LYNN —The next step in the city’s ongoing efforts to improve its urban tree canopy is to establish a tree committee.
An interest form to join the committee is now available on the city’s urban forestry website for anyone who works, lives or owns property in Lynn.
Urban Forestry Fellow Erica Holm said responses to the interest form, as well as an introductory meeting, will help determine the possible goals and structure of the committee.
Some of the potential priorities listed on the form include advising city staff on site-specific tree selection planting locations, educating the public on the value of public trees, and preserving, protecting and promoting the city’s urban forest.
“We’re not going to make this about what I want, or about what the DPW wants. It’s really going to be an effort of co-creation,” she said.
Holm said tree committees in other communities require members to fit a specific age range or hold specific certifications, but she does not want to determine a system such as this until hearing feedback from the community.
She said developing the city’s urban forest plan will take a long time, so she wants a committee that will help the planning department engage with the community and serve as a partner in the process. She added that to develop an effective urban forest plan, it’s going to take more people than just her.
“In terms of urban forestry, if you plant trees in front of people’s houses that don’t want trees there, you’re not going to have a successful program,” Holm said. “So we really want to know if we do have a tree committee, how people think it should engage with the city and what they think.”
She said her hope is to plan the first meeting for mid-September.
“I think diversity of perspective is something we’re going to be looking for on the Lynn tree committee, and we’re going to have a lot of time and a lot of discussion,” Holm added.
