Tree Planting Archives - New York State Urban Forestry Council

Bainbridge Celebrates Arbor Day with Seven New Trees

December 7, 2018December 7, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Members of the Bainbridge Garden Club admire a newly planted Japanese tree lilac (*Syringa reticulata*). Photos Courtesy Village of Bainbridge.

Reported by Philip C. Wade, Bainbridge Mayor, Leader of Arbor Date Event

The Village of Bainbridge (pop ~ 3300) is located at the eastern edge of Chenango County, halfway between Binghamton and Oneonta. The Village was awarded up to $1000 in grant monies from the New York State Urban Forestry Council to be used for tree purchase and planting materials for a community Arbor Day Tree Planting event which was held in Bainbridge on Friday, May 25th. It was a very successful event, with participation from the Village DPW crew, Boy Scouts, and the local Jericho Garden Club of Bainbridge.

As a result, seven balled-and-burlapped (B&B) trees of 1.5 to 2” caliper representing six different species were planted around the Village, including the Village Green Park, along Greenlawn Avenue, on Front Street, and on Parsons Street. All species are suitable for Bainbridge’s USDA Hardiness Zone (5a to 6a, depending on microclimate within the Village), and in respect to the local maple sugaring industry, included a sugar maple cultivar (Acer saccharum ‘Fall Fiesta’).

Freeville Fall Follow-Up: Arbor Day Planting Part II

November 30, 2018November 30, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Thank you to Tom Cavataio, Member of the Freeville Village Planning Board and Tree Committee, for this excellent report.

Another successful tree planting in the Village of Freeville took place on Saturday, November 10^th, 2018. You may have read in a previous blog post that we hosted a limited planting in May 2018. The planting was limited due to the lack of availability of the narrow-growth crabapples that we selected to plant this year.

The Tree Committee met in July to confirm the varieties of the crabapples as well as a small number of cultivars of two native hardwood species that we would purchase bare root: red maple (Acer rubrum ‘Karpick’) and swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor ‘Beacon’). The goals were to beautify the areas of plantings, employ the traffic-calming effect of trees planted in the school zone, and also to replicate to a certain degree the taller-growth trees that many long-time village residents recall from years past (something of a challenge, given that a lot of infrastructure now exists in that area that did not decades ago). The July meeting also yielded a tentative timeline for ordering and taking delivery of the trees, which we planned to plant the first or second Saturday in November.

Watertown’s 17th Annual Fall Planting Event

November 13, 2018November 20, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Volunteers and Watertown City Planner Michael DeMarco (holding stakes) plant a bare root dawn redwood (*Metasequoia glyptostroboides*) in Cosgrove-Sherman St. Park.

Reported by Michael DeMarco, Planner for the City of Watertown and ISA Certified Arborist

October 20, 2018 marked the City of Watertown’s 17^th Annual Fall Tree Planting event co-sponsored by the City and Tree Watertown, the City’s street tree advisory board. This year’s event was held at Cosgrove–Sherman St. Park. Historically, this large green space has been used as a sanitary and stormwater sewer corridor, but it is technically categorized as a municipal park.

Pictorial: Honoring Brian Skinner, Remembering Pat Tobin

September 29, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Following a tree planting in his honor, Brian Skinner’s friends and colleagues gave him a bucket truck salute. Among the speakers were Jim Maloney from National Grid, Rich Nelson from the New York State Arborists, and Council Secretary Steve Harris. Photo by Sally Kellogg/DEC

Gloversville’s Arbor Day Tree Planting Boosted by Council Grant & Donations

August 26, 2018August 28, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Community members planting ‘Sienna Glen’ sugar maples near the Farmers Market Pavilion. Photos Courtesy City of Gloversville

Gloversville, New York, located in Fulton County halfway between Albany and Utica, was a recipient of a 2018 NYSUFC Arbor Day Grant. These grants are meant to kick-start community and urban forestry programs. Over the course of three events held in April, May, and June, 2018, the Gloversville Housing and Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (GHNIC) planted twelve trees in celebration of Arbor Day. Through these events, more than two dozen community members were involved, the public learned more about urban forestry through four stories in local newspapers, and community members expressed interest in forming an urban forestry committee.

Since originally applying for the $1000 grant, the City’s tree planting project underwent two significant shifts. The first was a shift in location. Though they had originally sought to plant trees along land-banked parcels, GHNIC folks later decided that planting trees in the “asphalt desert” that surrounds the Gloversville Farmers Market Pavilion in the heart of downtown was a better way to showcase the benefits of trees in a highly visible part of the city.

