Environment

Residents, Town Officials Outraged by Hacking of Trees in Watertown

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Trees along Greenough Boulevard in Watertown got a severe pruning or in some cases were cut down completely, a move that has upset residents and town officials alike. 

Last week, residents noticed that the trees on the street that runs along the Charles River had been cut by crews. The trees stand on land owned by the state and overseen by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Residents began contacting DCR officials, state representatives and Town Councilors to ask for the tree trimming to be halted. While they are state owned, the DCR was supposed to alert the Watertown Conservation Commission and the town Tree Warden, Chris Hayward, to let them know about the plan, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon. “They are supposed to do that.

Environment

Watertown School Welcomes a New Tree for Arbor Day

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Students at Cunniff School returned from Spring Break to find a new addition to the school – a dwarf apple tree. 

The tree was planted as part of Watertown Tree Warden Chris Hayward’s Arbor Day program. Trees have been planted at schools around town for the past several years, Hayward said. “The tree will get about 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide,” Hayward said. “And it will bear fruit.” On Friday, the whole school came out to the courtyard to see the new tree and get an Arbor Day gift of their own.

Environment

Find Out How to Get a Tree from the Town for Your Property

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Watertown residents can have a tree planted in front of their home, or even on their property by the town – find out how! Watertown Tree Warden Chris Hayward is preparing for the fall 2014 tree planting season and he is looking for places to put new trees. He has nearly 30 species of all sizes to choose from, including variety of dogwood, cherry, maple and many more trees (see the list here). Hayward will put together a database of requests. “They can say these are the trees I want and I’ll come out and see if it works,” Hayward said.