We’ve all heard the expression “it takes a village…” and the same sentiments also have application to urban forestry at the grassroots level: successful initiatives require dedication, enthusiasm, and teamwork. As we read here, a small but dedicated cohort of individuals have transformed the state of the local urban forest into a program that demonstrates community pride, spirit, and perhaps most importantly, serves as an example to all of its neighbours. Well done, Northampton! - RWH
“The pin oak trees in front of Forbes Library are what drew me to Northampton,” Lilly Lombard says, “I thought to myself, ‘I want to live in a place with trees like these and a library like this.’” Although, since her move to the vibrant western Massachusetts community 16 years ago, these trees have declined and been removed, Lombard draws inspiration from the municipal forestry program that has gradually emerged over the same period. This new program made it possible for Lombard and 20 other volunteers to plant a new stand of Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak) at Forbes Library (Fig.1), and engage in dozens of other volunteer opportunities each year to grow Northampton’s tree canopy.
Presently, the city of Northampton, Massachusetts boasts over 11,000 public shade trees, valued at a total of $16 million and providing $1.3 million in yearly energy savings, carbon sequestration, stormwater mitigation, and property value enhancement. Over 100 dedicated volunteers help plant nearly 300 public trees each year.
But of course, Rome was not built in a day. Lombard paints a picture of Northampton circa 2014: no tree warden, no forestry budget, a declining canopy, and a reactive approach to planting and care. The state of the urban forest was especially jarring when compared to the early 20th century, when trees generously adorned the streets. The onset of Dutch Elm Disease prompted the city to remove over 200 elm trees each year in the 1950s; this accounted for much of the urban canopy, which steadily continued its decline into the early years of the 21st century.
Lombard proceeded to meet with the Mayor and every member of City Council, presenting data she had compiled to call attention to these shortcomings, their consequences, and possible solutions. She frequently visited other municipalities to learn about their effective urban forestry policies and programs, even traveling as far as Toronto, Canada. Inspired especially by the neighboring town of Amherst, she aimed to persuade Northampton to appoint a tree warden, conduct a baseline community tree inventory, develop a strategic planting plan, and allocate funds for a proper budget. In four years her vision came to life.
And just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, it surely was not built alone. Lombard cites the emergence in 2013 of a group of tree-planting “super volunteers” (later forming the non-profit Tree Northampton) that renewed citizen interest in trees, followed by a successful citizen-led sample tree inventory (Fig.2) in 2014 which became the spark that finally lit the fire. Shortly thereafter, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz appointed Rich Parasiliti to be the city’s tree warden and created the Northampton Public Shade Tree Commission. Parasiliti applies his background as a certified arborist in his new role as the Director of Forest Operations in the Department of Public Works’ (DPW), to apply the necessary resources needed to encourage the success of Northampton’s urban forest (Fig.3). The Public Shade Tree Commission, which Lombard chairs, consists of seven multidisciplinary professionals and helps to advise Parasiliti and Mayor Narkewicz in planning and forming policies to ensure the public shade trees’ protection and promotion. It meets twice a month -- more frequently than most city commissions -- and acts as a liaison for the city’s residents and businesses, receiving and working to accommodate their questions, concerns, opinions, and other input.
To provide further aid is Tree Northampton, now a thriving 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that collaborates with Parasiliti and the Commission. This volunteer-based group (Fig.4) serves as ecological stewards, not only planting trees, but educating, advocating, and engaging city residents.
Together, Parasiliti, the Commission, and Tree Northampton have made great strides in these past four years. With a $30,000 grant from the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation, Northampton hired Davey Resource Group in 2016 to complete a full inventory of its trees. This provided the city with information concerning the current urban tree canopy composition, health, and value, as well as identified 2,000 potential future planting sites. These results made it possible to plan and employ data-driven, effective management strategies; the team recently completed a 5-year plan in which they specify “priority zones” for planting. These priority zones include addressing downtown heat islands, environmental justice neighborhoods, areas with heavy car or foot traffic, public parking lots, and areas close to community centers, all of which maximize the benefits a shade tree can provide. They also published a comprehensive Tree List and Planting Guide to inform both public and private plantings.
Northampton itself has increasingly become a location where professionals in the tree care industry also come together to expand their network and increase their capacity as professionals. At the seasonal dinner meetings of the Western Chapter of the MA Tree Wardens & Foresters Association, 40 tree care professionals from central and western MA receive updates concerning pest activities and urban forest health, as well as learn about new strategies for managing urban trees. Northampton has also worked closely with the state-wide Tree Wardens & Foresters Association to host a recent urban tree planting program, as part of their Professional Development Series (PDS).
Even a successful community-based urban tree management program, however, faces its own assortment of trials. Lombard laid out three of Northampton’s challenges: The first is limited nursery stock. There is a finite amount of species that tolerate tough urban conditions, and limited supply makes finding and planting 300 well-suited trees each year a difficult task. To address this challenge, the city is sourcing bare root stock in upstate New York, as well as exploring the creation of a municipal nursery. The second challenge is coordinating with the city’s planning department, and getting to the planning table at the earliest possible stage so that trees are deliberately and thoughtfully integrated into street design, redesign and construction. In a recent city planning process related to climate change preparedness, Parasiliti became part of the core planning team, suggesting the city’s growing appreciation of the central role shade trees play in resilience-building. The third challenge is the MA Department of Transportation “Complete Streets” guidelines, created to promote safe and convenient multi-modal travel routes within communities. Lombard remarked that street trees are rarely featured in these guidelines, and that, sadly, the expansion of streets to accommodate bike lanes, or the installation or widening of sidewalks, sometimes compromise the space that public shade trees can utilize. Lombard suggests this is a state-wide challenge that may require the coordinated advocacy of many municipal tree commissions and tree wardens.
Challenges aside, Lombard expresses great hope for the future. Northampton just successfully piloted its Neighborhood Tree Planting Program in which neighborhoods that self-organize and provide volunteer planters can be selected to receive support for the intense planting of up to 25 street trees. Plans to use structural soil and porous pavement for difficult downtown plantings are on the drawing board, pending resource availability. The recent creation of the Division of Forestry, Parks, and Cemetery within Northampton’s DPW indicates that the city has fully institutionalized its commitment to urban forestry. All signs point to the transition from reactive to proactive tree care.
The rapidly growing level of citizen interest may provide the most hope. The 100+ volunteers who have helped restore and grow the urban canopy demonstrate that care and appreciation for Northampton’s public shade trees are now part of the city’s culture. Many of these eager individuals were recruited as a result of a door-to-door community-wide recruitment campaign that started in 2013 by Rob Postel, himself a dedicated and passionate volunteer.
Northampton’s website describes its ambitious mission to create, “A tree canopy that supports Northampton's goals of public health, beautification, and economic and environmental sustainability, and resilience in the face of climate change.” Between the city’s willingness to review past practices and policies, to make institutional and budgetary changes to support a comprehensive forestry program, and to collaborate with citizen volunteers, Northampton’s forestry program appears to be well on its way to fulfilling this mission.
Ashley McElhinney and Rick Harper, Dept. of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst
