As we celebrate Arbor Day today (April 26), I wanted to thank Boscobel, M&T Bank, The Nest, Unicorn Contracting, the Haldane school district, St. Mary’s Church and my fellow Tree Advisory Board members for the tree plantings that have occurred near public ways in the village over the past two years through a public-private partnership.
You may have noticed that dozens of small trees have popped up near public walkways on either side of Route 9D on the properties of these partners. These trees, funded by private donations via the Boscobel Tree Fund, will become stately shade trees. The project added eight species to our community forest: black gum, scarlet oak, American hophornbeam, red maple, American hackberry, bald cypress, dawn redwood and ginkgo.
Planting rows of diverse species helps future-proof our tree colonnades, making them more resistant to species-specific pests and diseases such as those that long ago killed off our rows of American chestnuts and elms. Diversifying our inventory also helps boost ecosystem health and builds resilience in the face of our changing climate.
Planting trees on the private property side of sidewalks gives trees more rooting space than planting in the narrow strip between the sidewalk and the road, thus extending the life of the tree exponentially and reducing the sidewalk heaving that occurs when roots don’t have enough space.
I hope that, as we watch these new trees leaf out this spring, everyone who owns property in the village will be inspired to follow this lead and plant a little tree in their yards.
Jennifer Zwarich, Cold Spring
Zwarich chairs the Tree Advisory Board.
