Watertown Residents Can Request a Street Tree Planting in Front of Their Property

The City of Watertown will plant a street tree in front of homeowner’s properties. See how to request a tree in the announcement from the Department of Public Works. Did you know you can request to have the City plant a street tree in front of your property for free! The Forestry Division planted 360 street trees during the 2023 season, and they aim to meet or exceed that number in 2024. Our urban tree canopy is vital to improving shade and air quality, while diminishing the urban heat island effect and managing stormwater runoff. 

The request cutoff for spring plantings is the second week of April.

LETTER: Trees Need to be Protected in Watertown

To the Editor:

Ghost tree

Your fifty foot tall, towering presence would have held snow on your strong, healthy boughs today. Mourning doves would have stood on the boughs near your trunk for protection from the wind, their winter coats puffed up cozy among your pine needle feathers. Mother tree, so many miss you today. Rabbits’ secret shelter under boughs at your trunk, no longer here to offer a safe place to laugh at my barking dog. Chickadee, junco, winter birds who would rest on your branches when hawk was distracted elsewhere. They waited for me to fill the tube with seed to sustain them in this small piece of forest in city.

Find Out What Tree Fits Your Yard Best at Upcoming Event

The following information was provided by Trees for Watertown:

THE RIGHT TREE FOR ME:  Trees for Watertown to Offer Free Seminar

Experts Show How to Choose the Perfect Tree for Your Yard

On Saturday, March 11th from 9:30 to 11:30 AM at the Watertown Public Library, Trees for Watertown will present a free seminar titled “The Right Tree for Me”. It will be available both in person and via Zoom. According to TFW President Libby Shaw, the idea for the seminar began with the knowledge that 80 percent of Watertown’s trees are on private land. 

“Our goal is to improve the quality of life for city residents by increasing our city’s population of shade trees and these trees’ longevity,” Shaw said. “It’s trees with big, healthy canopies that provide the strongest infrastructural and ecological services. Watertown is doing great work with street trees, but street trees provide at most about 20 percemt of our city’s protective tree canopy. To succeed we need to help homeowners find ways to add and maintain healthy, long-lived trees in their yards.”

In planning the seminar, the Trees for Watertown team explored what kinds of information homeowners seek when they’re thinking about planting a tree. TFW members found that for some, affordability is a primary concern.  Others want tips on how best to plant a tree and maintain its health. 

One common question Watertown residents have is whether their yard is big enough to support a tree. Some just aren’t sure how to fit a tree into their landscaping.

Lights on the Delta Shining in Honor of Indigenous Peoples Day

Charlie BreitroseThe new lights on the trees on the Watertown Square Delta can change colors and display patterns. This picture shows what the trees looked like in December 2019. The following announcement was provided by Jennifer Wolfrum on behalf of members of the Pigsgusset Initiative:

As part of Watertown Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day, the Watertown City Council proclaimed Monday, October 10th as Indigenous Peoples Day. Aligned with this Proclamation, Councilor Nicole Gardner asked the Department of Public Works to make the colors of the lights on the Delta to reflect a central aspect of Indigenous culture. The red, yellow, white and black lights represent the colors of the medicine wheel, which is important to Indigenous People and their spiritual worldview.

OP-ED: As Watertown Builds, What Can Be Done to Protect Trees Adjacent to Construction?

This oak tree on Mount Auburn Street has been wrapped in 2×4’s to help prevent damage during road construction. By James Briand, Trees for Watertown

Watertown is a city under construction. From major public works such as the Mount Auburn Street renewal to numerous private developments, streets and lots are being disrupted for improvements. While the projects may deliver important benefits, the heavy equipment and excavation work required sometimes presents difficulties for mature trees in the zone adjacent to construction. Protecting such large, mature trees is vital, because even if new trees are planted post-project, it will be years before they can deliver the same cooling impact as lost mature trees.  

Watertown residents may have noticed the vertical 2×4 lumber barriers on many trees along the Mount Auburn Street construction area.

OP-ED: During the Drought, Don’t Forget Watertown’s Trees

Trees for WatertownIn times of drought, watering bags like these keep young trees alive. By Jim Briand of Trees for Watertown

When the rain stops falling, we tend to focus on the areas that respond most visibly—the lawn and the garden. A brown lawn and withered blossoms demand our attention with the hose and the watering can. Yet the most important plants in the yard — the trees — suffer as well. 

Prolonged droughts affect trees in serious ways, but the impact is not always immediately visible. In fact, it can take one to two years for the damage to become apparent.

Watertown Receives Grant to do Inventory of Trees on Public Land

These trees along the Community Path between Whites Avenue and Waverley Avenue are some that would be counted in the Urban Tree Inventory to be conducted by the City of Watertown. The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

The City of Watertown was recently awarded a $38,500 grant with a 50/50 match by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Grant Program to support the City’s Tree and Potential Planting Location Inventory project. The grant is awarded annually to municipalities and nonprofits looking to improve and protect urban forests in an effort to help communities inventory, plant and maintain public trees. The City of Watertown will be contracting with PlanIT Geo, Inc. to conduct an Urban Tree Inventory. This project will provide a public tree inventory on streets, parks, and public property throughout the City.

Eversource to Prune Trees Near Power Lines in Watertown in January

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Department of Public Works:

Eversource, and it’s subcontractor Tree Tech, is working citywide on tree pruning around power lines throughout January. This work is necessary to maintain safe operations of the power grid and reduce future outages. Eversource expects to have 2 tree crews in town initially, then eventually increase that number to 5 crews total over the course of January. Trees are often a great addition to the landscape of any community. However, trees are the leading causes of power outages in our service territory as they are for many utilities across the country.