Freeville’s First-Ever Arbor Day Planting Event

August 25, 2018August 25, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Freeville community members plant their first tree, a swamp white oak (*Quercus bicolor*), at their first-ever Arbor Day event. Photos Courtesy Village of Freeville

Freeville Village Planning Board and Tree Committee Member Tom Cavataio provided this report on Freeville’s first-ever Arbor Day planting with the help of a $1000 NYSUFC grant. Freeville (pop. ~ 520) is located in Tompkins County, east of Ithaca.

The newly formed Freeville Tree Committee held a successful Arbor Day tree planting event on May 12, 2018 with the planting of a swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) at the Village of Freeville’s Groton Ave Park. The tree was donated to the program by Paul Paradine, a local NYSEG employee and new member of our tree committee.

A great deal of committee activity preceded the event, with signage being created, announcements in the local papers and at the local elementary school, and a last-minute decision on a one-hour delay the morning of the event (the forecast was for rain, but we were still able to carry off the event by delaying it for an hour).

North Collins Celebrates First-Ever Arbor Day

July 18, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

North Collins kindergartners helped heel in the swamp white trees planted on Arbor Day 2018, the town’s first AD celebration. Photos Courtesy Town of North Collins

With the help of a grant from the Council, the Town of North Collins (pop. approx 3600) in Erie County celebrated its first-ever Arbor Day on April 27. Kindergartners read tree tributes and helped plant two swamp white oaks (Quercus bicolor) in the Marion J. Fricano Town Park at the future Veterans Tribute site. North Collins Town Supervisor John Tobia spoke at the event about the origins of Arbor Day.

Location of North Collins in Erie County in New York State.

In addition to kindergartners and their teachers, the event was attended by Town Board Councilwoman Ellen Mathis, Town Clerk Lynn DiVencenzo, the Veterans Tribute Committee, and Town Forestry Committee Chair Wes Awald, whom Tobia thanked for his special effort getting this Arbor Day celebration organized.

With Arbor Day 2018, Nassau County is on Its Way to Tree City USA

June 30, 2018July 6, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

from left: Bob Sympson, Laura Cullen, Rob Alvey, Norma Gonsalvez, Richard Anerdos, and Lawrence Ferrandiz planting the serviceberry tree at the Nassau County Executive Bldg for Arbor Day. All photos courtesy Nassau County Tree Advisory Board

Bob Sympson of Nassau County is a volunteer tree planting enthusiast, NYSUFC member, and member of the Region 1 ReLeaf Committee. He prepared opening remarks for the County’s April 26, 2018 Arbor Day observance and tree planting, notably attended by County Executive Laura Curran.

Town of Plattsburgh Arbor Day 2018

May 10, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Thank you to Town of Plattsburgh Planning Technician Malana Tamer for providing this report.

The Town of Plattsburgh (population app 12,000) is located in Clinton County in the northeastern part of New York State, approximately 65 miles south of Montreal, Canada and on the western shore of Lake Champlain. The Town of Plattsburgh surrounds the separate and more populous City of Plattsburgh.

With the help of a $400 Arbor Day grant through NYSUFC, the Town of Plattsburgh purchased two river birch trees, which were planted at the Cadyville Town Beach on Arbor Day, April 27, 2018. The Town beach provides public access to the Saranac River with a lifeguard patrolled beach and non-motorized boat access. In summer months, the beach provides river access to approximately 1,098 users per month. The two new trees will provide erosion control and shade for beach users.

Thirteen NY Communities Awarded 2018 Arbor Day Grants

March 15, 2018March 15, 2018 by Michelle Sutton

Magella Owen and Rajesh from HS of American Studies at Lehman College. by Anthony Thoman — photo Anthony Thoman

From Brian Skinner, Council Treasurer and Arbor Day Grant Program Chair

The NYS Urban Forestry Council Arbor Day Grant Program Committee, in conjunction with the NYSDEC, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 grants. There was significant competition this year, with 26 applications from across New York State submitted and 13 communities eventually selected to receive grants of $400-$1,000 to conduct a first-time community celebration of Arbor Day.

The Villages of Albion, Bainbridge, Freeville, Lima, and Liverpool; the Towns of East Bloomfield, Hastings, New Windsor, North Collins, and Plattsburgh; and the cities of Gloversville and Sherrill were selected to receive grants in support of new Arbor Day programs as presented and described in their applications. Congrats to these communities!