A newly planted chinquapin oak in Byram – Photo by Kate Dzikiewicz
This summer, the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, in partnership with the Town of Greenwich, added new trees to municipal parking lots, Eugene Morlot Memorial Park, and the Byram neighborhood to help reduce the urban heat island effect and improve canopy coverage. Parking lots in particular benefit from trees, which cool pavement, shade parked cars, and enhance appearance. Plantings took place in the Henry Street, Bruce, and East Elm lots, with more sites planned for the autumn planting season.
In Byram, where dense development and limited tree cover increase heat impacts, new trees will bring much-needed shade and improved air quality. Several ailing trees from last year’s Putnam Avenue Beautification Project planting were also replaced.
A new tree planted in Eugene Morlot Memorial Park – Photo by Kate Dzikiewicz
Species were selected by Superintendent of Parks & Trees and Tree Warden Dr. Greg Kramer, with priority given to native shade trees that would remain healthy under harsh near-street conditions.
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy looks forward to focusing on planting trees at schools during the autumn planting season.
Residents interested in additional street trees near their homes or businesses are encouraged to contact the Greenwich Tree Conservancy.
After a cool and rainy spring, the heat of summer has finally arrived in Greenwich. Longtime residents may have noticed summers gradually getting warmer over the past few decades, and heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense. To keep comfortable, we crank up the air conditioners, but trees offer a powerful and natural way to fight the heat.
As the Town of Greenwich continues to develop and expand, the region loses tree cover, especially in urban areas. This contributes to the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon which describes how urban neighborhoods are often significantly warmer than nearby rural areas. Many factors contribute to this effect, especially dense concentrations of impermeable pavement and buildings built from materials like concrete and asphalt. These manmade materials retain and radiate a lot more heat than soil or sand. Limited green space and lack of shade only make matters worse for urban residents.
According to the EPA, urban areas can be 18–27°F warmer than nearby undeveloped spaces. This temperature spike does more than just increase energy use during warm months; it also worsens air pollution and raises the risk of heat related illnesses and deaths. Vulnerable populations, including the elderly and people with health conditions, are especially at risk, but high heat affects everyone, lowering productivity and quality of life.
While any greenery helps cool an area, trees are the most effective. Their leaves and branches block up to 90% of sunlight before it reaches the ground. Rather than being retained as heat, this solar energy is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars via photosynthesis. Buildings shaded by trees can see surface temperature reductions of 20–40°F, and parked cars under tree cover can be up to 45°F cooler. No wonder shaded parking spots are always in high demand!
Trees have another less visible way that they cool the air. They absorb water through their roots and release it from their leaves as water vapor in a process called evapotranspiration. Evaporation draws heat from the environment, making trees living evaporative cooling systems. A single mature oak tree can release up to 40,000 gallons of water into the air each year, and a tree-lined street multiplies these benefits.
Any sort of planted green space will help reduce heat in a neighborhood, but large mature trees have the greatest cooling impact. This is why the Greenwich Tree Conservancy advocates retaining these large mature trees whenever possible. It can take decades for young trees to reach the size and impact of their mature counterparts, and removing a single large tree from your property can make for a big decline in your comfort during the summer.
If you want to help keep your home or business cooler and contribute to a healthier community, consider planting more trees and protecting the ones already in place. Trees placed on the west and southwest sides of buildings are especially effective at reducing afternoon heat. Just be sure to choose species suited to our local climate and urban conditions.
Trees are important in every season, but in summer we have even more reasons to appreciate them!
