Trees- Beautifying our Town with Trees
Greenfield Tree Committee Mission
Our mission is to operate in an advisory and supportive capacity to Greenfield’s Tree Warden and the Greenfield Department of Public Works. Our goal is to promote greenery in the Town of Greenfield by facilitating the planning of trees along public ways and by educating the public on the value of street trees and the need for their care and maintenance.
Contact Information
If you are interested in joining the committee, reporting a sick tree, or inquiring about having a new tree planted on your street, please call Janine Greaves in the DPW at 772-1528×106
Background
In the 1900’s, Greenfield’s Main St. was lined with elms. Mid-century, the Dutch Elm disease descimated these trees. In 1998, Carolyn MacLellan founded the “Greening of Greenfield,” which was renamed in 2008 as the “Greenfield Tree Committee.” In 1999, with funds from the state, Greenfield put in a new downtown streetscape. In 2002, under Carolyn MacLellan’s leadership, Greenfield became designated as a “Tree City” by the Arbor Day Foundation, a distinction that it has been renewed each year since that time.
Downtown trees offer many services including reducing air pollution and noise; absorbing carbon dioxide, the major source of climate change, and giving off oxygen; and providing shade in summer which can reduce the temperature up to 10 degrees and our need for fossil-fuel-powered air conditioning. Forests offer a home to many critters and plants etc.; conserve water and protect our watersheds; control soil erosion; and offer wind protection, and offer us wood for building our homes and furniture and home heating, as well as a place for recreation, and spiritual renewal.
Recent Projects
2008 – Beacon Field Tree Planting Numerous new trees were planted to replace maples and others that had to come down due to age and disease.
2009 – Main Street tree inventory by UMass intern Mac Cloyes, ISA Certified Arborist.
2009 – Main Street Tree Planting – 31 new trees were planted!
The tree planting was made possible by a grant from the Mass ReLeaf Ministry program, which the First Church of Deerfield applied for, and matching funds from the Williams Tree Trust, and the Memorial Tree Fund from the Kostanski and Walker Funeral homes in Greenfield. The trees were purchased and planted by Stewarts’ Nursery in Turners Falls during the first week in June. The Greenfield DPW, who oversaw the planting, will be watering the trees several times a week throughout the summer.