Participants will learn about how to plant and care for a tree -- and will receive a free tree to plant in their own yard.
At the ABGSA's Green Gathering in February 2008, John Walkey of the Urban Ecology Institute noted that the initiative was organizing three kinds of activities to encourage tree-planting: do-it-yourself workshops (like the ABGSA's event); organizing neighborhood groups and people for planting, possibly including designated "tree captains"; and the city's volunteer system of green space stewardship, such as "adopt-a-park." The city's initiative was announced on April 27, 2007 -- Arbor Day -- and the plan is to have 1000 trees planted by the end of april.
Walkey noted that there is not enough public land to accomplish the ambitious goal of the initiative, so that a lot of private owners will be part of the plan to add trees to the city. Unfortunately property owners periodically have to cut down trees for various reasons, too; the rule of thumb is to plant one new tree for every one inch of diameter of tree that was felled.
The ABGSA held a series of "street greening workshops" in 2007 to develop ideas on how to make three routes in Allston-Brighton -- Everett Street, Chestnut Hill Avenue, and Brooks Street -- greener. This kind of planning will likely be an important element in the city's tree planting initiative.
The ABCDC is holding the outdoor tree-planting workshop indoors at their offices at 320 Washington Street, Brighton, MA 02135, 3rd floor. I wonder how their offices will look after all that tree planting?"That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew -- and grew unitl his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around..." [Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak]
For more information contact Kate Jordan at the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation (the sponsor of the ABGSA): Jordan@AllstonBrightonCDC.org, 617-787-3874, ext.216