Kate Dzikiewicz Executive Director, Greenwich Tree Conservancy
The Greenwich Town Arboretum is internationally accredited by ArbNet, the sole body which awards accreditation to arboreta worldwide. The Greenwich Tree Conservancy (GTC), in partnership with the Greenwich Department of Parks and Recreation, submitted a successful application and our arboretum was established in 2016. Criteria for accreditation include: a governance group, 100+ labelled tree species, and educational programming. If you visit the ArbNet website, you will see the Greenwich Town Arboretum listed among arboreta from around the world, including Kew Gardens in London. To see our listing and learn about other arboreta visit: https://arbnet.org/morton-register/accredited-arboreta/all
A 2009 Historic Parks of Greenwich report commissioned by the Greenwich Division of Parks and Trees served as the guide for the establishment of the Greenwich Town Arboretum. The report provided a wealth of background information about our four historic parks which “launched” the Arboretum: Bruce Park, Byram Park, Binney Park and the Montgomery Pinetum.
Bruce Park, approximately 60 acres, is Greenwich’s oldest public park. It was established in 1908 through a bequest of Robert Bruce. In 1930, the Town paid for a survey and development plan for Bruce Park which is located on the south side of I95. Significant trees identified at that time included beech, maple, ash, cherry, dogwood and sycamore. Today, the oaks and sweetgums are particularly striking.
Byram Park, in southwest Greenwich, was established in 1919. It is approximately 30 acres and fronts Long Island Sound. The original acreage was a former granite quarry and the exposed granite cavities remain clearly visible today. In 1975, 10 acres were added to the east end of the park, part of a private estate then known as “The Anchorage.” Many mature deciduous and coniferous trees are part of Byram Park’s original section near the entry gate and near the playground. These mature species include oaks, tulip trees, and sugar maples.
The land for Binney Park in Old Greenwich was purchased by Edwin Binney in 1927 with the intent to deed it to the town exclusively for recreation and park uses. The design and construction of the park took over 4 years. It is interesting to note that James A.G. Davey of Davey Tree Company was Binney’s son-in-law and advised on the design of the park. Among other elements, the plan called for the planting of many trees and the creation of two small “lakes.” In 1933, Binney Park was dedicated. Tree species included pin oak, red maple, paper birch, tupelo, dogwood, hawthorn, and American ash.
The Montgomery Pinetum in Cos Cob is approximately 100 acres and is adjacent to the Pomerance and Tuchman town-owned properties. Colonel Robert Montgomery purchased the property known as “Wild Acres” in 1922. He and his wife developed the property adding gardens, paths and buildings including a high-ceilinged greenhouse for fruit tree propagation. Col. Montgomery established the Pinetum in 1930. He planted abundantly and eventually acquired over 850 coniferous species.
In 1945, he gifted his 200 best specimens to the New York Botanical Garden. After Col. Montgomery’s death in 1952, his wife approached the Town about donating the property with restrictions that it be used for walking trails, horticulture and the arts. The Town voted to accept the gift in 1953. Some conifer specimens planted under Col. Montgomery’s direction remain today along with many species of ornamental shrubs and trees.
Since the launch of the Greenwich Town Arboretum, the GTC has planted and labelled trees in our four historic parks and expanded to other areas like Greenwich Point, Cos Cob Park, school properties, neighborhood centers, and town-owned parking lots. Greenwich is unusual because our arboretum is truly town-wide. To date, we have labelled over 1350 trees! Residents can help us maintain tree labels in good condition. Whether due to storms, aging or occasional vandalism, sometimes labels come loose from a tree. We would appreciate the public’s help in notifying us via email at Arboretum@ GreenwichTreeConservancy.com if they see a label that is damaged, dangling, or missing.
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy’s mission includes helping to preserve our Town Arboretum as a living museum of trees and as a treasured community asset for current and future generations. The Arboretum collections include both specimens from native ecosystems and species representing botanical diversity from around the world. The GTC works to promote a deeper knowledge of trees through public events, educational programs, and through research. We are only able to do this work through the generous support of residents.
