oh. Do you like get to triple the triple bat yeah the barrels where you get the caramel and then you get like the cheesies and the butter?
00:05:17
Alexis
Ray, what about you?
00:05:23
Alexis
The cheese.
00:05:25
Jack Baggett
And yeah, that's good stuff.
00:05:26
Alexis
yeah
00:05:28
Brett
sort of palate palate cleanse around the clock around the going counterclockwise
00:05:28
Plant People
Any of that stuff is so good.
00:05:29
Alexis
yeah
00:05:32
Jack Baggett
Oh, gosh, yeah.
00:05:32
Plant People
Go around the edges. Yes, absolutely. Any of that stuff is good. It's like almost like fair food to me. It's so good. Future question, Alexis, fair food, favorite fair food.
00:05:42
Alexis
it Fair food. All right.
00:05:43
Plant People
Ooh,
00:05:43
Alexis
When fair season comes up, state fair, when state fair, we'll talk about state fair at some point.
00:05:47
Plant People
now that's a tough one. That needs to be an episode, not an intro topic.
00:05:50
Brett
well radicus radicus what's your what's your current snack
00:05:54
Plant People
it's It is spring in Kentucky. um You know, it feels like it too. It's been very cool and wet here in the Kentucky.
00:05:59
Alexis
Mm hmm.
00:06:00
Plant People
I don't know how it's been where our dear listeners are, but ah it feels like it's spring here in Kentucky and it's camping season. So I've been craving and I have not gotten them yet, ah but I'm going to the store this evening.
00:06:12
Plant People
I'm going to buy them. And I've said it before. You guys know I'm from East Kentucky, from Appalachia. I'm going to have to go with Vienna sausages for my snack. Or as we say in the East, Viennes.
00:06:21
Jack Baggett
yeah
00:06:22
Plant People
Okay. Viennes. That is the, not Vienna sausages.
00:06:23
Brett
Vianney's.
00:06:23
Alexis
The Vianney's...
00:06:25
Brett
right
00:06:26
Plant People
That's very presumptuous.
00:06:27
Brett
Are you just going straight?
00:06:28
Alexis
Question, do you eat the Vianney's and the pork rinds together like an Appalachian charcuterie board type thing or is that too much?
00:06:28
Plant People
it's
00:06:29
Brett
No.
00:06:34
Plant People
It's the crunchy and the soft altogether. i add some potted meat to glue it together and I'm in heaven.
00:06:37
Jack Baggett
well
00:06:39
Alexis
Yeah.
00:06:40
Plant People
Thank you.
00:06:40
Alexis
Yeah. I would just like an Appalachian charcuterie board.
00:06:40
Jack Baggett
no
00:06:40
Plant People
Yes.
00:06:42
Alexis
I feel like we could just like make this like some pickled pig's feet like just...
00:06:43
Plant People
Yes. Oh, I'm excited. Oh, that's exciting. That's absolutely. I love it all. ah love everything you just said.
00:06:50
Alexis
Coming soon. Yeah.
00:06:51
Plant People
Yes. But I don't know. I crave things seasonally. And that's one of the spring things that I don't know. I just got to have it. So I'll get it this evening. So that's ah and not really a snack food or, but the way I use it, it is.
00:06:59
Alexis
I love it.
00:07:02
Plant People
And I just pop it open. I'm obligated to eat them because you can't seal back up.
00:07:05
Alexis
Once you pop, you can't stop.
00:07:06
Plant People
Yeah. I like it.
00:07:08
Alexis
like What are you going to do with it?
00:07:08
Plant People
Brett started that.
00:07:09
Alexis
Leave it in the truck open?
00:07:09
Plant People
yeah absolutely. Absolutely.
00:07:10
Alexis
no Well, we've already told you we have a guest and we already know his snack that now I am also going to buy and we'll let Jack.
00:07:19
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:07:19
Jack Baggett
the
00:07:21
Alexis
i I'll report back on how quickly I ate the entire bag. ah But tell us, Jack, who you are, what you do, ah a little bit about yourself.
00:07:24
Jack Baggett
Yeah.
00:07:29
Jack Baggett
Okay. Well, Jack Baggett.
00:07:31
Alexis
Yeah.
00:07:32
Jack Baggett
I am the ah Kentucky Division of Forestry Urban and Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator. ah In my probably 35-year career, year career um this is the longest title I've ever had.
00:07:49
Jack Baggett
You know, it's a mouthful.
00:07:49
Alexis
ah Yeah, i would say that we thought our titles were long. Yeah.
00:07:53
Jack Baggett
Gosh, you know, I can't even get it out most of the time. i really need to come up with something just to say, i just say partnership coordinator, you know, for Kentucky Division of Forestry.
00:08:01
Alexis
Yeah. Okay.
00:08:02
Jack Baggett
um So, you know, basically my background has been is ah my mom and dad were native Kentuckians. My dad was in the Marine Corps, so I kind of moved around quite a bit when I was a kid.
00:08:14
Jack Baggett
Uh, but we moved to Kentucky, moved to Lexington for a year. And then we moved out to Bourbon County, which is something Ray knows all about. And, uh, we had a farm out there and, uh, raised tobacco, had some hogs and, um,
00:08:22
Plant People
Oh, yeah.
00:08:29
Jack Baggett
And then we had some cattle. And so did that for a while. Then I graduated from Bourbon County High School and and went on down to Murray State University. And down there, I was a just an ag major. I was in ag economics. I had no idea anything about horticulture, trees or anything like that.
00:08:50
Jack Baggett
But I did one class when I was there as an elective in woody ornamentals. And I'm not saying that that brought me into a career in urban forestry, but it kind of started something within me.
00:09:02
Plant People
like a gateway kind of a, yeah, there you go.
00:09:03
Jack Baggett
It was a gateway drug.
00:09:04
Alexis
are Sparked your joy.
00:09:05
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:09:05
Alexis
Spark some joy.
00:09:06
Jack Baggett
It was a gateway drug for me.
00:09:07
Jack Baggett
So, and then, you know, and so after that, I, you know, I got out of college. My very first job in college was, this is pretty cool. I did use my ag degree.
00:09:07
Alexis
just
00:09:19
Jack Baggett
I went out to way out in Western Kansas and I bred
Urban Forestry and Arborist Skills
00:09:23
Jack Baggett
hogs, you know, yep.
00:09:24
Plant People
Perfect segue.
00:09:25
Alexis
oh
00:09:25
Plant People
Yeah.
00:09:26
Jack Baggett
I bred hogs all, you know, and that's what I did. I did this about four months long and, you know, people say, know, you know Basically, I was kind of a hog breeder Yeah, I think you could say. People would say, well, can't hogs breed? Why do you need to assist them? I go,
00:09:42
Jack Baggett
Yeah, you don't really want to know, but yeah, that's what I had to do.
00:09:44
Plant People
Yeah.
00:09:44
Alexis
No, no, you don't.
00:09:45
Plant People
All the details.
00:09:46
Jack Baggett
Yeah, there's a little bit more detail. You guys do not want to know about that. So I was kind of a hog breeder You know, people say, well, you know, yes. what How'd you, you know which you know, part of my thing was I put a little bit of Sinatra light some candles and stuff like that for them and you did that for while.
00:10:02
Plant People
Played some music. Yeah.
00:10:04
Jack Baggett
But yeah, only lasted out there about four months. So then I came back in Washington,
00:10:07
Plant People
And I'm Western Kansas all the way out there. Yeah.
00:10:10
Alexis
probably a lot of smells.
00:10:12
Jack Baggett
Yeah, and there's no hogs out there. And the reason why they did that, because they wanted to keep all the hogs away from any diseases that could very well happen.
00:10:18
Plant People
ah
00:10:18
Alexis
o
00:10:19
Jack Baggett
So, and it was a big, huge operation out there.
00:10:20
Alexis
Yeah.
00:10:22
Jack Baggett
And, uh,
00:10:23
Plant People
Was that the unit with the university out there when you were out there in Kansas with the land grant out there?
00:10:28
Jack Baggett
No, this was this was actually a company called, y'all remember DeKalb, you know, and they had a DeKalb swine breeding at back then.
00:10:32
Plant People
oh yeah. Yeah. The sea corn, man. Yeah.
