Tree Upkeep: Rain or Shine

Jean Berger mulches an Elm in front of the Home for Aged Men

     Volunteers including members of the Tree Commission and Friends of Newburyport Trees could be seen around the city this week pruning and mulching the most recently planted street trees. Coinciding with Earth Day and Arbor Day, the crew set out on two consecutive Saturdays, April 23 and 30th to prune and mulch hundreds of trees while also assessing the health of each one. As some species survive better than others in certain conditions, occasionally it is  determined that a tree needs to be replaced. The information gained on these pruning visits provides useful data for future planning and tree selection.

    Too often, municipalities will replace trees with new saplings and fail to provide their proper care. The trees die and taxpayer money is lost. When trees are planted by the Newburyport Tree Commission, they are watered weekly from May to September except in times of heavy rainfall for the first two years when the their root structure is in the most important growth stage. (Arbor Day Foundation's 9 Tree Care Tips and Techniques) Deep watering is more important than frequency and the mulch helps the soil retain the water.

Paul Bevilaqua, Mary Jo Ficocello, Tim Heatwole, Dave Dylewski, Crispin Miller and Jean Berger ready to work

Another High Street Elm is pruned by Tim Heatwole. The tree has grown almost an inch in diameter each year since it was planted six years ago. 

Paul Bevilacqua and Sheila Taintor  mulching a Hedge Maple on Frances Drive. 

The Hawthorne on Lavalley Lane in the rear is not doing as well as the one in the foreground. The Tree Commissioners will be less likely to choose this species for future plantings. 

Tim Heatwole prunes one of the Tulip Trees that were planted by the Tree Commission all along the street side of Belleville Cemetery a few years ago.

Tulip Tree budding on April 23, 2016 at Belleville Cemetery

Cris Miller prepares to mulch a thriving Horse Chestnut Tree. It seems like just yesterday some of us were chucking chestnuts at our friends or lining them up in the street to watch cars squish them,  pre-video game pastimes, but the Asian Bark Fungus destroyed most of the old growth trees.

Byron Getchell pruning A Red Oak near the corner of Ferry Road and Moseley Ave. Byron works for Northeast Nursery and is on the Newburyport Tree Commission.

Byron and Cris discover dying Cherry Trees on Ferry Road and Roosevelt Ave. They needed severe pruning and in one case will need to be replaced by a different species. The homeowner at 9 Roosevelt Ave avoided this fate by calling Dave Dylewski two years ago to report that the tree appeared sick. Dave sprayed the tree and it is is now flowering beautifully. (pictured below)

Healthy Cherry Tree on Roosevelt Ave.

This Ferry Road Elm Tree was planted a few years ago but during the construction of a new sidewalk, some of its roots were severed. 

Mrs. Kirkpatrick uses a gator bag to release water slowly into the soil for her Kwanzan Cherry  Tree. She bought one and the city donated a second for this location on Moseley Avenue.

Jane Niebling is happy with the growth of this Trident Maple she planted at Park Circle. Thanks to Jane, after 57 years, I now know how to use pruning shears. She thought that it was something I should know as a tree volunteer. I was sort of hoping I could just keep standing around watching everyone else  but I guess those days are over.

Not all the trees are doing well at Park Circle. This Hornbeam Tree on Storey Ave should have received better care after it was planted. Friends of Newburyport Trees will provide helping hands from now on!

Friends of Newburyport Trees is dedicated to preserving and protecting the urban forest which includes this community garden at Park Circle. Last year, one of the residents had great success with his south facing garden in front of this building and was able to share surplus vegetables with residents in the Y.W.C.A housing units. Hopefully, the water will be turned on soon so that spring planting may begin! 

Ed Taylor, one of the founders of FoNT with Mary Jo Ficocello working on a High Street Elm.  Utility wires are always a problem for street trees. 

Mary Jo Ficocello prunes this Honey Locust that provides shade for pedestrians.