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy Board of Directors is thrilled to announce the election of John R. Conte, RLA, ASLA, as the new president of the Board of Directors. With over 40 years of experience in arboriculture, landscape architecture and construction, Conte brings a wealth of expertise to the GTC and a deep commitment to preserving and enhancing Greenwich’s natural beauty.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Conte has been highly involved in the Greenwich community for many years. He has previously served on the boards of the Greenwich Land Trust, Greenwich Audubon, and Family Centers Inc, and has extensive leadership experience as president of the board of the Round Hill Association and Greenwich Green & Clean.
“GREENWICH, CT — At long last, Greenwich will plant 100 trees along the Post Road corridor from Port Chester, N.Y., to Stamford in an effort to create a tree-lined gateway into New England.
An inaugural planting event will take place at 11:30 a.m. at 600 East Putnam Ave. in Cos Cob on Nov. 1. Up to 90 of the approved trees will go in the ground, and the remaining trees will be planted in the spring.
“This effort was one of the things I pledged to work on back in 2019 and found very willing partners in Planning & Zoning, DPW, the Tree Conservancy and others who led the way,” First Selectman Fred Camilo told Patch. “Having a tree-lined boulevard running through the middle of our town will be the first thing that many visitors see when they pass through Greenwich and what a beautiful sight it will be. It is something that will live beyond our lives and enrich the lives of those who come after us.”
Over 90% of American households own at least one car, and in Connecticut 77% of residents drive to work. Parking lots are ubiquitous in Greenwich but they do not have to be eyesores.
Since 2018, the Greenwich Tree Conservancy has prioritized the greening of town parking lots. This summer they have planted 14 additional trees in the William Street and Henry Street parking lots in Byram as part of their “Parking Parks” initiative.
Unshaded pavement can be up to 45° F hotter than shaded areas, significantly contributing to the heat island effect seen in urban spaces. One of the simplest yet most effective methods to combat this problem is by planting trees. The shade provided by trees helps keep parking lots and cars cooler, but they also provide many other benefits to human health and the environment.
By Chery Dunson and Sue Baker, Advisory Board Chairs
Sue Baker measuring a National Champion European Larch Larix decidua.
Greenwich is fortunate to have an extensive tree canopy providing a vivid and kaleidoscopic display of color and form throughout our spring, summer and fall seasons. Trees line our streets. They stand in our parks, on our school grounds, and make up our woodlands. They adorn the yards around our homes. Trees provide benefits to town residents by shielding us from heat and cold, purifying our air and water and significantly reducing stormwater flooding. They soften the noise from ever increasing traffic and the visual impact of our urban built environments. Along with all this they provide food and shelter essential to birds and other wildlife.
Among the many thousands, there are exceptional trees notable for their great size, unusual species or historic or social significance. In the 1980s, the Connecticut College Arboretum established the statewide Notable Tree program, surveying towns across Connecticut. The program identified over 100 notable trees on public and private lands in Greenwich. If you are interested in learning more about the Connecticut College Arboretum Notable Trees project you can visit – http://oak.conncoll.edu:8080/notabletrees/
Until recently, the status of many of the Greenwich listed trees was unknown. Throughout the past year, the Greenwich Tree Conservancy has located many of these trees providing an update of the town’s listing. We have determined if the trees are still alive and healthy, their current size and status, or if they had been removed.
The process is straightforward. We reach out to property owners requesting permission to access their property to verify the status of the tree. A team of three volunteers locates each tree and takes measurements to determine the diameter of its trunk, the spread of its crown, and its overall height. Each of these measurements contributes to an overall rating as established by American Forestry Association. This information is provided to the CT College Arboretum in order to update the Greenwich listing. Among our town’s Notable Trees are Oaks, Horse Chestnuts, American Sycamores, London Planetrees and Japanese Zelkovas.
To date, we have verified the status of all the notable trees on public lands. Additionally, half of the private property owners have granted us access. We would like to thank the numerous property owners who beyond granting us access have enabled these notable trees to survive and thrive over the decades!
