Rooted in Community: City Arborist Team Cares for Our Trees

The City Arborist Team plans and assesses tree health, plantings, maintenance, removals and associated costs, and shares arboreal knowledge at a growing number of community outreach events. 

The healthful benefits of trees make their preservation a top priority. In their respective neighborhoods, each tree is an environmental filter providing long-term benefits for years to come.  

Since 2021, City tree plantings have tripled. The arborists have planted 4,500 new trees in support of a 2020 City Council policy to replace trees removed from City property in the course of construction. This moves the City closer to meeting goals to increase overall tree canopy coverage by 2045. 

Working with Trees 

Brian Crouch joined the City in 2009 and performs hazardous tree assessments. He has worked as a certified arborist for 25 years. He said the City is working more plant healthcare into its regular forestry program.  

“Working with City trees gives me the chance to educate citizens on the importance of proper tree care,” Crouch said. “The forestry program is not just about removing trees. We try to preserve trees as much as possible so that the City and its citizens can use their benefits for as long as safely possible.”  

Brooke Costanza, who served as the City arborist for three years, described recent projects to protect City trees and educate the community.  

“We recently created a robust tree preservation program, which aims to use arboricultural techniques to preserve historical and special trees in Virginia Beach,” Costanza said. “For example, we installed lightning protection on large sycamore and pecan trees at the Francis Land House. We also performed vertical mulching at Red Wing Park to reduce compaction.” 

Ashe Obenaus previously worked as a 911 dispatcher and City ornamental horticulturalist. After pursuing a career in arboriculture, he was promoted into the City forestry program. On the job, he assists with tree risk assessments, hazard mitigation, work orders and beautification and educational projects.

Obenaus said he appreciates the chance to make a positive difference in his community and keeps an eye out for new locations to plant trees.

“I enjoy working to plant and preserve trees around our City,” Obenaus said. “And I love revisiting trees we previously planted to see how much they’ve grown, or visiting trees we’ve taken preservation measures on to see how much they may have improved.” 

As the City faces hurricane season, Obenaus reminded that weather conditions can help produce stronger trees.  

“Trees are supposed to sway and move with the wind because it strengthens their roots and trunks,” Obenaus said. “Even when new trees are planted and staked, we don’t want to fully immobilize them. We just want to make sure the stakes are only there for support and the tree can still move and adapt to the wind conditions, so we can have healthy and strong trees in the future.”  

Katie Wirth organizes all new City tree plantings. A former educator, she credits a book with helping her discover a passion for planting.  

“I read ‘Bringing Nature Home’ by Douglas Tallamy and learned about the importance of native plants,” Wirth said. “I was hooked and knew I wanted to devote my life to restoring and protecting our local ecosystems.”

In their respective neighborhoods, trees provide long-term benefits for years to come, Wirth said.

“Planting trees in an urban environment has so many benefits. They decrease energy costs by providing shade in summer and wind breaks in winter.  They reduce air and noise pollution.  They help to alleviate flooding.  They have positive impacts on our mental and physiological health.” 

She said residents can even help make a positive impact free of charge. 

“Our residents can request a tree to be planted in the right-of-way in front of their house. I choose the species according to the conditions at your house as well as the local availability of the species.” 

Tree Varieties

The arborist team has identified 226 different varieties of trees on City property. The most numerous are the loblolly pine, 2,300; willow oak, 1,600; and crepe myrtle, 1,500.

To learn more about City trees, the community is encouraged to try the VBTrees interactive map featuring the more than 20,000 trees in the City’s inventory.  

• VB Trees Map
• Urban Forestry