Take a walk near Foss Park or Blessing of the Bay Park in Somerville, and you will notice 40 new trees lining the streets. Nearly 50 Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) volunteers, in partnership with the City of Somerville, enthusiastically planted these trees during the past two weeks as part of a larger project to plant 100 new trees in Somerville!
Miyabei Maple and Japanese Zelkova line Fellsway West, and Kwanzan flowering cherry are now located at the intersection of Fellsway West and Mystic Avenue to provide a flowering canopy at the park’s entrance. These, along with Ganala Flame Maples and Japaese Lilac trees, were planted in neighborhoods surrounding Blessing of the Bay Park.
To encourage long-term tree health Somerville’s Urban Forester and Landscape Planner, Vanessa Boukili, used the “right tree, right place” method to determine the species for this location. Right tree, right place takes many factors into consideration, such as tree height and canopy spread, root size, soil, sun, and moisture requirements, and hardiness, to ensure that these trees won’t conflict with their environment. We are confident these trees will provide needed shade in in the summer while withstanding the snow and salt they will inevitably face in our winter months. Trees planted last fall as part of this project are now healthy, and budding!
This project is funded by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the city of Somerville.
Mauricio, Paul, and Nicole stand proudly with their tree!