Some verified notable trees you can look for on public lands include a Sweetgum (Liquidamber styraciflua), Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) and Black Oak (Quercus velutina) in Bruce Park. A London Planetree (Platanus acerifolia) at the Board of Education building at 290 Greenwich Avenue. A Thread Leaf Japanese Maple (Acre palmatum‘Dissectum’ ), Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana), Thayer Yew (Taxus media ‘Thayerae’) and Sargent’s Weeping Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis ‘Sargentii’) in the Montgomery Pinetum in Cos Cob. An American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) at North Mianus School and a Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) on Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich.
This is an ongoing project for the Tree Conservancy and we are now turning our attention to adding new trees to the CT College Notable Tree listing for Greenwich. If you have a tree on your property that you believe may be notable for its size, species or historic significance, or if you delayed responding to our letter, you may contact us at: arboretum@greenwichtreeconservancy.com.
Last Thursday Greenwich’s superintendent of Parks & Trees/Tree Warden, Dr. Greg Kramer held a zoom public hearing about a mature Honey Locust tree at 125 Greenwich Ave requested by the owner of Shreve Crump & Low to be cut down because its roots were impacting the sidewalk.
The tree, “Gleditsia Triacanthos” has a DBH (diameter at breast height) of 26 inches.
The tree is in front of Shreve Crump & Low.
First Selectman Fred Camillo testified that the issue with the sidewalk was a trip hazard and urged the tree be replaced.
Kate Dzikiewicz, director of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, and the former director JoAnn Messina, as well as board chair Peter Malkin all spoke in favor of sparing the tree and figuring out a workaround.
Ms Messina the new Belgian block lined tree wells in the sidewalks all along Greenwich Avenue were a trip hazard.
Ms Dzikiewicz said the Tree Conservancy could assist with expenses of analyzing the tree roots and possibly installing ramps.
Several town residents also urged the tree warden to spare the tree.
[Story continues – read the full article at https://greenwichfreepress.com/news/government/town-tree-warden-rules-sympathetically-to-decades-old-honey-locust-on-greenwich-ave-220399/ ]
First Selectman Fred Camillo presents a “Town of Greenwich Certificate of Special Recognition” to JoAnn Messina for her “having served as founding Executive Director of The Greenwich Tree Conservancy for 17 years.” Photo by Francia Alvarez.
Just how a town can come together to green its public spaces with trees was plain to see last Friday at a gathering of some 55 Town Greenwich officials and nonprofit leaders in the Barn at the Greenwich Historical Society. The occasion was a “Goodbye” arranged by the Greenwich Tree Conservancy (GTC) for its long-serving executive director JoAnn Messina, retiring after 17 years from the inception of the GTC, during which 6,000 trees were added to the Town.
Join the Sustainability Committee for informative and educational discussions on how the Greenwich Sustainability Sectors are responding to the challenges of the climate crisis.
The Speaker Series takes place at the Second Congregational Chapel from 1:00 – 2:30pm
Please visit our webpage: greenwichct.gov to sign up for our newsletter and follow us @greenwichsustainability to receive updates.
LAND AND WATER: September 28, 2023
Forests, Trees and Brain Health
Community Partner: Greenwich Tree Conservancy
WASTE REDUCTION: October 24, 2023 Waste Injustice: Impacts and Solutions
Community Partner: Waste Free Greenwich
COMMUNITY CULTURE: November 28, 2023
Building Ecological Climate Resilience Through Native Plant Landscaping
Community Partner: Greenwich Land Trust
FOOD SYSTEMS: January 30, 2024
Regionalizing the Food System in Response to Climate Change
Community Partners: Greenwich Community Gardens and The Foodshed Network
LEGISLATION AND ADVOCACY: February, 2024
BUSINESS: March 26, 2024
The Business Case for Sustainability: Why is it Important for Business to Adopt Sustainable Practices?
CLIMATE RESILIENCY: April, 2024
Climate Change Impacts in Greenwich: What Do We Need to Prepare For and How?
