2020 Report: TreesMedford
TreesMedford Accomplishments for 2020
Oh, What a Year! Fortunately for the trees, they don’t get COVID! Most of the rest of us, however, were hunkered down to avoid it. Nevertheless, TreesMedford did not stand still in 2020. With over 450 hours of volunteer work, we moved to broaden the scope and depth of our activities; 2020 was a good year for TreesMedford.
On the heels of TreesMedford’s 2019 $20K DCR grant to plant trees, early in 2020 the City Council approved a $89.8K grant from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) to plant shade trees in nine city parks. These trees--large, long-lived, and tolerant to climate--will help keep the parks and Medford citizens cooler into the next century! The planting is complete in Tufts Park and Hormel Stadium/LoConte Memorial Rink, and will be completed in Hickey Park/Playground, Barry Park/Playground, Morrison Park, Hillside Memorial/Capen Park, Playstead Park, Wright’s Pond, and Medford Honor Roll Park in 2021.
One critical item on our “to do” list is completing an inventory of Medford’s trees. Tree inventories provide a snapshot of all the urban trees; they describe the size, species, health status, maintenance needs, and potential planting sites of the City’s forest inventory. Medford’s tree inventory will enable better planning, but needs funding to get off the ground. TreesMedford started the city-wide inventory by requesting funds for a tree inventory of environmental justice areas. We were awarded a $5K Medford Community Development grant and applied that money to inventorying trees in South Medford. That inventory was delivered in April. We are grateful to the Mystic River Watershed Association for serving as the Fiscal Agent for these funds. We have submitted another DCR grant application to finish surveying the trees in these areas of South and East Medford.
TreesMedford also wrote a CPA grant application to inventory trees in Oak Grove Cemetery. Many of the older cemetery trees are in very bad condition. The inventory will provide information needed for a cemetery master plan that includes taking care of the trees, replacing those that are unsalvageable, and determining where to plant new trees. Though the plan and inventory can be justified on historic grounds, the cemetery is increasingly being used for outdoor recreation. More shade in the newer sections would directly benefit the walkers who use the cemetery. Though it would be great to fund a tree survey for all of Medford in one grant, we are taking advantage of small grant opportunities that are available to us. It will require many more infusions of funds to complete an entire City inventory.
This summer was hot and our new trees suffered. This did not escape the notice of Girl Scout Troop 68137. TreesMedford developed a great partnership with the girl scouts with the goal to organize tree watering for young trees. The troop created a Trees Needing Adoption website, with a map of trees available for “adoption.” Using that website, the Medford citizens can learn how to care for young trees and sign up to water and care for a tree. We also developed a hanging tag for recently planted trees so that people can identify the tree they would like to adopt.
The City has been busy, too. Medford’s Tree Warden, Aggie Tuden, oversaw the planting of more than 125 trees, some of which were paid for through TreesMedford grant-writing efforts. Unfortunately, Medford streets and parks lost more trees than were planted, so for yet another year Medford’s net tree count is a negative number. Many of the trees were lost in two devastating storms, a consequence of climate change. Sadly, the tree removal also resulted in an increase in the number of stumps. Currently there are more than 400 stumps that need to be removed and ground out. What an eyesore for Medford!
Though sometimes it’s hard to believe, TreesMedford has not been around for that long. This year, in addition to creating an informational web page we finalized, printed and distributed a brochure describing who we are and what we do. We were lucky to have the pro bono graphic expertise from Traher Designs, and the brochure looks beautiful! We also made important strides towards becoming a 501(c)(3). We look forward to being able to handle our own grants and solicit donations from residents and local businesses!
Early in 2021, Medford’s Energy & Environment Committee issued their Tree Report making important recommendations for future forestry efforts in the City. We are pleased that many of our accomplishments to date are among those suggested by the report. We will work hard to help fulfill many other key recommendations in the coming years.
Sarah Gerould
Amanda Bowen
Coochairs, TreesMedford