GREENFIELD — The Tree Committee will host its annual all-volunteer tree planting on Saturday, during which as many as 20 trees will put down roots in the area of Davis and Pierce streets.
Planting will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Participants should meet at 8:30 a.m. at the corner of Pierce and Davis streets, though volunteers can stop by to help at any point that morning. Participants will receive free “Tree Hero” buttons.
“I’m so pleased we will be adding trees on Pierce Street, which had almost none when we moved here in 2012,” said Gina Siepel, a Pierce Street resident and member of the Tree Committee. “In addition to providing shade and aesthetic value, we’re hopeful that they will help to slow traffic (as studies have shown), which has been a concern.”
American linden, tulip poplar and red maple are some of the native shade trees that will be planted, along with some small-stature trees such as redbud, crabapple and hawthorn for under utility lines. Mary Chicoine, Davis Street resident and Tree Committee member, said although the smaller trees don’t pack the ecological punch that larger shade trees do, the smaller, mostly native trees, provide important habitat for birds and pollinators.
Most of the trees that will be planted have been growing in the Tree Committee’s nursery at Just Roots farm. The nursery’s creation came with support from a U.S. Forest Service Landscape Scale Restoration competitive grant in partnership with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and administered by Franklin Land Trust, and by Kostanski Funeral Home’s Memorial Tree Program, according to Chicoine.
“It’s gratifying to have trees in our nursery that are already mature enough to be planted in public spaces,” commented Tree Committee member Emily Boss.