TRANSPORTATION AND AIR QUALITY: May 28, 2024
Spare the Air: Smog Season Starts with a Call to Drive Less and Landscape Responsibly
Contact Kim Gregory @ staglanefarm@yahoo.com with any questions.
Greenwich Sustainability Committee Speaker Series is in partnership with Coffee for Good and Second Congregational Church.
In five years, Connecticut Department of Transportation’s budget for tree maintenance has nearly tripled in an effort to tackle what the department calls a “critical need” to address dangerous trees along the state’s roadways after years of drought and damage by invasives like emerald ash borer and gypsy moth.
But those efforts have raised the concerns of nonprofits dedicated to protecting some of the state’s trees and parkways who say that the department’s maintenance decisions can be haphazard and needlessly loss of mature trees.
CTDOT currently employs two Connecticut-licensed arborists within the Bureau of Highway Operations, and a department spokesperson told CT Examiner that four others on staff are in the process of obtaining a state arborist license. About 60 workers are assigned to tree maintenance.
Wes Haynes, executive director of the Merritt Park Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing and celebrating the National Register and National Scenic Byway told CT Examiner that his group’s relationship with the construction side of the Department of Transportation is cordial and productive, but the maintenance side is another story.
“We don’t work very well with [maintenance] on that,” Haynes said. “Sometimes, they will get their wrist slapped by us and they don’t misbehave for a while and then, all of a sudden, they are back to taking [mature] trees down.”
Haynes said he believes the disconnect between the construction side and the maintenance side might be due to where the money comes from.
“The key is that there is federal money in the construction projects that triggers our participation.” Haynes said. “There is usually not federal money in the maintenance of the parkway and, therefore, maintenance feels they are independent of being good stewards of the parkway.”
Haynes suggested that a lack of funding might encourage a broader-brush approach to highway maintenance.
“They take down trees that they feel have to be taken down, but we do not always agree with them,” Haynes to CT Examiner. “They take them down, I believe, because they are wildly underbudgeted and, so, they get one shot at it. And, they say, ‘Well even if the tree isn’t a problem now it’s going to be a problem in five years, but let’s take it down prematurely now. So, there is no real planning that goes into the maintenance sector. They are pretty independent of the rest of the agency.”
But in emailed answers to questions sent by CT Examiner, the department suggested that what may seem like needless cutting to the untrained eye is necessary for the safety of vehicles on the state’s roadways.
“Dead, diseased and decaying trees must be removed. Trees that have grown into the ‘clear zone,’ which is the safe space along the side of the roadway, are also removed,” department officials explained. “This is to save lives in the event of a crash or vehicle leaving the roadway. A car crashing into a tree is like hitting a brick wall. Seventy-two people died between 2020-2022 due to crashing into a tree or having a tree fall on their vehicle…. Healthy trees are not removed unless they impact the clear zone and roadway safety.”
According to CTDOT, the department’s budget for tree maintenance has increased from $4.9 million in 2018, to $13.5 million last fiscal year and the department has had no difficulties hiring workers or employing sufficient numbers of trained staff.
The department told CT Examiner that its crews and outside contractors supervise, inspect and ensure safety while tree removal projects occur, and a Connecticut-licensed arborist and environmental planner review maintenance projects that involve tree cutting. A licensed arborist is not required to be on-site following initial evaluation, however.
Still, Haynes and others say there is a disconnect and that there needs to be more communication between CTDOT and conservancy and other groups.
Haynes noted that the maintenance division will often attend meetings of the Merritt Parkway Advisory Commission and “sometimes they will mention they are doing tree work and sometimes they do not. It’s completely random.”
JoAnn Messina, who has served as executive director of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy for the last 16 years, told CT Examiner that she’s often found that the maintenance division was uncommunicative as far as the number of trees that are taken down.
Messina estimated that “hundreds” of trees along the highway of I-95, the Merritt Parkway and Route 1 in Greenwich have been removed in the past year.
