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Date: 1/25/2022
AMHERST – The Public Shade Tree Committee is looking for community input on areas of town to target for planting with warm weather around the corner.
Acting Chair Henry Lappen said the committee is always looking for input, but at the moment they are looking specifically for locations in town that may be in need for new street trees.
Meeting every second Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m., the committee has been focused on making the necessary actions to incorporate more trees in town while also working to educate the community on the importance of trees for the environment.
“Streets without trees can be more than 10 degrees hotter than streets with trees, so with climate change, having a nice shade canopy over the road and sidewalk is crucial,” Lappen said.
Lappen says the process for deciding where to plant has a few factors that play into the decision. He elaborated saying it’s a combination of the tree warden’s thoughts on what is needed, what the committee is considering for places where trees would be useful, and sometimes just from receiving comments from the public saying their neighborhood needs new trees.
Lappen also mentioned how the committee has worked with state Sen. Jo Comerford and state Rep. Mindy Domb to try and change some of the state laws to encourage trees and protect them more.
“We’ve reached out to them to explain bills that would really help treat trees,” Lappen said. “We’re lucky to have representatives and senators here that are pretty responsive to us, not all parts of Massachusetts are that way.”
Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 87, passed in the late 1890s, is the biggest law governing public shade trees as it outlines powers of the tree warden, procedures for planting and removal of trees, and penalties for violating provisions of the law. Lappen described one example of an area within the law that he says it outdated and one of the reasons to try and rework the language within it.
“It [MGL Chapter 87] needs some updating, it was done 100 years ago. For instance, if you damage a tree with your horse, you have to pay, but if you crash into it with a truck, that’s not in the law because trucks didn’t exist when the law was first passed. Things like that we are trying to update,” Lappen said.
The Shade Tree Committee typical orders their resources for planting through the town and typically receive planting materials from Amherst Nurseries. Lappen added that the trees they plant are local.
While the committee meets once a month already, starting in March they will be meeting every second Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. until noon for either plantings or workdays in preparing an area for future plantings. The season for preparation and planting lasts from March to November, according to Lappen.
“Nowadays with new climate we can’t plant in the middle of the summer because it’s too dry and too hot. We’ll do workdays in the summer,” Lappen said.
Meetings for the Shade Tree committee are open to the public and those who wish to give input can email shadetreecmt@gmail.com. Lappen added that there is an open seat on the committee if someone wishes to join and interested parties can email the committee or reach out via their page on the town website.