By Julia Barcello
“We want to keep the Green in Greenwich” expressed Fred Camillo Thursday afternoon when discussing The Greenscape Project. The project will result in a transformed Route 1 with additional trees. The goal of this project is to protect Greenwich’s natural beauty and sustainability.
The Greenscape Task Force is a group which works to preserve Greenwich’s natural beauty by improving parts of Greenwich through the addition of greenery. The Task Force includes members of the Architectural Review Committee, the Town Tree Warden, Greenwich Tree Conservancy, the Conservation Department, the Department of Public Works, and town residents.
The Task Force began the project to plant trees along Route 1 approximately two and a half years ago to transform the road into a gorgeous route lined with greenery. The plan was first proposed in the Town’s 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development. The group of advocates aiming to keep Greenwich green has been walking the entirety of Route 1 marking locations for the addition of 500 trees. The Department of Public Works has verified that each tree location meets the town highway and safety standards, and will not interfere with traffic- including during the construction.
Awaiting state and Representative Town Meeting (RTM) approval, the planting of these trees will begin along the west side of Route 1 on the Port Chester/Greenwich Border and end just off of Hassake Road in Old Greenwich. The timing of when trees will be planted is based on their type, some will be planted during the Spring of 2022, and others will be planted beginning in October of 2022. The Greenscape Task Force will be funding all landscaping, “to make this a tree-line boulevard” according to Executive Director of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, JoAnn Messina.
Members of Greenwich can now look forward to driving through this tree-lined boulevard, and many more projects to come that conserve the town’s natural charm and beauty. The group hopes to continue with more projects preserving Greenwich’s ethereal beauty in the future, “with projects like this, once you do one, there will be other opportunities to do more” stated Jacalyn Pruitt from the Planning and Zoning Department.
This article was featured in the Greenwich Sentinel at https://www.greenwichsentinel.com/2022/06/03/the-greenscape-project/