“They are supposed to talk to the town and the tree warden; but they often talk in generalities,” Messina said. “We need more communication. They need to realize that there is a benefit to having trees for the environment.”
There are currently several tree removal projects that are either currently ongoing or that were recently completed on the Merritt, especially in the Greenwich area, and in western Connecticut on I-84; and along the Route 7 Interstate in Norwalk and New Canaan.
Haynes said he’s hoping the state’s vegetation guidelines can be updated and “that we can get a new state policy that will help us protect the trees that do not need to come down and also to replant the trees that have to come down with new trees.”
Haynes said: “I think these are all fixable problems. We just need a little more enlightenment within the DOT and a little more trust in that we are not just out there to save every tree that is a threat to traffic. We want to keep the character of the parkway and the character of the parkway includes mature trees and young trees.”
Steven Trinkaus, who has a degree in forest management and whose business, Southbury-based Trinkaus Engineering, conducts civil engineering work, told CT Examiner that CTDOT “seems to be doing randomized clearing” of trees, especially near the Newtown and Southbury area along I-84.
Trinkaus said trees, even along the highways, have benefits.
Trees up to 10 years old “sequester about 13 pounds of carbon per year,” said Trinkaus, while trees between 10 and 80 years old, which are what is normal in New England, sequester about 48 pounds of carbon a year.
“That is great for the environment,” he said. “Trees have many benefits in that they provide shade, trees intercept rainfall and they can take in carbon dioxide and give you oxygen back.”
An excerpt from the article regarding the Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission’s discussion of the Central Middle School pre-application on the removal of 1800 trees.
JoAnn Messina, chair of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, said while she understood the importance of student safety, she was concerned about the tree count and the loss of mature tree canopy.
“We do not have a wonderful track record with the Board of Ed,” she said.
Like Mr. Popp, Messina urged that replacement trees be fully budgeted.
“Again, we have history with Greenwich High School, New Lebanon and Hamilton Avenue school that the trees were not planted as approved by a plan. It’s really important that we do that.”
Messina mentioned that if there weren’t enough locations for replacement trees at CMS, they could be planted on other school campuses, which has been done in the past.
The Greenwich Land Trust, in conjunction with the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, holds its “Winter Walk — Identifying Trees without Leaves” guided tour at the new Converse Brook Preserve in Greenwich, Conn., on Tuesday February 7, 2023. On this guided forest walk, visitors were shown ways to look closer at the diverse features of bark, branches, and buds to see a varied winter landscape.
Who would’ve thought that the U.S. Forest Service could fail to see the forest for the trees?
National forests contain over 90 percent of federal mature and old-growth forests. More than three-quarters of this area is open to logging. That is shortsighted. New growth takes decades to reach maturity, and potentially centuries to attain the structural and biological diversity of an old-growth forest. Such harvesting also jeopardizes the stability of endangered species populations and increases wildfire risk.
Climate change makes protecting these areas all the more important. Mature and old-growth forests remove enormous amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. When these forests are logged, much of this carbon returns to the atmosphere, and their carbon removal capacity is lost. Yet, even as the Forest Service seeks public comment to guide new regulations, it intends to open up hundreds of thousands of acres of mature and old-growth forest to logging. To do so would severely harm efforts to combat climate change. The Forest Service must ban logging in mature and old-growth forests.
A climbing vine on a mature tree can be a charming sight, particularly when its flowers are in full bloom or when a bird stops to enjoy a fall berry. The more complicated and disturbing issue is that many of the vines you see are extremely harmful to our trees.
The simplest way to differentiate the good players from the bad players may just be to watch how quickly they grow. Native vines and some ornamental species that are shade tolerant, grow on and around our trees without causing harm. We are also being confronted with a number of non-native species spreading so voraciously they are now becoming monocultures that often smother and kill trees.
Mile-a-minute vine on trees.