00:10:36
Jack Baggett
Now, they've since sold that to someplace else. and But that's kind of that's kind of like was my first real job. I got bit by a boar when I was out there. I still had the scar.
00:10:46
Jack Baggett
I would stand up and drop my pants and show you, but let's just not do that.
00:10:46
Plant People
Yeah.
00:10:47
Alexis
Oh.
00:10:51
Jack Baggett
Yeah. Because it's pretty – but, you know, seriously, 40 years later, i still have a s scar, you know.
00:10:59
Jack Baggett
And
00:10:59
Plant People
Yeah, hogs are vicious creatures.
00:11:00
Plant People
They are omnivores. They'll get you. They'll get you.
00:11:03
Jack Baggett
I was being stupid, you know, with it. And I thought I could, you know, I'm a farm boy. I know what I'm doing, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:11:09
Alexis
you only make that mistake once
00:11:13
Plant People
Yeah.
00:11:13
Jack Baggett
Exactly. And so, but then I got, i came down back to Kentucky and I took a job. Honestly, I worked it as in a, I was a lawn specialist for a while for a major tree, ah for a major lawn care company.
00:11:27
Jack Baggett
And I did that for about four years. And honestly, that was a great job because you know what I would do, well, then at the time thing was a great job, but, but honestly, I not only just sprayed lawns and also took care of trees and shrubs at the time, which we're starting to get a little bit into the more of the woody ornamentals at that.
Gardening Expertise in Virginia Cooperative Extension
00:11:45
Jack Baggett
But, you know, I had to do all the sales at the time. I do all the customer service at the time, complaints at I actually em even had to collections at the time.
00:11:53
Plant People
Oh, wow.
00:11:53
Jack Baggett
So that was something that really developed what we call like the soft skills, you know, and that job itself did that.
00:11:59
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:12:00
Jack Baggett
So. you know, I did that for about four years
Tree Risk Assessment and New Initiatives
00:12:03
Jack Baggett
and then i ended up moving over to my, but had a brother lived in Virginia, right outside Washington, D.C. And I moved over with him and I got a job as a horticulture technician with Virginia Cooperative Extension in Fairfax County.
00:12:17
Jack Baggett
um Basically, all I did there was um, I, and we worked at, it we had a phone booth called the horticultural information line.
00:12:25
Jack Baggett
And I worked with like two other court technicians. we just answered the phone all day from citizens in Fairfax County asking about gardening questions, just like what you may have master gardeners do now.
00:12:25
Plant People
so well Gotcha.
00:12:33
Alexis
Wow. Hmm.
00:12:35
Jack Baggett
And so I did that for a year and or so.
00:12:36
Plant People
Yeah.
00:12:39
Jack Baggett
And then I got a job up in Cornell University at at an extension agent up there. I was a multi-county extension agent. Had like about three counties that i was responsible for, but I was only responsible for consumer horticulture.
00:12:47
Alexis
well
00:12:53
Jack Baggett
So I ran the Master Gardener programs in three different counties and stuff like that. So... Did that for a while. Unfortunately, as you all know, with Extension, there are some times that funding is a is an issue and we lost our county funding.
00:13:07
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:13:08
Jack Baggett
So I had to leave that job after a year and I ended up going down to Richmond, Virginia, where I worked for Bartlett Tree Service.
00:13:17
Jack Baggett
I was a sales rep for them and also assistant manager at the office there. I learned a lot about tree care, became a certified arborist then, and that's when I really started developing into you know my myk skills as a as an arborist. and then After that, went back to Extension. They asked me to come back and I went back to Fairfax County where I was a horticulture technician. Was there for four years as an Extension agent. i I worked with nursery people at the time and then also worked with the Master Gardener program.
00:13:17
Plant People
Yeah.
00:13:48
Jack Baggett
Also ran the farmers markets that we had in Fairfax.
00:13:51
Alexis
Well.
00:13:51
Jack Baggett
We had like eight of them and ran those, which were pretty cool.
00:13:53
Alexis
and
00:13:55
Jack Baggett
I really loved doing that. And guess what happened again?
00:13:59
Plant People
Oh no, here we go.
00:14:00
Alexis
know
00:14:01
Jack Baggett
Yeah, we lost county funding.
00:14:02
Plant People
Man. Yeah.
00:14:04
Jack Baggett
So I left and went back to the private industry and I ran a tree care company for about five years in Frederick, Maryland, which is a really interesting job. Beautiful country up there, um up there by the Catoctin Mountains. And I just absolutely loved it.
00:14:18
Jack Baggett
But then I kind of need to find a job that would have some retirement benefits to. And so I went back to Fairfax County as an urban forester.
00:14:24
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:14:27
Jack Baggett
And I was there for 20 years. And for most of that time, I was a I did mostly forest health type stuff. Like we had like at the time gypsy moth was a real big problem there.
00:14:34
Plant People
you Yeah.
00:14:37
Jack Baggett
So we had these big, huge aerial sprays. Now we call them spongy moths, but it was we did that for a while. And I did that, I did that for like 12 years. And then we had a huge tragedy, a tree,
00:14:53
Jack Baggett
ah fell onto a car that was sitting in traffic and killed the person.
00:14:57
Alexis
Mm.
00:14:58
Plant People
oh wow.
00:14:58
Alexis
Wow.
00:14:58
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:14:58
Alexis
Hmm.
00:14:59
Jack Baggett
Yeah, so it does happen. And this was an old sentinel tree back in the Civil War. um And it was a lot of... pressure to preserve it, and but it was just way too, it did it it fell, and it fell not during the storm, just fell right during the middle of the day.
00:15:17
Jack Baggett
And just that might happen to be underneath it with a car, stuck in traffic, and unfortunately, killed
Ensuring Compliance with Tree Ordinances
00:15:22
Jack Baggett
them. So then i became the Fairfax County ah tree risk assessment person.
00:15:29
Jack Baggett
And I did that for like seven years.
00:15:29
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:15:31
Jack Baggett
And that's all I did was to do tree risk assessments, tree risk assessments, and ah go on the private property and just say, you know, hey, this tree is a possibility hazard to the general public. And so you need to get rid of it, you know, and stuff like that.
00:15:41
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:15:43
Jack Baggett
So I did that, which again, I use a lot of that experience I had from my days. You know, my first job is You know, just most people once they it was pretty good. I love doing that.
00:15:55
Jack Baggett
And then finally, about my last three years, when I was at Fairfax County, i was um there was an opening that came open in the what we call the development side where I would go in and I reviewed development plans.
00:16:07
Jack Baggett
um and then i would also work on construction sites um making sure that ah companies were following developers and contractors for following our our ah tree preservation ordinances and our tree and other ordinances you also think too as i would look at zoning codes and all that and occasionally we had like these minor zoning codes that would be like it's just like minor stuff that doesn't have to go through the zoning appeals. I'm okay. I'm getting too deep, but there's a good story um because it was chickens.
00:16:41
Jack Baggett
People were keeping chickens in their backyards now. And to do that, you had to go through zoning. Well, when it goes through zoning, there's an urban forestry review of that.
00:16:50
Plant People
oh
00:16:50
Jack Baggett
Now I don't really, there's not really a lot I need to do about this only unless you're building a chicken pen. That was, but they're going to to take down a tree. Then would say, Hey, you got to put a tree in something like that.
00:17:01
Jack Baggett
But I would read these stories. These people would send in these applications. And all these stories would be like, I have a chicken name. yeah we We have chickens named Dorothy, such and such. And all that and i'd be sitting there and I was looking at YouTube at home.
00:17:16
Jack Baggett
I'd be like this, just reading these stories about all these.
00:17:18
Plant People
ah Yeah, big narratives.
00:17:20
Jack Baggett
yeah I'm like, I'm into it. Oh, my gosh. Well, we got to say Dorothy, you know.
00:17:25
Plant People
Very personal to someone.
00:17:25
Jack Baggett
And so.
00:17:26
Alexis
Let the chickens live!
00:17:28
Jack Baggett
Yes. I mean, I can't do this. And so I just decided this to go ahead and I would just say, know, you know, but yeah, we have pass those on. I would say no comment.
00:17:37
Plant People
Yeah.
00:17:37
Alexis
P.S. Please save Dorothy.
00:17:38
Jack Baggett
so But let's say Dorothy. in gold But did that.