River Valley Charter School joined forces with FoNT and the Tree Commission to fill in this median strip on Perry Way with new plantings.

Students from River Valley Charter School learn about tree planting

 Finished Project on Perry Way! 

If City Council approves an order introduced by Councilor Barry Connell at the April 25th meeting, all trees that are removed due to hazard or disease will be replaced. Click here to read April 29, 2016 Daily News article about the Tree Replacement Order. The public can attend any upcoming meeting of the Neighborhood and City Services committee where the order will be discussed before being presented to the full council for a vote.

Please visit the new Friends of Newburyport Trees website!  

New Trees in Town

Happy Earth Day 2016

     Two new trees have been added to the city's inventory in celebration of Earth Day thanks to the efforts and generosity of some Newburyport residents. Students from the NHS environmental club met with Tree Commissioners Dave Dylewski and Sheila Taintor to break ground for a small Red Maple sapling on Toppans Lane across from the high school. At the entrance of the Little River Nature Trail on Storey Avenue, a White Oak donated by Saltbox Financial was also given its forever home.

 Dave Dylewski from the Tree Commission with NHS Environmental Club students, Annaliese Keller and Sarah Simon

    Dave talked about the function of the Newburyport Tree Commission and walked the students through the tree planting process. He explained that although it is very small right now, the Red Maple will thrive in this wide open location. His only concern was vandalism. Molly Beluk and Sarah Simon are seniors this year and hope to regroup with underclassman Annalise Keller each year on Earth Day to photograph themselves with Charlie Brown documenting its growth. They will take care of its watering needs until mid-September and Annaliese will see to it that the Environmental Club will pick up the reins next Spring.

Molly Beluk, Annaliese Keller, Sarah Simon and Sheila Taintor getting the lowdown on tree planting basics

Planting the Red Maple sapling on Toppans Lane across from Newburyport High School

Staking the Charlie Brown sapling after mulching

Voila! 

 On the other side of town, Cris Miller, Dave Dylewski and  Jim McCarthy and his neighbor, Joe Lamb take turns digging the much bigger hole needed for a White Oak sapling, ten times the size of Charlie Brown. While little was needed to amend the soil on Toppans Lane, the Tree Commission opted for some loam and lime for this tree. Jim McCarthy of Saltbox Financial, the donating institution selected  a White Oak because no other tree rivals its majestic appearance in wide open areas, in his opinion. Also, they can live to be 200 or 300 years old. In a dense forest, it could grow quite tall, but in this wide open location, it will likely be on the shorter end of 50-80 feet with a canopy as wide as its height.

Jim allows his neighbor, Joe Lamb to break ground for his gift to the city while he contemplates how he will truck in water twice weekly for the next five months.

A labor of love!

Almost ready for planting

Dave, Cris, Jim and Joe look like they might be ready for cold adult beverages. 

Thanks so much to the Tree Commission, Newburyport High School Environmental Club, Friends of Newburyport Trees and Saltbox Financial for their time and generosity to add to Newburyport's canopy in honor of Earth Day 2016!

Any corrections or suggestions can be sent to me at kimkudym@comast.net. To contribute funds for more trees, please send to:
FoNT
Box 1155
Newburyport, MA 01950

The FoNT website will be up and running shortly if you prefer to pay through PayPal at www.fontrees.org. Thank you!!

Friends of Newburyport Trees in Action

Help replace me! 

   It's disheartening to know that for every minute of the day we lose the equivalent of forty-eight football fields of trees on our planet. On a brighter and much more hopeful note, the world's largest recruiter to the environmental movement, Earth Day Network has pledged to plant one tree per human being by the year 2020 with their plan:  Trees for the Earth.  In our Newburyport, look for Friends of Newburyport Trees on two big Saturdays coming up, April 23 and 30. Led by the Tree Commission, you will see them on the streets pruning and mulching the newest plantings.  Among the most recent are six Princeton Elms planted at the corner of High and Green Streets. Twenty-eight more are scheduled for planting this Fall on the section of Green Street between High Street and Pleasant Street.