You have likely noticed the mats of green covering shrubs and trees in open and disturbed areas along roadways and highways. The most dangerous culprit may be the Mile-a-minute vine, Persicaria perfoliate, an East Asian species first reported in Pennsylvania in the 1930’s found in contaminated nursery soil. It can grow 6 inches in a single day forming a dense tangled blanket of intertwined vines. It takes hold in disturbed areas where sun is able to reach the ground where it wasn’t able to before and continues to spread in contaminated soil found on machinery and along wetlands and stream beds. The situation has become so serious that UCONN is asking you to report its location using this form – https://cipwg.uconn.edu/report-mam/.
Many of these invasive vines were introduced for their larger flowers, longer blooms and berry production and can still be beautiful garden plants. The trouble starts when they break free of these bounds to compete for light, water and space with vines native to our region. Birds disseminate their seeds and, as non-natives, they have no competing species to control their growth.
Take for example American Bittersweet, Celastrus scandens vs. Oriental Bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. American bittersweet is a climbing vine with an attractive autumn fruit of showy orange-red seeds which songbirds eat for fuel on cool fall days. Do not confuse this with Oriental Bittersweet, an ornamental vine introduced in 1879 that can grow 60 feet a year. The weight of mature vines can topple even the largest trees as they wind around trunks in a process known as “girdling” and eventually strangle the tree.
Another culprit is Porcelain berry, also known as Amur Peppervine, Ampelopsis glandulosa, an Asian vine in the grape family with heart shaped leaves once prized for their almost iridescent pink-purple-azure berries. It has been widely planted and is now highly invasive along forest edges and disturbed areas where birds and small mammals enjoy eating the beautiful berries, helping it spread rapidly over long distances. Our southeastern native, Heartleaf Peppervine, Ampelopsis cordata, now found in Connecticut, will not dominate and also features heart shaped leaves with smaller showy white berries that birds like to eat.
And then there are the Ivy’s… and this is not about education. A native you may be all too familiar with and would prefer not to be is Poison Ivy, Toxicodendron radicans. While it readily climbs trees, it rarely causes damage. While birds and other wildlife feast on its berries, it is best left in areas far from patios and paths to avoid unpleasant, and sometimes dangerous, skin irritations. How does something as sweet sounding as English Ivy do so much damage? English Ivy grows along the forest floor as well as up trees and crowds out most all other species. It can be a useful garden ground cover but it knows no boundaries and is an extremely problematic vine now readily seen in wooded areas. CT has recorded a 90-foot-long vine with a 1-foot diameter!
Two others to be on the lookout for are Autumn Clematis, Clematis terniflora, an ornamental introduced in the 1890’s and Kudzu vine, Pueraria montana, the vine that ate the south and now seen in Greenwich.
The stunner of all climbing vine blossoms might be the Wisteria. Connecticut has a native species, American Wisteria, Wisteria frutescens, which does not grow as aggressively as the Japanese, Wisteria floribunda, that twines counterclockwise and Chinese Wisteria, Wisteria sinensis, which twines clockwise. Both have been favored in garden centers for many decades. You can most easily distinguish them by when they bloom as our native Wisteria blooms June – August and the non-natives March -May.
Our trees need us to be more attentive than ever before. We quite naturally see them as part of the green backdrop of our lives. Take a moment to look a bit closer and steward them more thoughtfully so that you can enjoy the many benefits they provide for years to come. Vine identification and removal when necessary is a valuable component of tree care. When you see trees becoming covered in vines; take action. You can make a quick identification using a leaf ID app or speak with your tree care professional.
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy, in partnership with the town of Greenwich, removes vines where possible to protect the health of our town tree canopy and encourages you to care for the trees on your property and in your neighborhood. If we can be of any assistance please reach out at greenwichtreeconservancy@gmail.com
Large Oriental Bittersweet girdling a mature tree.Porcelain berry vine with fall berries.
For the last four years the Greenwich Tree Conservancy has been honoring our chosen treasured trees with a nameplate installed on your winning treasured tree (GTC) that will be added to the Greenwich Tree Conservancy’s roster of Treasured Trees winners, plus a celebratory night when the winning treasured tree will be celebrated with a framed photograph of that treasured tree!
