Milestone reached with 200th tree planting
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Matt Callanan showed up expecting to lend a hand, and was quickly recruited as a team leader.
He was among the 100-plus people who helped plant 26 trees at 20 locations throughout the Spa City on Saturday, as part of Sustainable Saratoga’s ongoing Tree Toga project.
The effort, launched in 2014, is held twice annually, in spring and fall. A significant milestone was reached Saturday as the project’s 200th tree took root in Saratoga Springs.
“It’s awesome, it’s a very special thing for us,” said Callanan. “We have a camp up north in Thurman that we’ve enjoyed for a lot of years, and a new owner came in and logged it, basically clear-cutting. This project is the exact opposite.”
In addition to aesthetics, trees fulfill a variety of important functions, said Tom Denny, chair of Sustainable Saratoga’s Urban Forestry Project.
“We think of it as green infrastructure,” said Rick Fenton, a retired state forester.
“Trees intercept rain and keep water out of storm sewers, they filter air pollution and also provide wildlife habitat.”
Denny and Fenton gave volunteers a quick primer on how to plant trees correctly, during a half-hour session outside Stonequist Apartments on South Federal Street. From there, workers split up into groups and took trees and shovels to assigned sites.
One team planted a basswood on the grounds of New England Presbyterian Congregational Church, along Circular Street. It’s the third one in a row there, joining a sycamore and oak that were planted previously as part of Tree Toga.
Environmental stewardship is a high priority for the church. Its southwardfacing roof is covered with large solar panels.
“We’ve been trying to be as green as we can be,” said Gary Johnson, a church member.
Casey Holzworth, a natural resources steward with the state parks department, volunteered to lead the planting effort on church property, assisted by his wife, Kelly, and their 3-year-old son, Arlo, who moved compost in a small plastic wheelbarrow.
Tree Toga trees come from Rare Earth Nursery in Cazenovia, and are paid for with private donations and city Department of Public Works funding. Most are bare-root stock, which are lighter and easier to handle.
But the nursery ran out of these, so a couple of large ball-and-burlap trees were also purchased so Tree Toga could reach its 200 milestone, Holzworth said.
Sunday’s forecast calls for morning showers, with a possible afternoon thunderstorm, which would help newly-planted trees get the moisture they need.
“I can’t believe how dry the ground is,” said Johnson, as he turned over a shovel of dirt. “It’s like a desert.”
All but a few trees planted since 2014 have survived, which Fenton attributed to regular watering by home owners and DPW workers.
Volunteer Jim Cumming said he took part in a beautification project on Broadway during the 1970s.
“Those trees are still there,” he said. “The hole we dug was loaded with oyster shells from oyster bars that used to be there.”
Church member David Wood said marbles, shards of pottery and coal were unearthed during previous tree plantings.
“You never know what you’re going to find,” he said.