Around Town

Creating Community, One Micro-Forest at a Time

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The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:

Come to a FREE Workshop on Saturday May 23 at the Watertown Free Public Library, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

What is a micro-forest? A micro-forest is a multi-layered plant community of native species — a special kind of “mini pocket park” that can provide urban cooling and natural habitat, and eventually can sustain itself without significant human care, even in a space as small as the corner of a Watertown Yard. Much like the larger Miyawaki forest at Watertown’s Lowell Middle School (Stop by to visit! The forest is beautiful in its second Spring!), a well-designed micro-forest creates a resilient urban oasis of shade and beauty for humans, and food and shelter for native birds and animals. Miyawaki forests, public shade trees, private shade trees, pollinator gardens, bioswales — especially when native plant species are used, all these forms of natural green infrastructure support the urban ecosphere that supports us, and all temper the punishing effects of climate change.

Around Town

Tree Group Concerned About Proposed Removal of 9 Trees on Mt. Auburn Street

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16″ DBH Honeylocust at 489 Mount Auburn Street in Watertown. The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:

TREE HEARING this Wednesday for Nine Shade Trees MassDOT Wants to Remove

The Mass. Department of Transportation (MassDOT) wants to cut down nine shade treesalong Mount Auburn Street in order to make way for roadway modifications. This was unexpected by those of us who believed MassDOT’s assurances months ago that destruction of shade trees as part of the Mount Auburn Street Project would be minimal. If this destruction concerns you, the Public Shade Tree Removal Hearing for these trees is on Zoom at 10 a.m. this Wednesday, May 14.

Around Town

LETTER: What’s So Important About Preserving Big Urban Trees?

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Before and after photos. Submitted by Trees for Watertown

How is it that big urban trees play an absolutely vital role in protecting cities against climate change? And what can cities do to better protect these climate warriors? This is the message that Dr. William R. Moomaw will present at Watertown’s Free Public Library at Trees for Watertown’s annual meeting on Saturday, November 9 from noon to 2 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. The news is full of stories about the brutal impact of climate change around the world.

Around Town

Find Out About Watertown’s Miyawaki Forest Saturday

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Lowell Microforest YardArt made by students and adults in April. The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:

It’s Your Forest – A Drop-By at the Library

Drop by to learn more about Watertown’s first Miyawaki Microforest, to be planted in the J.R. Lowell schoolyard on October 26th, 2024. Everyone is invited! Art + science activities for kids. Saturday, August 3rd, Noon–4 p.m.

Watertown Savings Bank Room (1st floor) Watertown Free Public Library

Explore, enjoy refreshments, and help shape this important project by sharing your ideas and hopes for the Microforest.

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Bosch Fund Gives Trees for Watertown $25K Grant to Start City’s First Miyawaki Forest

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Future site of Watertown’s first Community Miyawaki Forest at Lowell Elementary School. The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:

The Bosch Community Fund has awarded the volunteer group Trees for Watertown a grant of $25,000 toward creation of a special new kind of green space in Watertown: Watertown’s first Miyawaki Forest, to be planted this November on the grounds of the Lowell Elementary School. “TFW’s Forests For Watertown working group (FFW) was just beginning to realize how much funding and support the creation of a Miyawaki Forest would need, when out of the blue came Bosch Community Fund’s invitation to TFW to apply for a grant,” said Libby Shaw, President of TFW. “We are over the moon to receive the Fund’s support for this project!” Bosch Community Fund’s invitation spurred an intense period of further research, site- searching, and collaboration with Watertown!s Department of Community Development and Planning and Department of Public Works, the Watertown Public Schools, and Watertown Community Gardens, as well as outside consultants and members of the wider Watertown community, in order to propose a strong project in time for BCF!s January 31 deadline.

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Trees for Watertown Annual Meeting Features Talk by City’s Senior Environmental Planner

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The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:

In the coming decades, our New England region will be at the heart of climate change impacts. According to a 2022 University of Massachusetts report, at current CO2 emission levels, the number of 90-degree days our city sees will increase to 80 per year by the end of the century, vector-borne diseases will increase, and animal and plant species will be lost. 

Of particular importance to Watertown, precipitation rates and river resulting stormwater flooding are set to rise substantially.  Storms will be more intense, leading to costly home flooding and personal property loss.  

In January 2020 the World Economic Forum launched the One Trillion Tree initiative. In July 2022 the Biden Administration announced the US government aims to plant over a billion trees.  Along with restoring forests, a healthy established population of urban shade trees is internationally recognized as one of the most powerfully effective means for protecting us from the most punishing effects of climate change. Cities across the world are planting thousands of trees to increase their tree canopy. However, the success of tree-planting efforts world-wide and here in Watertown depends on proper planning for the long term. Trees provide exponentially more protective ecological services when they are mature. This means it’s important to take good care of existing healthy trees, and to select, site, plant and maintain new trees carefully so that they can have long healthy lifetimes.

Around Town

LETTER: A Miyawaki Forest for Watertown!

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The Miyawaki Forest in Danehy Park in Cambridge. (Courtesy of Watertown Miyawaki Team)

This spring, a group of Watertown residents — known as the Watertown Miyawaki Team — met to develop a Miyawaki Forest. These forests are named for Akira Miyawaki (1928-2021), a Japanese botanist with a passion for trees. Traveling around his country, he noticed groves of large, mature trees growing near Shinto temples. He was surprised the trees were so healthy, in spite of growing close together.

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Attendees of Tree Seminar Learned How Choose the Right Species for Their Homes

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“Right Tree for Me” panel member Ben Anderson speaks while Anthony Fox, LIbby Shaw and Greg Mosman look on at the event hosted by Trees for Watertown. By Jim Briand of Trees for Watertown. On March 11th, Watertown residents gathered at the Watertown Free Public Library and on Zoom to hear from tree care experts at “The Right Tree for Me”, a free seminar sponsored by Trees for Watertown. The event featured four expert presenters speaking on different aspects of tree selection and care, followed by a lively panel discussion as the speakers proposed tree solutions for real world Watertown conditions. 

Following an introduction by TFW president Libby Shaw, Massachusetts Certified Arborist Greg Mosman of Barrett Tree Service East tackled the issue of tree affordability. He explained that the cost of planting a tree can vary depending on the size of the tree and how rare it is, but that small, bare-root trees can be purchased by mail order quite inexpensively and are easy to plant. An important caveat is that bare-root tree survival depends on the roots not drying out, so these should be planted right away after delivery. The audience at the Watertown Library listen to the “Right Tree for Me” panel at the recent event.