00:17:38
Plant People
yes
00:17:40
Plant People
Yeah. Reviewed enthusiastically. No comment. Yes. Yeah.
00:17:45
Jack Baggett
but i did that
00:17:46
Plant People
It's.
00:17:46
Alexis
p s you saved dorothy
00:17:48
Jack Baggett
and And I got to my goal where I retired and from Fairfax County, which, you know, again, it's outside Washington,
Jack's Return to Kentucky and Focus on Community Tree Care
00:17:54
Jack Baggett
D.C. And, you know, and we had my wife and I decide where we're going to go.
00:17:58
Jack Baggett
And come on, Kentucky, you know, this is where I'm from. And I got a family up near Lexington. And so my wife and I, we settled in Richmond. And that's where we've been living.
00:18:09
Alexis
I
00:18:09
Jack Baggett
And I was retired for 11 months, the best 11 months of my life. And My wife said, you know,
00:18:19
Alexis
think you job.
00:18:19
Plant People
Maybe not the best 11 months for her.
00:18:19
Jack Baggett
get out
00:18:20
Plant People
She's like, maybe you need to keep yourself busy, Jack. Yeah, maybe so.
00:18:23
Jack Baggett
yeah yeah I don't like how you how you criticize how I'm cleaning the house or something along those lines.
00:18:29
Plant People
Quit eating my snacks. Go back to work.
00:18:31
Jack Baggett
Yeah, exactly.
00:18:31
Plant People
Yeah, yeah, there you go.
00:18:32
Jack Baggett
Yeah. Oh, I was ballooning up. Oh, I was.
00:18:35
Plant People
Yeah.
00:18:35
Jack Baggett
wo Yeah. And it was like it was bad. And so. I saw this job and I go, it's working with Tree City USA. It's working with these things.
00:18:43
Plant People
Yeah.
00:18:44
Jack Baggett
And I've heard about them before from from Fairfax County because we were Tree City USA in Fairfax County.
00:18:50
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:18:50
Jack Baggett
And so I applied for it and they hired me. And so and I got hired. here I've been here about a year and almost a year and a half, I think. And, you know, I'm just barely scratching the surface now, you know, of ah ah what we're doing and in all that. So that's kind of my background.
00:19:10
Jack Baggett
so Sorry, it took a long time, but.
00:19:10
Plant People
Yeah. So you, uh, yeah, you've got a really broad and it's making more and more sense how you ended up in urban forestry on that, you know, that circuit, that route.
00:19:12
Jack Baggett
Yeah.
00:19:12
Alexis
No apologies necessary.
00:19:18
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:19:20
Plant People
It's almost like you've come full circle, uh, now back with ah urban forestry with some of your experiences. Um,
00:19:27
Jack Baggett
Yeah.
00:19:28
Plant People
Uh, so, so not surprising you're doing what you're doing, but ah when I met you, you were actually like, you were not, I didn't meet you in your office there in Frankfurt where you're stationed. Uh, so you get out in communities with your, your current job with urban forestry through the division, right?
00:19:42
Jack Baggett
Oh, yo absolutely. I travel all over Kentucky. i I go work with yeah our current Tree City USA. I'll i'll tell you a little bit about those in a little bit later.
00:19:53
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:19:54
Jack Baggett
But I also try to help with communities to become like Tree City USA and also just help with communities with their tree ordinances, stuff like that, and try to improve their tree care within there within their cities and towns that they may have.
00:19:58
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:20:08
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:20:08
Jack Baggett
and that's what we try to do and um so yeah and that's what that's kind of in a nutshell you know what i do i i do a couple other things here too but uh but the the main job that i do have is to um is to really try to get uh cities to come along to to become tree city usa's and i also work which i really love working with college campuses and there's something called I hate this name.
00:20:35
Jack Baggett
It's called um tree tree campus u s um my gosh Tree Campus USA Higher Education. It used to be called just Tree Campus USA, but now it's Tree Campus Higher Education because we also have a program called Tree Campus K-12, which is for elementary schools too.
00:20:46
Alexis
Yeah.
00:20:53
Alexis
Oh.
00:20:54
Jack Baggett
And so, yes.
00:20:55
Plant People
I was wondering about that. I've seen the programs listed two or three different ways. i was like, is that the same program or is it kind of different? Yeah.
00:21:02
Jack Baggett
yeah
00:21:02
Plant People
I saw it listed as higher ed and K through 12. And I was like, is this the same thing? So yeah.
00:21:06
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:21:08
Plant People
Yeah.
00:21:08
Jack Baggett
Now, the yeah, absolutely. The K through 12 is a program that's actually done through the Arbor Day Foundation itself.
00:21:14
Jack Baggett
ah KDF, we do not have anything to do with that. yet and But I do help with some elementary schools that want to start it up, um something like that. i give them I give them tips and all that, and they go through it.
00:21:15
Plant People
Yeah.
00:21:29
Jack Baggett
and And they can go ahead and become a a a tree campus K-12, which I think is pretty cool because that's a great way for me to – I'm always looking for ways to try to get Tree City USA.
00:21:29
Plant People
Yeah.
00:21:35
Plant People
yeah
00:21:37
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:21:41
Jack Baggett
So if I get like a school in an area that's doing this – like in ah in a city that doesn't have Tree City USA, then I try to go, hey, you know, let's get the kids involved. Maybe we can get an Arbor Day celebration, which they do as part of that.
00:21:55
Jack Baggett
And then we can possibly maybe go to the town and say, yeah, you know, you you guys already do an Arbor Day celebration. You're pretty much ready to become a Tree City USA.
00:22:04
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:22:05
Jack Baggett
So, um and which is a recognition that we, you know, that we're trying to strive for as many cities in Kentucky as possible.
00:22:11
Plant People
Yeah. So this program, before we go go kind of travel down that thought, Tree City USA, that's just not Kentucky, correct?
00:22:18
Jack Baggett
Mm-hmm.
00:22:21
Plant People
You mentioned the Arbor Day Foundation. Is this a part of a bigger program beyond the state of Kentucky as far as Tree City USA and the Arbor Day Foundation, all these programs, or they unique to Kentucky?
00:22:31
Jack Baggett
No, there there there are there are in all 50 states, 51, including Puerto Rico.
00:22:34
Plant People
Okay, gotcha.
00:22:37
Jack Baggett
And um you know right now, I think every state probably has a, I would say most states, they they do have a a coordinator, at least an urban forestry coordinator.
00:22:49
Plant People
Okay.
00:22:51
Jack Baggett
Many other states have a partnership coordinator like me that do the exact same thing.
00:22:56
Jack Baggett
that we just try to um work to try to get communities to become Tree City USA. And, you know, the the idea is that for becoming Tree City USA is there's got to be a couple a few standards to be able to do so.
00:22:56
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:23:10
Jack Baggett
We want them to take care of their existing trees. We don't want them to top their trees.
00:23:14
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:23:15
Jack Baggett
We don't want them to. We want them to take care of them in ah using best management practices and in that in that way. And that's what we try to get them to become Tree City to USA, because that kind of opens up our conversation with them to be able to go, OK, well, let's see what we can do to improve. And we can maybe improve your ordinance. We can maybe do some more. You know, maybe we can try to find a consultant for you to um You know, to maybe that you all can hire to maybe come by and look at your trees, stuff like that.
00:23:47
Plant People
So people are contacting you and it seems like you're reaching out to communities. ah So it's kind of two way street. Sometimes they reach out to you. Sometimes you reach out to them regarding like urban tree health and Tree City USA and related concepts like that.
00:23:56
Jack Baggett
Mm hmm.
00:24:01
Plant People
So it kind of goes both ways, it sounds like.
00:24:01
Jack Baggett
Yeah. It does. um It does. I do get contacted by by communities that want to become Tree City USA. ah yeah I just got contacted by the city of Katawa the other day. So um they want they you know they have a really cool, because of the flood, that they went back way back when they built Lake Barkley or Lake Kentucky Lake.
00:24:27
Jack Baggett
I'm not really really sure which one, but it was part of the old town got flooded just like what Eddieville did.
