State Program Offers Free Shade Trees in sections of
Germantown, North Quincy & Wollaston.
September
24, 2018 - Home
and business owners, in sections of some Quincy neighborhoods, have been
getting free shade trees for their property through the Greening the Gateway
Cities Program (GGCP), a joint effort of the state’s Executive Office of Energy
and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR). To qualify, a property must be located in the area bounded by
Sea and Lind Streets and the water in Germantown; or Hancock Street, Billings
Street, Cheriton Road/Vassal Street, and Quincy Shore Drive in North Quincy and
Wollaston. The areas were chosen for their high population density and their
thin existing tree canopy. Trees are being planted to help reduce household
heating and cooling energy use by increasing tree canopy cover in urban
residential areas, with funding from the Department of Energy Resources (DOER).
According
to Peter Tam, program director of Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. (QARI), which is
doing local outreach for GGCP under the state’s contract, roughly 800 trees—one
third of the GGCP’s goal for Quincy--have already been planted on 50 private
properties and several Quincy Housing Authority sites.
Tam
encourages residents to sign up for the program. Shade trees, he explains, make
an attractive addition to a property, “especially during hot summers like this
past one, when trees help cool your house and save energy. And, by buffering
winds, they offer protection during storms. Economically speaking, they make a
lot of sense because they can also increase your property’s value.”
By
saving energy and removing carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air,
trees also help combat climate change and respiratory ailments such as lung
cancer and asthma, says David Reich, board chair of Quincy Climate Action
Network, which supports the program.
“The Greening the Gateway Cities Program has allowed communities
like Quincy to experience the benefits of a healthier, more vibrant urban tree
canopy, while allowing the Commonwealth to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,”
said DCR Commissioner Leo Roy. “Connecting residents with the nature around
them promotes environmental stewardship and outdoor recreation, and I look
forward to seeing more trees planted in the Massachusetts’ Gateway
Cities.”
Property
owners who sign up for free shade trees, by calling 617-626-1570, will be
contacted by the DCR. Then a DCR forester will do a site inspection, make
recommendations, and with the owner’s permission, arrange for appropriate trees
to be planted.
“Overall,” says Ahron Lerman, Urban Forester at the
DCR, “we have available over 80 different varieties of trees from which to
choose. They’re not always available every season – so on some of the less
common trees, it’s really first come, first served. Some of the commonly
available trees we plant include pin oaks, American elms, and lindens, while
some of the less commonly available trees we like to plant are pagoda trees,
bald cypress, and Kentucky coffee trees. We have a tree for every place.”
Tree
planting is done in the Fall and the Spring. The whole process, from
initial contact to planted trees, has been taking about a week to ten days,
according to Tam. Owners must commit to watering the trees for their first two
years. After that, tree roots are generally deep and well established,
although trees will still benefit from watering during drought conditions.
While
the owner must sign off before a property can get the trees, renters can apply
directly to QARI, which will help them contact their landlord, says Tam.
