Going out on a limb

Neighbor to know

When Edith Makra was a college intern in the early 1980s at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, she was drafted into the fight against the construction of I-355, which would take a portion of the arboretum's property.

The outdoor museum lost that battle, and Makra now finds herself cruising up and down the toll road in her role as the arboretum's community trees advocate.

"Sometimes I smirk at the irony," she said.

But just because Makra finds the road useful doesn't mean she's any less serious about saving trees.

"Probably the most important thing is their value," the Bloomingdale resident said. "If they were valued highly enough, preserving them wouldn't be such a fight."

Since joining the arboretum staff five years ago, Makra has been an ally and educator to communities, homeowner associations and residents wanting to save trees.

She works with municipalities seeking to draft tree-preservation ordinances, advises associations on landscape contracts and choosing trees, helps communities plan Arbor Day celebrations, and has led the fight in Illinois against the invasion of the emerald ash borer.

Makra remembers visiting the arboretum as a child when her family would make the trek from their Westmont home. But it was her experience as an intern that really helped define her career.

"It was really exciting to be where the intersection of people and trees come together," she said. "Teaching people about trees and getting people excited about trees was a lot more appealing to me than forestry."

A student at the College of DuPage when she started her internship, Makra spent three summers at the arboretum and earned a degree in urban forestry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Her first job as a professional arborist was with a tree-care company in the Northwest suburbs. She started at the top -- right up there in the branches.

"Talk about tree-hugging," she said. "You are holding onto a tree less you fall. There was a lot of tree-hugging going on, but I got to know trees really well."

While at the company, Makra was asked to bid on the now infamous removal of trees from Mr. T's Lake Forest estate. Unenthusiastic about the prospect, Makra gave a bid she considered less than competitive and another company took down some 300 trees in an action that caused a vast public outcry.

"That was the birth of tree-preservation ordinances," she said.

Makra moved on to a position with OpenLands Project, an open space preservation group that wanted to encourage volunteer tree planting in Chicago. Makra launched its NeighborWoods program -- obtaining her first trees from the arboretum to take to a West Side school that asked for help.

She's still touched by the memory of little girls in white dresses planting trees.

"I learned that hands-on was really important, and if people connected with trees, they were more likely to take care of them," she said.

The Chicago Tribune sent an intern to write a profile on her and the story ended up on the obituary page. Not a choice spot, but it led to her next job.

"Mayor Daley read the obituary page that day," she said.

Makra was invited to meet with Richard M. Daley and she soon was hired to launch the mayor's Greenstreets program.

Makra knew what needed to be done, but at the age of 27 she was politically green. Backed by the mayor, she was able to help the city that previously had done little to maintain its trees change its ways.

"The learning curve was incredible," she said.

Makra took her next position as director of the state urban forest program in Massachusetts. She spent seven years there before returning to Illinois and the Morton Arboretum.

She was months into her newly created position when her boss suggested the arboretum should do something about the emerald ash borer that had decimated ash trees in Michigan. Calling around to find what was being done to prepare for the potential infestation, Makra found no one was in charge of defending the state's ash trees against the pest.

She put together a team of about three dozen organizations that included mayor and manager conferences, state and federal agencies, and professional associations.

Illinois' readiness plan has been copied by at least five other states, said Makra, who now serves on the Governor's Emerald Ash Borer Management & Science Advisory Panel.

Makra estimates the state has lost fewer than 2,000 ash trees to the green insect, but more losses are inevitable.

"It's a very difficult insect to manage. The losses to communities are going to be significant," she said. "And that's a quality of life issue."

It's also a quality of life issue when large, mature trees are lost to development, Makra said. Large trees provide more shade, filter more pollutants from the air and capture more stormwater than small ones, she said.

"Three small trees are not equivalent to one large tree," she said. "I think even in 150 years, we're not going to see the trees re-grow."

A fan of the burr oak and flowering tulip tree, Makra advises inquiring homeowners associations on what types of trees to plant.

The Glen Ellyn Woods Homeowners Association, for example, came to her for help with its Arbor Day tree sale program.

Located in an unincorporated area near the arboretum, Glen Ellyn Woods homeowners have large lots with mature trees, but the association wanted to be sure trees were replaced when they were lost.

Each year, the association selects a type of tree to plant and negotiates with a landscaper to get a good price for homeowners who want to buy them.

The Sunday after Arbor Day, the neighborhood holds an Arbor Day parade and a tree-planting ceremony. Marty Voss, chairman of the Arbor Day activities, said Makra helps with choosing a tree and giving suggestions for the ceremony.

"Edith has been wonderful with the residents," he said. "She's there as part of the celebration. People are walking up and asking questions."

Suzy Myers, a member of the St. Charles Tree Commission, said Makra worked with the mayor-appointed advisory group to make an effective presentation to the city council on the value and economic benefits of trees.

Makra also provided guidance on drawing up the community's first tree preservation ordinance, informs commissioners about environmental meetings they might want to attend, and comes to city's Arbor Day celebration.

"She is very good at getting people together and spreading knowledge," Myers said. "The greatest thing is I e-mail her and I'll get a response back. She is just so there if you need her."