00:24:31
Plant People
mm-hmm
00:24:32
Jack Baggett
And they used to have like these big, huge trees down there. And but that all got flooded out. So now they want to go ahead and do something more. So I'm reaching out to them, right? Or they reached out to me and then um I'm going to probably go down there and see what they want to do and see what we can do We'll probably have like a tree a tree planting, get some elementary schools involved with it, and move them along to become a Tree City USA, you know.
00:24:59
Plant People
Well, sounds like ah to become a Tree City USA, ah you've mentioned it sounds like some steps, like, you know, some basic requirements or parameters.
00:25:05
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:25:08
Plant People
You mentioned the Arbor Day Foundation and that things like that.
00:25:10
Alexis
Can I preface that question, Ray, with why would a, sorry interrupt, but why would a city want to become, and I asked, like, i I know why.
00:25:11
Plant People
Yeah, go ahead, Alexis.
00:25:15
Plant People
No. No.
00:25:19
Alexis
I did Danville's Tree City stuff for 10 years and ah to do this, but for our listeners who maybe want to ask their city to go be Tree City USA, what are some reasons, like,
00:25:31
Alexis
why a city would be and then what are the to lead into Ray's question what are sort of the requirements you hinted at them but a little bit more
00:25:41
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:41
Jack Baggett
Sure. um One reason why they may want to become a Tree City usa is because of the fact it kind of does open them up to a little bit more grant opportunities than what they may have if they are not.
00:25:52
Jack Baggett
um You know, right now, um as you know, as we know, the federal grant, they're kind of right now, we're not having not seeing a lot of federal grants coming down.
00:26:03
Jack Baggett
Okay. um However, We may have one coming, I don't know where this grant is coming from, um but anyway, ah there is something that's coming down the pike that I don't know about too much, but it's going to be something where we may be ah able to offer some grants to some communities here in the future.
00:26:23
Alexis
Mm.
00:26:25
Jack Baggett
And one of those things is going to be is what we're hoping to do is we want them to become a Tree City USA or they have to already be a Tree City USA. And so that's probably one of the best things because you'll get more opportunities for grants for that.
00:26:35
Alexis
Mm. Mm.
00:26:40
Jack Baggett
You also get into my little network. and the and and And so if I see something that is that I think that, you know, because we get sometimes these grants that come along that maybe are not federal grants, but maybe there's something we've heard of before. I'm sending those out to my, to my Tree City USAs, you know, and, you know, for them to look at and to possibly, um you know, to possibly apply for.
00:27:05
Jack Baggett
And then I also help them with their application. We come with the ideas, how we make it a little bit better and that's what they can use me for and also chris wiedeman who is our urban forestry coordinator my co-worker he and i you know he's also really good at possibly you know let's tailor this made so we can get you that grant you know and um so we can get that just written up just perfectly for you so um you know so those are that's probably one of the main reasons the other thing is
00:27:37
Jack Baggett
It's just fun. You know, you get well you get to put a Tree City USA, you know, a street sign on your signs.
00:27:39
Alexis
Yes.
00:27:50
Jack Baggett
I have a community, Southgate, which is up there by um ah Cincinnati. They have all they they have earned like 10 signs every we every five years or every three or four years.
00:27:59
Plant People
Yeah.
00:28:01
Jack Baggett
Everybody gets a brand new road sign. like And most people just, you know, they may stack them somewhere once they get two or three.
00:28:04
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:28:08
Jack Baggett
They put them out everywhere, you know. So you walk in that community, you know you're in a Tree City, USA community. Many others do like i ah you can walk in town like ah but i and whenever I see it, you know, yeah whenever I see a Tree City USA sign, you always end up stopping and taking a picture of it and stuff like that. So it's so they get that get that recognition, get a Tree City U.S. flag. But it's also really good because it kind of really focuses that trees are a really great part of our community.
00:28:39
Jack Baggett
And and what it does is just basically just just reminds us of this.
00:28:40
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:28:46
Jack Baggett
And then we have Arbor Day. We get the mayor out there to do a proclamation. We get the city council out there to help plant trees. We did this just recently in Owensboro.
00:28:56
Jack Baggett
And I was just, you know, get to talk to some of these people and talk to some of these leaders and and they're like amazing. Once they start doing it, they love it and they want to do it every year.
00:29:05
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:29:07
Jack Baggett
And so it's really cool to be able to see this happening. And so um it's a really fun thing to have with their city. And it's not something that whenever I approach a city, it's not, you don't have to do a whole lot to be trees in the USA.
00:29:24
Jack Baggett
And I'll get into what the standards are, but well, let me do it right now. If you don't mind. Sure.
00:29:29
Plant People
Yeah, go right ahead.
00:29:29
Alexis
Yeah, please go ahead.
00:29:30
Plant People
Perfect. Because it sounds like, Alexis, you have some experience.
00:29:30
Jack Baggett
Sure.
00:29:32
Plant People
Were you part of your retreat?
00:29:33
Alexis
Yeah, and i wanted to i wanted to tell him some cool things that we were able to do.
00:29:33
Jack Baggett
Yes. Well, I
00:29:34
Plant People
Okay, yeah.
00:29:37
Alexis
And I think having the Tree City USA like ah designation was very really helpful towards stuff. And I just wanted to like brag in a way where he can use that to go brag about stuff.
00:29:49
Alexis
But yeah, tell us tell us how to become one.
00:29:51
Jack Baggett
i want to hear that. Definitely.
00:29:53
Plant People
Yeah, hear the good stuff. Yeah, share that.
00:29:55
Jack Baggett
Yeah, absolutely. Share that. ah Okay. But anyway, there's four standards that need to meet to become Tree City USA. And one of the things is they either have to have a tree board, a volunteer tree board, or they have to have a department within the city that is responsible for trees.
00:30:09
Plant People
Yeah.
00:30:11
Jack Baggett
Now, most cities like, let's say, Paris, for instance, so Paris, Kentucky, they have a they probably don't have anybody that's a tree person, but they have a grounds people.
00:30:24
Jack Baggett
that and and when their tree comes down they go out and they take care of it well that's a department that does take care of trees so um so they have to either have somebody that's assigned to that um like a department that does take care of trees or they need to have a tree board um many of my very small communities that do not have a um uh do not have a department most of these like in louisville i have all these little small towns in louisville you know
00:30:24
Plant People
yeah
00:30:25
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:30:39
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:30:51
Jack Baggett
as they all are um they are just tree boards on those but um but either one of those you have to have that the other thing too is you have to have a community tree ordinance um and that and that needs to be in place 24 7.
00:31:02
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:31:04
Jack Baggett
you just can't have an ordinance like just for like development or something like that It has to be an ordinance that says this is what we're going to do in our, you know, for our trees here in in in this in this town.
00:31:16
Jack Baggett
And usually just establishes policies for how they're going to plant the trees, how they're going to maintain the trees, and what they're going to do in order to remove the trees and within the city.
00:31:27
Plant People
Is that something that you could help advise on as, you
00:31:27
Jack Baggett
so Absolutely. And i and i work with communities... All the time, i i I have sample tree ordinances that I use.
00:31:37
Plant People
Awesome.
00:31:38
Jack Baggett
um all sorts of
00:31:38
Plant People
Great.
00:31:40
Jack Baggett
Also, just outside of me, there's all sorts of like the Chicago Area Tree Ordinance Builder. That's something that is um I use quite a bit. And it's pretty cool because what it does is it It says um they had like three different levels of tree ordinances that that you can adopt or different sections of the tree ordinance. It says this is our basic. This is the intermediate. And this is the gold standard, you know.
00:32:06
Jack Baggett
So basically, we're just trying to get a tree ordinance through.
00:32:07
Plant People
Uh-huh.
00:32:10
Jack Baggett
Now, there are going to be a look before um the Arbor Day Foundation was, hey, we just need to just have a tree ordinance. Doesn't have to say what that tree ordinance is.
00:32:21
Jack Baggett
But they are changing it starting next year as tree ordinances and have to have some type of like a best management practices that they got to follow, usually from ISA, International Society of Arbor Culture.
00:32:34
Jack Baggett
There's also called something called ANSI, which is the American National Standards Institute on tree care. um that It shows proper pruning, proper planting, stuff like that. And then just they need to have a language in it that they're going to be following those types of processes.
00:32:51
Jack Baggett
the
00:32:51
Alexis
Maintenance.