Mary Jo Ficocello pruning in front of City Hall last Spring

Valley Tree Crew at the end of day helping Friends of Our Trees and the Tree Commission

    Friends of Newburyport Trees' mission is to raise funds through donations and grants to support projects above and beyond what is possible within the city's budget. In collaboration with the Tree Commission, FoNT has identified the entryways to Newburyport as potential Gateway projects to be re-landscaped with trees and shrubs.  Project #1 is a small parcel of land adjacent to the Cornelius Doyle Triangle on Storey Ave near the Famous Pizzeria. Jane Niebling submitted a CPA grant to carry out landscape architect Tim Heatwole's beautiful design for this gateway to the city.

Newest planting on Green Street, Princeton Elms

    Just last week three mature trees had to be removed on High Street near State Street. FoNT will be looking to replace one hundred trees that have been removed over the years due to hazard and/or disease all along High Street in hopes of restoring its original beauty. We need your help! Please consider a donation to Friends of Newburyport Trees and send to P.O Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950.

A beautiful white oak will be planted in a prominent location very soon, thanks to one generous resident! Stay tuned.

Mayor Holaday Proclamation with FoNT Board Member, Jean Berger

Goodbye Trees!  Thank you for all the wonderful years!

Welcome to Newburyport, Dear Princeton Elm!  

Reducing Carbon Dioxide with Friends of Newburyport Trees

  According to a report released last year by researchers from Oxford University(Oxford University Negative Emissions Report) planting trees should absolutely be one of the primary tools to offset climate change. It is also one of the most cost effective ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and reduce the impact of ocean acidification. Too many of Newburyport's trees are in a sad state of decline or have been toppled by high winds.  Although it is hard to see or measure the immediate impact, we need to do everything we can to protect what we have and replace what we've lost. Fifteen years ago, my husband and I participated in a city sponsored project to plant saplings along High Street on Bartlett Mall. It seemed impossible that we'd ever see any real benefit but already the trees have almost doubled in size, providing a fair amount of shade for the park benches that line the pathway next to Superior Court.

Bartlett Mall Trees planted fifteen years ago now doubled in size!

   A group of volunteers are working behind the scenes to raise funds for filling in many of our bare areas along High Street with more trees. Last month, Friends of Newburyport Trees board member Jane Niebling recruited me to fill a vacancy on their board. Being a former backyard tree climber, I enthusiastically accepted. FoNT is a non-profit that started in 2004 in response to the unfortunate removal of a magnificent Copper Beech tree in the South End.

Copper Beech in decline near end of Fair Tree.

     Some other examples of enormous Copper Beech trees can be seen on High and Merrimack Streets. (pictured below) They are remarkable for their size and smooth elephant-hid-like bark which provides a preface surface for carving ones initials. Unfortunately, they are slow growing and rarely planted any more.  It was because of the foresight of a few individual homeowners that we are enjoying their grandeur one hundred years later.  Friends of Newburyport Trees, in collaboration with the Tree Commission and DPS, hopes to keep Newburyport green and beautiful for our next generations.  And with the dire predictions for climate change, the time is now.
       FoNT depends on grant writing, private donations and the help of our volunteers to accomplish this goal. Look for our website soon to launched announcing our upcoming projects in need of your support.  Please consider a donation without delay and send to Friends of Newburyport Trees, PO Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950. For more information or to offer help you can write us at fontrees@gmail.com.

Copper Beech Tree at the Lord Timothy Dexter House

Another Copper Beech on Merrimack Street

This house for sale on High Street is flanked by two of the largest Copper Beech Trees in  the city!

The Copper Beech can be identified by its enormous trunk with smooth bark resembling elephant skin.

Memorialize or honor a loved one with a tree!

Another Copper Beech Tree still gracing us on the corner of High and Winter Street