Are there empty spaces on the berms in your neighborhood — perhaps where street trees formerly provided shade and beauty? Would you like to work with your neighbors and the Newton Tree Conservancy to plant new trees? The Newton Tree Conservancy has extended its deadline until July 7 to apply for its 2024 Fall Community Tree Planting on November 16.
For any interested Newton resident with free space on their berm, getting a tree planted by the Conservancy is simple, and it comes with a social twist: One person must step forward as the neighborhood leader, assembling a team of four or more other neighbors (within 3 blocks) to identify places between the sidewalk and the street to plant eight or more new trees.
Once the group is gathered, the team leader gathers individual applications from each participant and submits them through the Conservancy’s website. After the application is approved, Planting Day will take place a few months later – in this case, the morning of November 16.
The trees are free, as are the watering bags. All participating neighbors should be present to help on Planting Day — and commit to filling the watering bags once a week for two years.
How it started
Established in 2008 by a group of environmentally conscious Newton residents, the Newton Tree Conservancy hosts these biannual plantings, fostering connections between neighbors and encouraging a love for the urban environment.
For Joseph Drake, the Conservancy’s founder, his reason to join was a deep appreciation for trees. “I noticed [City Councilor] Julia Malakie… talking to my neighbor about planting a tree…I subsequently became part of that planting group. And I was just really impressed with the whole process…Before you knew it, I just grabbed a whole bunch of ‘Dear Neighbor’ letters that are on our website…And I went to…a bunch of other neighbors for the next planting.”
Planting Day builds community
On Planting Day, the Conservancy emphasizes the importance of neighborly bonds. “What really excites our homeowners [on] the days of planting is they’re meeting people that they’ve probably lived a two-minute walk from [that] they never met,” said Drake. “We all come together for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning and jointly, we’ll plant trees…[participants] find great satisfaction in that.”
Interviews with participants strongly illustrate the Conservancy’s emphasis on community. “We got together as neighbors on the streets around us…we went back to our respective houses and plots and planted the trees. And the neighbors sort of help each other in that process,” says Peter Neumann, a Newton resident who has participated in the program twice.
“They made it really fun and made us feel like we were doing good,” said Robin Maltz, a previous participant in the program. “They made us feel very much a part of it.”
The growing neighborly bonds are a source of joy for Drake. “I think all of us get great satisfaction, especially on Planting Days, just to see the smiles and the joy that people express in the trees they just planted. It really is very gratifying.”
The connections forged during the process are not the only source of joy from the Newton Tree Conservancy plantings. “The tree Planting Days give me an opportunity to make a positive impact on the nature aspect of our city,” said Patrick Maher. Maher has taken great joy in helping residents plant their trees.
Long-term satisfaction
The Conservancy’s emphasis on community shapes residents’ interactions long beyond Planting Day. As Maltz says, “My neighbor’s watching out for my tree…There’s this sort of ‘everybody’s kind of in it together’ in terms of making sure the trees are well cared for.”
Once the trees have been planted, Newton residents find great satisfaction in watching them grow. “You see the trunk thickening, you see the leaves…It’s gotten me outside a little bit more, and it’s just very gratifying interacting with these trees,” Neumann says.
As Drake explains, this satisfaction comes from the hard work participants put in. “When people actually plant a tree, they take ownership of it…They might plant a tree in the fall, and then all of a sudden, it’s a flowering tree, and it blooms the following spring and they’re in, they’re thrilled. To see that tree take on.”
The Conservancy has extended the deadline to apply for fall planting until July 7.
Review the requirements and complete a group neighborhood application here.
Noa Kelmer-Racin is a Fig City intern and a rising Sophomore at Princeton University.