00:32:52
Jack Baggett
the processes and all that. So that's generally with the tree ordinance. The third thing they need to do is they need to have an annual budget, $2 per capita. Now, when I first started talking to city leaders, they're like, there's no way we're going to do that.
00:33:07
Jack Baggett
A town of Paris is like, let's say, what, about 10,000 people?
00:33:07
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:33:09
Jack Baggett
Maybe now.
00:33:10
Plant People
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:33:11
Jack Baggett
So that's 20,000 people. They're thinking, we're not going to have a budget for 20,000, you know, 20,000 for trees. It's like, it doesn't have to be un for trees. Leaf removal is tree care.
00:33:22
Jack Baggett
Okay. We are pretty liberal in what we call tree care in everything.
00:33:24
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:33:28
Jack Baggett
Picking up branches when you're mowing can be tree care. Also, any type, if you are doing like utility work, if the city does its own utility work, that always goes into that too. So most of my cities, it's a $2 per capita.
00:33:45
Jack Baggett
I think most of my cities, we're around $10, something like that. Add everything together. Plus any in-kind time, any volunteer time, stuff like that, that goes into that. So usually almost every town out there, they're already doing it. And it's just a matter of just,
00:34:03
Jack Baggett
putting down on paper and seeing what we're looking at. And finally, it's the most fun thing. It's celebrating Arbor Day. And that is just going out there in the spring or in the fall. Arbor Day is any that time of the year.
00:34:17
Jack Baggett
we you could It doesn't have to be on Arbor Day, but it honestly, fall Arbor Days work out better because you know why? The weather is better.
00:34:25
Plant People
Yeah. Better time for trees.
00:34:27
Jack Baggett
That's awesome.
00:34:27
Plant People
A lot of trees.
00:34:27
Alexis
and we usually tell people to like in kentucky it's most of the time better to plant trees most trees in the fall anyways so yeah
00:34:32
Jack Baggett
Exactly. No, exactly. And so we had, hey, Richmond, where I live now, of course, when I found out that Richmond was not Tree City, USA, I had to...
00:34:44
Alexis
blasphemy
00:34:47
Jack Baggett
I know. People can accuse... Okay, I'll get into this in a second, but people can accuse me of, here's the things, the towns I'm going after right now, Paris, because I you know went to high school there,
00:34:59
Plant People
Personal connection, yeah.
00:35:00
Jack Baggett
person that Yeah, Richmond. And then this year, last year ah for Tree Campus, higher education, I got Murray State, you know, because it's all my alma water, you know.
00:35:09
Alexis
nice yeah
00:35:11
Jack Baggett
and so So I got that too. So anyway, but the final thing is celebrating Army Day. And that's a fun thing. And honestly, Once you start, you know, once I think cities, they start seeing Arbor Day, especially if you have kids involved with it, you're planting trees, um you you're giving, you know, the the mayor gives it the proclamation, Arbor Day proclamation, stuff like that.
00:35:33
Jack Baggett
like i said earlier, they start getting into it and then they want to keep on doing it. And it's its ah it's a really cool thing that we're doing and it really kind of you know moves along on its own. So you know those are the those are the basics on on how to become a Tree City USA. And so um you know right now we have 39 Kentucky.
00:35:56
Jack Baggett
We've had some brand new ones. Like I said, ah Richmond, Kentucky is a new one, although they had been Tree City USA years ago, but we come kind of call them a brand new one now. Elizabethtown is one of our brand new ones.
00:36:09
Jack Baggett
ah One of our smallest ones is a place in Louisville called Brownsboro Village, and they have a very active tree board there. and And so they became Tree City USA this year.
00:36:21
Jack Baggett
And we have yeah we have some old ones too. you know it's ah ah Lexington is one of our oldest along with the city of Anchorage. They've been Tree City USA, want to say 36 years now.
00:36:35
Plant People
Oh, wow.
00:36:35
Jack Baggett
So that's a long, long time. So they've been they've been going at it pretty good. so you know you know Also, one of the other things that I work on is called Tree Campus Higher Education.
00:36:46
Plant People
Yeah, I was going to ask about that.
00:36:46
Jack Baggett
I i mentioned earlier this year.
00:36:47
Plant People
Yeah.
00:36:48
Jack Baggett
Yeah, and I work with, and i love working with colleges and universities on that. it's just It's just a lot of fun because a lot of the colleges and the universities have so many beautiful trees on campus, and it's just slam dunk to just go ahead and and try to get them to become Tree Campus USA.
00:36:58
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:37:04
Jack Baggett
And there are standards that they also have to meet on that too. But um the main thing is is they just need to, they have to have a tree advisory board, which is usually made up of a faculty member, but students also.
00:37:17
Jack Baggett
are on the on list and then somebody from like the facilities management staff and
00:37:17
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:37:23
Jack Baggett
Maybe some, and then a community member would be really be really nice. We'd love to have like an arborist or something like that, a certified arborist to serve, not only on just Tree Campus USA's, but also on Tree City USA's, if we can if we can find them, just to help provide a little bit more technical information for them.
00:37:41
Jack Baggett
um yeah And so, but it's a really ah great program. I think I have about 13, third te ah Tree Campus USA, University Kentucky is one.
00:37:54
Jack Baggett
um When they first started, but what's that?
00:37:54
Plant People
I was afraid to ask if UK was one good.
00:37:57
Alexis
yeah
00:37:59
Plant People
We're representing awesome. Yeah.
00:38:00
Jack Baggett
yeah Hey, all the regional universities, except I'm not going to name them. No, I'm not going to name them. I have two regional universities.
00:38:09
Alexis
Call them out. Call them out.
00:38:10
Plant People
yeah
00:38:11
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:38:11
Jack Baggett
Well, I'm going to be working with them. And it's only, you know, it's only just sometimes it's just me getting the time to contact these people. You know, and that's all it is, because once I start talking about it, they are really, really just um they're really excited about it once we get going.
00:38:19
Plant People
Yeah.
00:38:29
Jack Baggett
But Northern Kentucky University, I really need to get with them on that one. And Moorhead University, I really need to get on that.
00:38:34
Plant People
Yeah.
00:38:34
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:38:35
Jack Baggett
I have some interest in it. i just got to make the phone call.
00:38:38
Plant People
And Moorhead's got some beautiful trails and a lot of beautiful trees.
00:38:41
Jack Baggett
No.
00:38:41
Plant People
So should be a good fit for Moorhead out in Rowan County.
00:38:43
Jack Baggett
it is.
00:38:44
Plant People
Yeah.
00:38:45
Jack Baggett
It is. and i And know what? And, you know, one of the things that we're trying to do with our program is we want to get it expanded beyond, you know, what we can call the golden circle, like a golden triangle, I guess, which is northern Kentucky, Louisville, Lexington, you know, central Kentucky, and try to get this more out into western Kentucky, which I have a few Tree City USA
00:38:57
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:39:03
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:39:11
Jack Baggett
trees out there. And then I have, but I i have i have a dearth, I have Corbin, which is one that I have in in Eastern Kentucky.
00:39:22
Jack Baggett
And I gotta get some more out there. And so we're trying to get this
00:39:26
Alexis
We got get you hooked up with the agents out there it. Mm-hmm.
00:39:29
Jack Baggett
Exactly.
00:39:29
Alexis
You're correct.
00:39:30
Jack Baggett
And see, this is what I'm hoping for.
00:39:31
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:39:32
Jack Baggett
Your big reach with the horticulture podcast was, you know, every agent listens to this. So they need to contact me.
00:39:39
Plant People
I better. ah better
00:39:41
Jack Baggett
and And now i'm going to say my best friends, Brett, you know, ah Brett, Ray and Alexis told me that you all need to talk to me, you know. So but, you know, honestly,
00:39:52
Alexis
Because it's really not not that bad, especially now that you're here. I mean, before you were here and there were just not enough people to go around to, you know, if we had questions, it just could take a while and it wasn't anybody's fault. It was just, you know, there's not enough time in the day.
00:40:05
Alexis
And so um it's just it's so much easier now and it's all online and. You know, you you really ah I was the person who would put it in and it wasn't it wasn't that bad.
00:40:17
Jack Baggett
yeah
00:40:17
Alexis
The hardest part was just reaching out to the city workers for the maintenance report on what they did so I could put a number to it and be like, just just I need just give it to me. I know you have it in a spreadsheet somewhere.
