GREENFIELD — For the second year, the Greenfield Tree Committee is partnering with Sugarloaf Gardens Nursery Manager Dan Ziomek, a plant and soil scientist, to lead residents on the Crossroads Tree Tour next week.
Starting at the Greenfield Common on Tuesday, July 22, at 6 p.m., Ziomek will lead attendees on a three-quarter-mile loop around the downtown area, discussing the distinct character of 16 trees of different species, such as katsura, zelkova and golden raintree. The event will be held rain or shine.
Many of these trees, Tree Committee member Margo Jones said, are important to the Indigenous community and the tour includes information about the trees’ uses. Trees will be labeled as participants stroll from the common to Energy Park, the Greenfield Public Library and back.
Jones said last year’s tree tour, established through a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant, attracted roughly 50 participants. This year, she said Greenfield Cooperative Bank sponsored the event.
“It’s rain or shine and we really welcome everyone,” Jones said. “It’s a good way to see downtown and see the advantages of shade from trees. Certainly with this recent hot weather, I know I appreciated even more the value of shade from trees. There could be a 7-degree difference between being out in the full sun and being under the shade of a tree. They really help us out in the summer, and this is a way to learn more about them, and appreciate the beauty and healthful characteristics of these trees.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.
