Town of Glenville staff Matt and Joe plant trees as part of the community’s extended 2020 Arbor Day celebration, funded in part by a NYSUFC Quick Start grant. The Town also recently achieved Tree City USA status. Congrats to Glenville!

This account was provided by the Town of Glenville. 

The Town of Glenville in Schenectady County envisioned a one-day Arbor Day event to plant trees and clean the parks. That was pre-pandemic. Post-pandemic the Town found the perfect opportunity to tout our parks and tree planting online.

Going online helped keep residents focused on positive actions. Over the course of the past few months we encouraged the public to plant trees, explore nature (alone), and celebrate Arbor Day.

To that end the Town purchased 200 trees in honor of Glenville’s bicentennial. Our staff planted 100 trees in the parks and in front of municipal buildings. The remaining trees were given to residents for planting on private property. A NYSUFC Quick Start grant partially funded the purchase of the trees.

The selection process for the tree purchase ensured native plants were selected, including trees from NYSDEC’s Saratoga Tree Nursery. We asked DEC Regional Forester Scott Moxham to recommend trees from the list of available species.

A 2020 Glenville Bicentennial Committee selected the locations for planting as well as the specific number of each type of tree. The committee thought about the visual impact as well as the practical implications of plantings.

Receiving Tree City USA status was the highlight of the months-long event. Town Supervisor Christopher Koetzle is proud of the new designation. We appointed a tree board and passed the new tree law months ago. We completed the Town’s tree manual for tree maintenance. The interdepartmental team addressed a handful of trees already, including issues such as dead branches, infestations, and removal.

We want to thank the Arbor Day Foundation for the impetus, guidance, and connections that have brought the Town of Glenville to this point. We found that the activity of planting trees inspired conversations in the community we might not have had. Some residents think “falling leaves,” while others think of the beauty and the cool shade trees provide.

We find ourselves ready to implement an urban forestry project. With a partial tree inventory in place, we look forward to completing the mapping of our trees. Next we would like to soften our streetscapes with a row of trees that provide buffer, shelter, shade, and beauty to our commercial corridors.