LYNNFIELD — The National Arbor Day Foundation (NADF) designated Lynnfield a Tree City and conferred its prestigious Foundation’s Growth Award on the town, celebrating it as a place where residents “plant, nurture and celebrate trees.”
This is the first time the town has been chosen for the NADF’s Growth Award. It has been designated as a Tree City community for more than 10 years.
“It’s always nice to get an award like that as it’s nice to know that what you are doing is being recognized,” said Tree Warden and Department of Public Works Director John Tomasz. “I think the award recognizes the fact that not only have we done a good job managing and taking care of our existing trees, but we are also planting new trees.”
Tomasz said the town is mapping out an overall plan and is working on a master plan. New trees have been planted in several locations including Chestnut Street, Ryan Road, the Town Hall area and the high school on Essex Street. He said a variety of trees have been planted, depending on location.
“Obviously, we don’t want to plant a lot of the same trees in any one area and you have to be sure to plant what will grow,” Tomasz said. “For example, when planting near a street you have to use varieties that are salt-resistant.”
The Tree City USA Growth Award is presented to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate higher levels of tree care and community engagement.
In 2020, due to the pandemic, the Tree Committee prioritized its efforts to help people to establish better connections with nature. The committee created Tree-O-Cache, a geocaching contest, where participants located up to six tree locations around town. The socially-distanced project was family-oriented to teach residents about trees.
In addition, a tree inventory was created by student Jacob MacPherson for his Eagle Scout badge. The inventory encompassed the main roads from a wide area around the center of town. Every tree was identified, measured, appraised for health, and GPS-located for entering into a digital database.
The inventory has been shared with the Conservation Commission and the Department of Public Works for use to determine future planting and assessing town tree canopy.
Now that spring has arrived, the Tree Committee encourages the community to plant new life in backyards and focus on the connection to trees in anticipation of the budding and greening of Lynnfield.
The town is taking the old Chinese proverb, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now,” to another level with the creation of the new Lynnfield’s 1,000 Trees Project, an initiative created to address the town’s decreasing tree populations through public awareness and increase the number of new trees through a community-based tree planting project. For more information about the 1,000 Trees project, go to www.lynnfieldtreecommittee.org.
The site also provides information on why planting trees is important; how to choose the right tree and placement; recommendations for native trees to plant, and how to plant and take care of them. Residents are encouraged to help track the project’s progress by registering a new tree and enter into a drawing to win a rain barrel. To get a tree planted by the street, contact the Public Works office at 781-334-9500.
Every week, the committee will highlight a different Tree of the Week and post a photo of it on the website. To submit a tree in a front yard for the committee to feature as the Tree of the Week, please email [email protected] or contact the committee through Facebook.
Tomasz said the Tree Committee’s goals are to provide stewardship, education and advocacy to promote and foster an awareness of and appreciation for our town’s natural tree resources and encourages the community to get involved by planting a new generation of trees.