00:40:28
Alexis
Give it to me.
00:40:29
Jack Baggett
know Yeah, like just give me last year's.
00:40:30
Alexis
And I finally got their cell phone numbers and I was like, if you don't give me this, we're going to fight.
00:40:30
Plant People
It
00:40:35
Alexis
And they would lay and then I'd be like, Jack, I'm so sorry. I just got this. Can I turn it in still? And it's a whole ordeal. But, you know, that's it.
00:40:43
Plant People
was a whole thing.
00:40:45
Alexis
It does help you connect with your city workers. And because of that connection, they would call me to educate, like to teach their guys how to prune better.
00:40:55
Alexis
And, you know, so there was a connection made there through Tree City that I could just be with the maintenance people. And they knew to call me about trees if they had a question or needed some training. And so that was a really good connection ah to have. And it was all because I had to shake them down for tree city stuff.
00:41:13
Alexis
so
00:41:14
Jack Baggett
Yeah, yeah. You know, occasionally I have to do the same thing.
00:41:19
Plant People
ah Let's call it a forceful follow-up. Hmm.
00:41:22
Jack Baggett
Well, you know, like it's just kind like this.
00:41:22
Alexis
Me, he's had to do it with me.
00:41:23
Plant People
Hmm.
00:41:24
Alexis
And I was like, it's not my fault.
00:41:26
Jack Baggett
Yeah, know no, no, no. Alexis, you were great. You know, when you were in Bull County, you were you were fantastic.
00:41:32
Alexis
Thanks.
00:41:32
Jack Baggett
and And I really appreciate all you did down for the city of Danville. And they are still Tree City, USA, you know, so, you know.
00:41:40
Alexis
Proud of them. I set them up. I was like, listen, guys, this is when it's due.
00:41:42
Jack Baggett
you
00:41:44
Alexis
Here's all the things that you need. Here's the step-by-step. I also already told Jack that I'm leaving and that you're the person.
00:41:51
Jack Baggett
Exactly. And I contacted them right away and they sent it and they got their application.
00:41:55
Alexis
You're wonderful. Yeah.
00:41:56
Jack Baggett
Yeah. And they got it.
00:41:57
Alexis
I also wanted to tell you about um just, ah again, like a a brag, but not a brag on like me, a brag on my community and the way Tree City played into that.
00:42:08
Alexis
And for, you know, agents or other people interested in Tree City, you know, potential for, you know,
00:42:14
Plant People
Thank
00:42:15
Alexis
something they do so we ah Danville was Tree City, USA. and kind of ah To meet those needs, they applied for other grants, one of them being KU Plant for the Planet grant, which was 50-50.
00:42:28
Alexis
The community raised 50% of the money to plant trees. and fifty percent of the money to plant trees And the Danville Center College community is very big tree lovers.
00:42:39
Alexis
And so it was not a difficult thing to do.
00:42:40
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:42:42
Alexis
And so in the 10 years that I was there, I think we planted, um you know, 500, 700 trees or something like that.
00:42:42
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:42:50
Alexis
ah because Because of this grant, because we had Tree City and it was sort of like a push, we were like, we want to be Tree City every year, so we got to get some trees in the ground and You know, we didn't have to tell him that we were way over our capita anyways.
00:43:02
Alexis
so Right. But we wanted to do that.
00:43:04
Jack Baggett
Okay.
00:43:05
Alexis
And through that, an endowment was able to be started with some of the extra funds, you know, because our guys could only plant so many trees. So that money would go into an account to, you know, replace a tree every now and then. and we got good stock. And so that money built up to the point where a small endowment was created. Right.
00:43:23
Alexis
um And a position that we fondly called the Lorax came out of that. And what that was was and was it basically an internship, a fellowship, an internship.
00:43:34
Alexis
ah And it was a partnership between the extension office and the city. ah And that ah person, which was usually a student or student age, would ah spend about 20 hours a week working with the trees.
00:43:49
Alexis
And so they would go out with the guys and they would put water in the gator bags on all the new trees.
00:43:50
Plant People
Oh.
00:43:54
Alexis
They would um ah keep better like maps. Like we had an idea where trees were, but these were people interested in trees. So they would ID them and say, you know, all of your oaks are along this strip or wherever.
00:44:07
Alexis
And, you know, just categorize them. This one needs replaced, that kind of information. So it's on its... Third year this year. and so that is but ah partially paid for by the endowment and partially paid for by the extension office.
00:44:14
Jack Baggett
know
00:44:22
Alexis
And that student does ah another 20 hours of interning with extension and then 20 hours with the city trees, so to speak. And so.
00:44:30
Jack Baggett
you
00:44:30
Alexis
So anyways, it just it's been a really cool program and a really good partnership that's formed because of that. And I really do feel like it all comes back to we're a tree city. We got to stay a tree city. So here's all the things we're going to do to stay a tree city. And so I think that that overarching umbrella um was a motivator. So I just wanted to wanted to tell you all about it.
00:44:50
Jack Baggett
Oh, that's fantastic. That's a great... I love hearing that. that
00:44:54
Alexis
Yeah, yeah.
00:44:54
Jack Baggett
You know, it really... Because, you know, honestly, you know, it comes from citizens too and, you know, to become Tree City USA.
00:45:01
Alexis
I
00:45:04
Jack Baggett
And that's where it really comes to. I mean, I can approach city managers and stuff like that and say, hey, let's think about coming to Tree City USA. Most of them are pretty receptacle to it.
00:45:15
Jack Baggett
But honestly, listen, I don't know if you all, what extension's like, but... You know, I do know how it's like, we're done.
00:45:23
Alexis
i was like, yes, you do.
00:45:25
Jack Baggett
We're, you know, we're we're asked to do more with a lot less. And so what they're doing is they're doing the the calculations in their head of, is this one more thing we got to do, you know, and stuff like that.
00:45:29
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:45:33
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:45:35
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:45:36
Jack Baggett
So that's why we get citizens involved. At least get citizens involved in in order to maybe form a tree board, which is nice, which is what I always recommend for communities to have.
00:45:46
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:45:47
Jack Baggett
And I also would recommend just to help start off letting citizens help out doing the Arbor Day found doing the arbor day ah planning and stuff like that.
00:45:55
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:45:58
Jack Baggett
And once cities start seeing that, then they want to start, you know, becoming much more involved.
00:46:00
Plant People
yeah
00:46:04
Alexis
And trees are like the sea turtles, right? It's an easy, it's usually an easy sell for most people because they want shaded sidewalks.
00:46:09
Plant People
Yeah, it's like butterflies and sea turtles.
00:46:10
Jack Baggett
Pretty much.
00:46:11
Alexis
They want more trees in the baseball park so they're not sitting in the sun. You know, they want trees. And so they want to take care of the ones they have.
00:46:17
Jack Baggett
uses
00:46:18
Brett
Yeah.
00:46:19
Alexis
Usually they all have fond memories of, you know, so a big tree that they had at their school or whatever.
00:46:23
Jack Baggett
yeah
00:46:25
Alexis
And so it just, it's an easy, in my opinion, from from that perspective, it's a pretty easy sell usually to get people on board to meet a couple times a year. To say like, this is what we think should be done with the trees, mayor. And the mayor goes, great. And then boom, checklist.
00:46:40
Plant People
Well, it's something positive for the city leaderships or town leaderships or whatever the administrative leadership structure is.
00:46:40
Alexis
And it's. Yeah.
00:46:46
Plant People
It's a positive thing. Lots of positive vibes with that program from all the press that I've seen, you know, throughout time. I didn't know where it's coming from, but um I mean, there's lots of happy people in and all of those pictures.
00:46:56
Jack Baggett
Well, absolutely.
00:46:57
Plant People
So that's a good thing.
00:46:57
Brett
ri Ray and Alexis are are more logistical people. I'm more of a how to win hearts and minds because if my if my extension funding runs out, I might just go full cult leader. So that's I'm just thinking about how to sway people, you know how to win friends and influence people. And I'm curious because you have this very unique vantage point, not only of having seen this stuff across time, but also across geographic areas.
