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FREE TREES OFFERED TO GREENFIELD RESIDENTS |
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Written by Greenfield Tree Committee
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Wednesday, 10 February 2010 |
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FOR ARBOR DAY PLANTING APRIL 24
GREENFIELD, MA - Greenfield residents who want to plant a shade tree in their front yard this spring are invited to put their name in for a drawing for a FREE tree. Residents are also invited to join in planting the trees to celebrate Arbor Day, on Saturday, April 24.
"Arbor Day has been celebrated in April in Greenfield for many years. We have together planted trees at schools, community buildings, and on Main Street,” says Cindy Pomeroy, Greenfield Tree Committee member and Arbor Day co-organizer. “The national theme for Arbor Day this year is very fitting. It is 'Trees Are Terrific...and Energy Wise!'"
The Greenfield Tree Committee and the Greenfield Department of Public Works (DPW) are working together on this new
initiative to offer free trees to residents to beautify Greenfield, and make it a “greener” community. The program is made possible by Kostanski and Walker Funeral Homes who make monthly donations to the town’s Memorial Tree Fund in memory of loved ones that resided in Greenfield.
“Trees have so many benefits,” says Keith Zaltzberg of Regenerative Design Group, a Greenfield Tree Committee member
.“In many cultures trees are sacred. They provide both food and shelter for us and for many other critters - and keep our industrialized world green.”
This spring, in addition to planning the free trees for residents, the Tree Committee and the DPW plan to plant over twenty trees along Federal Street south of Maple Street, so they are particularly looking for people who live south of Maple Street to put in their names, but anyone can apply. The drawing for the five free trees will be on March 15.
After the drawing, Paul Newell, Greenfield Tree Warden, will visit with the residents selected to determine what tree species would be best suited for the space and the soil conditions. The Town will then purchase the tree, and residents will gather with the Greenfield Tree Committee and the DWP on Saturday, April 24 from 9am-1pm to plant the trees, and learn how to take care of them. After the tree is planted it becomes the homeowner’s responsibility to maintain the tree.
“Without the financial assistance of Kostanski Funeral Home and Walter Funeral Home we would not be able to plant so many trees each year,” says Janine Greaves of the DPW. “This program literally puts the “green” in Greenfield!” Over the past ten years Memorial Tree Fund has enabled Greenfield to plant about 17 new trees each year.
The Greenfield Tree Committee is a citizen committee that aims to advise and support Greenfield’s Tree Warden and the Greenfield Department of Public Works. Its goal is to promote greenery in the Town of Greenfield by facilitating and by educating the public on the value of street trees and the need for their care and maintenance. The committee is actively seeking additional members.
To apply for a free tree or express your interest in joining the Greenfield Tree Committee, please call Janine Greaves at 772-1528 x 106 or email
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by March 15, 2010. The people not chosen this year for a free tree will be kept on a list for receiving a tree in the future. |
