Southie’s Much Needed “Tree-LC”

Strangled street tree (credit D.Warner)

On Saturday October 8^th, residents of South Boston met on West 2^nd Street with a mission: to save street trees.
West 2nd Street divides a neighborhood in the midst of a transition. Newly renovated apartment buildings line one side of the street while the other side harbors vacant commercial space and gated lots. A quick glance down the street is all the proof you need to know that some trees are better off than others. Trees adjacent to the vacant lots were being strangled by the cables and stakes left there from their initial planting. Normally, they serve as temporary fixtures to keep the tree growing upright, however they were never removed and began to cause structural damage.

Trees after a bit of TLC (credit D.Warner)

Southie Trees group members knew that something had to be done. With the help of David Warner from Warner Larson Landscape Architects, Southie Trees organized a volunteer effort to improve the lives of the trees as well as the look of the neighborhood.

Residents met that morning to cut cables and remove tree stakes from the ground. Tree pits got a face-lift as well with weed and trash removal followed by a layer of fresh mulch. Boston Parks and Recreation collected the stakes and tree branches after the event and weeds were taken by Public Works for use as compost. In addition to improving the trees’ living space, volunteers went door-to-door to inform West 2nd Street residents about the need for community involvement in tree care. Because Parks and Recreation has very little manpower, trees need Southie residents to lend a helping hand whenever possible. Southie Trees will be organizing more tree rescue efforts in the future to raise awareness about the need for tree maintenance and show that healthy street trees can help build pride in the community we live in.

Special thanks to David Warner, Mike Garda of Garda Nee Land Improvement and Bill Gleason (WBNA) for tools and equipment, reporter Pat Rosso for covering our story, and Andrew Hutcheson and Tim Strain for capturing our effort on camera.
Together, we can improve Boston’s green scene.

Check out Pat Rosso’s article on Boston.com here!