00:47:23
Brett
And I'm curious if you've seen like like what is it about trees and planting them and putting them in that that kind of most sways people now? And is that different? Has that changed across time? I think about like the rise of, know, pollinator habitat as an interest in a lot of places that seems to have happened over the last 15 years or so.
00:47:44
Jack Baggett
Mm-hmm.
00:47:44
Brett
Or the, you know, energy is ah energy costs and cost of living and shade as a mechanism for that is another one. um Rainwater, flooding, et cetera. I'm just curious, like, not so much that you're going in and pitching people and but sometimes you are maybe, but what what tends to sway people or what is it that they're looking for out of trees or what messages re resonate and any reflections across your career about that?
00:48:07
Jack Baggett
yeah so Thank you, Brad. That's a great question. um Usually, i just kind of approach it to where... You know, trees are just, like you said, they're just gorgeous. You know, I mean, you got so many different types of trees. I mean, how many grasses we have? We have like, what, five or six different species of grasses that we have.
00:48:28
Jack Baggett
We have hundreds of hundreds of different types of trees out there. Not all of them should go in the same place or the same area, but trees are just gorgeous and they're beautiful. And they were here before we got here, you know. And so it's just a...
00:48:44
Jack Baggett
wonderful thing to have. I would have loved to have been able to have been here 100 years ago to see the chestnuts, you know, as a chestnuts were growing here in downtown areas and places like that.
00:48:57
Jack Baggett
um You know, I lived in Frederick, Maryland, um you know, for about 10 years, and we had downtown trees, you know, and they would put like lights on them in the in the in the wintertime, you know, for Christmas.
00:49:11
Jack Baggett
It was gorgeous, and it would just attract people from all over to come to Frederick.
00:49:16
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:49:17
Jack Baggett
for They had this first Saturday night thing, and so people would just come to the um ah you know come downtown to look you look at the lights and stuff like that.
00:49:29
Jack Baggett
and you know Right now, you know I see the big thing is we need to get trees back in downtown areas again. There's none, you know, um but it's going to take some planning.
00:49:39
Alexis
Yeah.
00:49:42
Jack Baggett
It's going to take some, a lot of planning to be able to do something like that. But, you know, I just really feel, though, that one thing and i I always say about trees is trees are are our love letter to our future generations.
00:49:56
Jack Baggett
You know, we're planting trees for people who are never going to know who we you know, and that's just something that we say, and that's what kind of motivates me. Yes, it's a little foo-foo, and I love it because I, it's just, like
00:50:11
Plant People
Brett's thinking, I like the property values increase.
00:50:11
Alexis
You're in good company.
00:50:14
Plant People
He's calculating the economics.
00:50:14
Jack Baggett
yeah, probably values increase, and yes, you're right.
00:50:15
Plant People
Yeah.
00:50:17
Jack Baggett
If you put, and you know, and okay, I know you guys are University Kentucky people, but you know, the University of Louisville actually doing a lot of good studies on trees and health, you know, and they're,
00:50:29
Plant People
Oh, awesome.
00:50:32
Jack Baggett
They're documenting scientific reasons why trees are. If you have a hospital bed that looks out toward trees, That helps people recover. Now, I'm not saying that's a recovery.
00:50:42
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:50:43
Jack Baggett
That's not, you know, just because of the trees, but trees help add something to that. People like being around trees. People just love a tree area.
00:50:53
Jack Baggett
You know, it just looks good. um And it's and that's the things we try to get across is, you know, insight honestly, sometimes I do get some pushback from cities.
00:51:06
Jack Baggett
You know what this pushback is going to be? You can probably guess.
00:51:10
Plant People
ah Liabilities?
00:51:11
Jack Baggett
That's one, but leaves.
00:51:12
Plant People
No.
00:51:14
Jack Baggett
They don't want to take care of the leaves.
00:51:15
Plant People
Oh, yeah.
00:51:15
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:51:16
Plant People
Cost of removal, yeah.
00:51:18
Jack Baggett
Yeah. And then.
00:51:18
Alexis
Put you in a willow oak and shut your mouth, okay?
00:51:21
Jack Baggett
Yeah, we get a honey locust. You don't need to worry about that.
00:51:25
Alexis
It's
00:51:26
Plant People
Yeah.
00:51:26
Jack Baggett
You know, so it's fun.
00:51:27
Plant People
It's fine.
00:51:28
Jack Baggett
And you know what?
00:51:28
Alexis
fine.
00:51:30
Jack Baggett
Your trees are going to be what you mentioned before is the savings on costs. Bringing people downtown is our tree area. That's that's going to be well worth the cost.
00:51:42
Jack Baggett
And you're not you're going to you're going be whistling as you clean up those leaves, you know, that come down.
00:51:47
Plant People
Yeah.
00:51:47
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:51:48
Plant People
I always gravitate to those areas on vacation or when I'm traveling.
00:51:49
Alexis
Yeah.
00:51:52
Plant People
you know, the first thing I notice is usually, um i don't know, i but I've always noticed the trees. Like when I go to Savannah, the first thing I notice is the trees or some of these cities that you can tell there's an obvious value over time.
00:52:00
Alexis
Oh, yeah.
00:52:05
Plant People
that have been placed on design and care for trees or other plant materials in cities, yeah especially trees, which is long-term care. I always notice that first and I always enjoy those areas. The noise is not as bad. I love to walk under the shade because I'm very pale.
00:52:21
Plant People
I mean, there's so many other like ah benefits that you see and benefits that you don't see.
00:52:22
Alexis
When
00:52:22
Jack Baggett
yeah
00:52:26
Plant People
I notice those things constantly.
00:52:26
Alexis
when Yeah, it's it's true.
00:52:29
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:52:29
Alexis
And like when Danville redid their city, they got a um grant and redid their streetscape and the trees were a big part of it.
00:52:33
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:52:37
Alexis
Now the company, I X all of their tree suggestions, but one of the things that like they did is they weren't putting in tiny tree coffins, right? They put in permeable pavement.
00:52:46
Jack Baggett
Yes.
00:52:47
Alexis
They put in really large, you know, is it a perfect situation? No, but it was way better. And they, you know, highlighted native species and diversity. There's, you know, four or five different ones down Main Street and because they knew and they put them specifically where they would shade um seating areas.
00:53:05
Alexis
And so they like they it was so smart and they knew that it was worth the money to spend to get them in there and getting a good size.
00:53:08
Jack Baggett
Mm-hmm.
00:53:13
Alexis
And it was yes. I mean, from again, as a logistical person, it's important. But, you know, we see how people just enjoy their time more and have a good experience.
00:53:24
Jack Baggett
Mm-hmm.
00:53:24
Alexis
when there's more trees.
00:53:26
Plant People
Well, I've talked to local real estate agents and, you know, we're we're in Scott.
00:53:26
Alexis
and so
00:53:29
Plant People
I actually live in Scott County, work in Bourbon County. Scott County I don't know, the fastest or tied for the fastest growing community in the state.
00:53:34
Jack Baggett
Mm-hmm.
00:53:36
Plant People
Tons of new neighborhoods here. And real estate agents, I've talked to many of them and they say one of the first questions that comes up Well, does it have trees around the house? Are they mature trees? And that kind of surprised me.
00:53:48
Plant People
And they were like, no, it's definitely a home with an established planting, established landscape, especially mature, healthy trees. They said that definitely adds value to properties.
00:53:59
Plant People
And when I go through a new neighborhood, the houses may be beautiful and well designed and have lots of diversity and diversity. architecture and all of that. But a neighborhood just doesn't feel like a neighborhood to me until it has tree cover. I've always been like that.
00:54:12
Plant People
And that's that helped me pick the neighborhood that I'm in now. It had about 15, 18-year tree cover, a good diversity of trees. and And it's a longer, you know, a creek that's almost a river. But it was as much about the trees.
00:54:23
Alexis
Right now, yeah.
00:54:24
Jack Baggett
Lately, it has been. Yeah. yeah
00:54:25
Plant People
Yeah, yeah.
00:54:26
Jack Baggett
again
00:54:26
Plant People
I look for those things. So it I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that this real estate agent says, no, that adds value. Actually, economic value as well as you know emotional support and stuff like that.
00:54:37
Plant People
So real world value.
00:54:39
Jack Baggett
Yeah, no, absolutely. There's um so many, you know, a neighborhood I live in actually is kind of the opposite, you know, and, you know, one of the things I would love to be able to do is work with developers in, you know, on some of these towns and say, you know, put a tree in. It's not that expensive.