Abigail McCarthy sits beneath her 2022 Third Place winning 100-year plus Norway Spruce on Palmer Hill Road, with its “Harry Potter Whomping Willow scale roots.” Contributed photo.
And what have been some of those winning treasured trees over the years? The American Elm, a Copper Beech, a Horse Chestnut, a Red Tip Photinia, a Katsura, a Sugar Maple, a Colorado Spruce, a Northern Red Oak!
So, do you have a tree that you treasure? Perhaps you’ve just planted one to celebrate an extraordinary person or event, or the birth of a child? Is there one that has guested many a bird or a squirrel’s dray, or offers a favorite climb for your kids, or even is hosting a tree house?
Are you an environmentalist keen on bringing down the level of CO2 in our air? Perhaps you have one of those top carbon-storing trees on your property, a Yellow Poplar or a Silver Maple tree or an Oak tree?
Have you always loved a tree in your neighborhood? The Greenwich Tree Conservancy’s Treasured Trees Program highlights special trees on private properties to create respect for the many beautiful and unique trees to be found throughout our community.
You can love a tree for many reasons: its special history, a memory or story; its magnificent size; its age; its species; its unique shape; its Spring flowers or Fall foliage and more! But seize the moment for the GTC deadline for proposing that treasured tree is this Saturday, July 15 (though the last word is they are accepting entries into next week).
To propose your treasured tree, visit the GTC website at www.greenwichtreeconservancy.org to access your nomination form. Also available online is a list of frequently asked questions. Nominations will be judged by two distinguished arborists. If selected by GTC judges, your tree will have a 5” x 7” nameplate mounted on the trunk of the tree.
And “the winner is” will be celebrated before a crowd of tree lovers at the GTC reception at the Sam Bridge Nursery and Greenhouses to be held on October 26 with the winner receiving that framed photograph of your Treasured Tree of 2023!
“Don’t think of Greenwich as a town with trees in it. Think of Greenwich as a town in a forest.” So spoke former Greenwich Tree Warden Bruce Spaman, who served the Town of Greenwich from 2002 to 2018, when interviewed by Anne Semmes for the Oral History Project in 2019.
Former Greenwich Tree Warden Bruce Spaman beside a 100-year old Sycamore tree. Photo by Anne W. Semmes. Courtesy of Oral History Project.
“If you were to take a bird’s-eye view of Greenwich and then look down on it, you would see that…It truly looks like a town in a forest, although the part of the forest I was managing was just publicly owned trees.”
According to Spaman, Greenwich contains about 1100 acres of parks, including open-space properties, formal parks, and pocket parks. In addition, there are 250 acres of school campuses and 75 acres of athletic turf and fields. Add to that “a forest of street trees that’s probably 650 acres on over 265 miles of town roads. So, that’s a considerable forest that people drive in every day.” That responsibility only adds up to about six percent of the total land area in town.
Spaman’s interests in arboriculture and forestry began early. As a young boy, “I was in Boy Scouts . . . and I was always just out in the woods and on my own. I didn’t know you could make a job out of it.” He graduated with a degree in forestry from Paul Smiths College in Paul Smiths, New York, in the Adirondacks, in 1974. “From there, I just basically got immersed in trees in general, arboriculture doing tree work, learning the climbing, doing all that.” In the early eighties, the field of community forestry started to emerge which “brings together the arboriculture business and the forestry business . . . mostly with regards to managing municipal or town-owned trees.” Spaman worked for over thirty towns in Connecticut before being hired in Greenwich in 2002.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Conte has been highly involved in the Greenwich community for many years. He has previously served on the boards of the Greenwich Land Trust, Greenwich Audubon, and Family Centers Inc, and has extensive leadership experience as president of the board of the Round Hill Association and Greenwich Green & Clean.