00:54:55
Jack Baggett
You know, put a good tree in and plant it correctly, you know, because that's one of the things, too.
00:54:57
Plant People
Yeah.
00:54:58
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:54:59
Plant People
yeah
00:55:01
Jack Baggett
And Alexis, you you mentioned it about these tree coffins that we have in downtown.
00:55:05
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:55:05
Jack Baggett
Listen, i'm I'm all for the average city tree. I think we've all may have heard the statistic once before, but the average city tree lasts seven years. you know, because that's the fact that we don't take care of them.
00:55:17
Jack Baggett
And so, you know, I'm from a school of, you know, I want these trees to be there for 40 years, you know, 50, 60 years and stuff like that.
00:55:18
Plant People
Yeah.
00:55:28
Jack Baggett
And, you know, and we got to plant them correctly. and We do need to do some engineering for some engineering soils. We got to come up with some creative ways to come downtown. One creative way that we we thought about was, you know, we can't just put them in sidewalks because like people got to move, you know.
00:55:43
Plant People
yeah
00:55:44
Jack Baggett
But you take a few parking spaces away and make those your tree areas, you know, and you can have like a linear root space and clean stuff like that. Put a nice bench there. And so that's good.
00:55:57
Jack Baggett
yeah You know, you can do all sorts of of ah really neat things downtown. So I'm hoping I'm around when I can do that.
00:56:05
Alexis
Well,
00:56:06
Plant People
So many pros and it doesn't sound like the cost of getting in that's too, too much.
00:56:07
Alexis
well
00:56:08
Brett
for
00:56:10
Plant People
So yeah.
00:56:11
Brett
Before Alexis leads us out.
00:56:11
Plant People
Awesome.
00:56:12
Brett
um
00:56:12
Plant People
Yeah.
00:56:13
Brett
So I think we're, to be clear, it hurts my heart to try to put these things in economic terms, but it, my brain knows that that's something that happens and needs to, yeah, anyway.
00:56:25
Brett
But so I'm going to, I'm going challenge us.
00:56:26
Alexis
part of the...
00:56:27
Plant People
As a fellow economist.
00:56:28
Brett
I'm looking for some reason, i'm looking specifically at Alexis. I'm going to challenge all of us to, to actually take a moment maybe this week or in the coming weeks and go find a nice tree and just sit under it and do nothing else, but sit under it and breathe.
00:56:42
Brett
and appreciate it. You know, we say these are beautiful, these are amazing, but do we take the time in our lives to do that? I'm challenging all of our listeners, too, to go and do that. Form that connection. Form that... ah take that if You can eat.
00:56:51
Alexis
Take a snack.
00:56:53
Plant People
Take a snack. Yeah.
00:56:54
Brett
Yeah, we'll allow eating. We'll allow avocado cream chips under the...
00:56:59
Jack Baggett
Yeah. Take those. Definitely. You know, no, that's, um, I think we call that forest bathing.
00:57:01
Alexis
Ginger Snaps. Pet your dog.
00:57:08
Alexis
o
00:57:09
Jack Baggett
Actually. Yeah. I actually came across that term this last year. I was at a conference up in Chicago with the, uh, Arbor Day society or the Arbor Day foundation put it on and, uh, they had all sorts of people in there to talk about forest bathing and, and, um,
00:57:09
Plant People
Just soak it in.
00:57:24
Jack Baggett
Yeah, I mean, honestly, sit underneath a tree is one of the best things to do. It really is.
00:57:30
Plant People
Oh yeah. yeah
00:57:31
Jack Baggett
So, Brett, definitely. I'm going to do the same thing.
00:57:34
Plant People
Super solid, super solid ask. I will definitely do that, Brett.
00:57:37
Jack Baggett
you yeah
00:57:39
Alexis
Well, awesome. So we are going to put Jack's contact information in our show notes. So all of you who are raring to go about becoming a Tree City USA in Kentucky can contact Jack.
00:57:50
Alexis
But they can also, Jack, where can they go if they're out if they're in the U.S. but outside of Kentucky to figure out how to do Tree City USA? The Arbor Day Foundation?
00:57:59
Jack Baggett
Yeah, the Arbor Day Foundation. Just Google that up on your Google machine and just um you'll come right up the Arbor Day Foundation. it' will tell you how to get involved.
00:58:09
Jack Baggett
If you want to get your city involved in something like that, um they can do that. And then what will happen is a very nice person from the state, such as myself, will be contacting you and saying, yes, i will I will be around to help you.
00:58:23
Alexis
How can I help you? Yes.
00:58:24
Jack Baggett
And yes, how I'm here. I'm from the government. I'm here to help, you know.
00:58:28
Plant People
Yes, as a bumper sticker, yes.
00:58:29
Jack Baggett
So, yeah
00:58:29
Alexis
like about trees, so really I am here to help. so
00:58:32
Jack Baggett
yes, I am.
00:58:32
Plant People
Yes, absolutely.
00:58:34
Brett
Other states, we apologize in advance in case the person from your state isn't as cool as Jack, but we have him here and we're proud of it.
00:58:34
Jack Baggett
you know
00:58:39
Alexis
Yeah.
00:58:39
Jack Baggett
No, it's hard.
00:58:39
Alexis
so was Now you can't have him.
00:58:40
Jack Baggett
Yeah,
00:58:40
Brett
So, sorry, not sorry.
00:58:41
Alexis
Yeah.
00:58:43
Jack Baggett
yeah it's hard. I've met a lot of my other partnership coordinators and yeah, a lot of them are pretty on the ball, more so than me.
00:58:53
Alexis
So we're in good shape. but It attracts good people is what I'm hearing.
00:58:56
Jack Baggett
Yeah.
00:58:56
Plant People
Yeah, the trees and nature and forestry, it attracts good people.
00:58:57
Alexis
so
00:59:00
Plant People
I'm with you, Alexis.
00:59:00
Alexis
Yeah.
00:59:01
Jack Baggett
It does attract good people and and it's true it's a really cool thing.
00:59:01
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:59:04
Jack Baggett
So it keeps me away from my other job that I was going to have.
00:59:06
Alexis
Awesome.
00:59:07
Jack Baggett
And which when I told everybody in Fairfax I was retiring, I was going to become a tree psychic, you know. So, you know.
00:59:16
Alexis
You know, there's always plan B, right?
00:59:16
Brett
that involve reading leaves?
00:59:17
Alexis
Second retirement. That's fine.
00:59:18
Jack Baggett
What's that?
00:59:20
Alexis
Second retirement. It's fine.
00:59:21
Brett
said, does that involve reading reading leaves?
00:59:21
Plant People
Yeah. Reading the tea leaves.
00:59:23
Jack Baggett
Well, it just involves me going put my hands on a tree and let them know that, especially if a tree may be at risk of failing, I'm going to say, listen, this tree needs to go.
00:59:26
Brett
I see.
00:59:32
Jack Baggett
This tree needs to be able to, but you know, it's time for us to go. Let's remember for what it once was, you know.
00:59:37
Plant People
A tree talker.
00:59:38
Brett
Hmm.
00:59:38
Alexis
Return it back to the earth, right?
00:59:39
Brett
Hmm.
00:59:41
Jack Baggett
Yes, I will.
00:59:41
Alexis
That's what we're doing.
00:59:43
Plant People
Yes.
00:59:43
Alexis
Well, awesome. So hopefully you don't have to return any trees to the earth in the next week. And you can instead go sit under one and have a snack or, you know, just think about how much you love this podcast.
00:59:48
Jack Baggett
yeah ah will
00:59:56
Alexis
ah That would be great.
00:59:57
Jack Baggett
Thank you.
00:59:57
Alexis
And you can, if you're in Kentucky, you can contact Jack. You can follow us on social media after you're done forest bathing. Pick your phone back up and then go on and follow Hort Culture on social media. You can also shoot us an email if you've got questions or comments. We love your comments. We appreciate those of you who reach out and just say, hey, was a great episode because that really lifts our day and we appreciate it so much.
01:00:19
Alexis
ah But we thank you so much for being here and we hope that you will join us next week. Have a great one.
01:00:35
Alexis
Thank you.