April 22, 2018
Issue No. 16
www.westsidenewsny.com
NORTH EDITION
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Hilton-Parma
Brockport’s Arbor Day: Planning, Planting and Politics by Doug Hickerson
conducting a computer inventory of village trees and revising the Village’s trees and vegetation ordinances. All his suggestions have been accomplished with the Tree Board (see membership side bar) started in 2005 and the first Arbor Day held that same year. The “Tree City, U.S.A.” status was awarded in 2009 and each year since. Jo Matela, Mayor of Brockport and working with Beckwith at the time, reflected, “We (village officials) saw the need to have a comprehensive plan for tree management, including an inventory of the trees,” referring to planned caring for and replacement of trees. Adding about the urban forest success to date, she said, “We have seen many benefits from this program in terms of sustainability and the beautification of our village.”
The Village of Brockport will celebrate its 14th Arbor Day on Friday, April 27. The tree-planting event, begun in 2005, annually involves a variety of community citizens, and public school and college students to propagate the population of municipal trees called an “urban forest”. This year, the planting will take place at 260 State Street at the front of Allied Frozen Storage. It starts at 10 a.m. with an opening informal ceremony featuring Brockport’s celebrated world-renowned poet, William Heyen. Live music and refreshments also are offered. Then, volunteers will be instructed on digging and planting 15 trees. The work is scheduled to end at Noon. All are welcome to join in. Dress for digging, rain or shine. Shovels are provided by the college facilities crew, Brockport Arbor Days usually enough for everyone. Bring one if Planning and Funding The overall plan for Arbor Day plantings is you can. The location of the planting is a change to place new trees where there are “blank in the intended location for this year. spaces in the village,” according to the Planting usually occurs on Village streets, mayor. “We had about 700 blank tree spaces but the change was prompted by the Canal in village when first put them on a data Corporation’s clear-cutting of trees on the base in 2006. We have planted more than north bank of the canal across from Allied 300 trees since then,” she said. “We still Storage. Residents on that side are now have 700 because there are always older exposed to the Allied building, its loading trees that must come down.” (See planting docks and lights, instead of seeing trees locations side bar on page 2.) Each year basic “grass roots” donations behind their houses. Another departure from the norm is planting cedar trees, for the Tree Board raise around $400 in which are green year-round, instead of the collection jars placed in various stores and businesses in Brockport. usual deciduous trees. author, advocate Over time, the 15 sevenBrockport Tree Board Members And, and founder of Celebrafoot Eastern Red cedars tion Forest, Lori Short should improve the view •Melissa Brown (Chair) •Merrill Melnick (Vice Chair) Staubitz, has supported for residents. the Tree Board’s work. The clear-cutting by •Chris Collier (Secretary) She has contributed the the New York Canal •Dan Verace (DPW rep.) proceeds from the sale of Corporation, on the face •Tim Kewin her children’s book, ‘Little of it, appears to be in •Priya Banerjee Nut,’ at the Lift Bridge direct conflict with the •Kathy Goetz •Virginia Scime Book Shop in Brockport, goals of sustaining an •Anthony Scime Morgan-Manning House, urban forest. The con- •Consultant Rick Lair (SUNY rep.) and at the Arbor Day site. troversy will be covered •Ex-officio (founding member) Jo Matela “She gave over $500 to the later in this article. Tree Board in 2017 from those sales,” Mayor Blackman said grateThe beginning: Arbor Day has roots fully. Celebration Forest held promotional in college-community collaboration In 2005, while a professor of Anthropology events in advance of this year’s Arbor Day at the College at Brockport, Mayor Margay to support the urban forest cause. The Tree Board’s modest line item in the Blackman, Ph.D., was approached by one of her student majors, Mark Beckwith, Village budget was cut in the 2010-11 budabout an internship. He loved forestry, so get. That year $4,000 had to be raised for Blackman recommended he pursue “urban the planting. Starting in 2006 most of the forestry” in the Village, mixing trees with plantings were covered by grants from the Department of Environmental Conservapeople and more suitable to his major. Intern Beckwith surveyed other munici- tion, augmented by personal donations. A three-year grant in 2014 to plant 67 palities and suggested establishing a Village Tree Board and becoming a “Tree City trees on the South Avenue extension was USA,” a designation given by the National completed in 2017. A 2017 grant applicaArbor Day Foundation. He also suggested tion for planting on Holley Street was re-
Rick Lair gives instructions to college students on the second annual Arbor Day, 2006, on Monroe Avenue. Background reveals other planting activity by more students. Lair was head of Facilities Maintenance at The College at Brockport (retired 2017) and continues as an ex-officio member of the Tree Board. Provided photo. jected. It will be tweaked, the mayor said, and resubmitted in 2018. The very ambitious application would cover: 1) the tree planting; 2) updating the Tree Board web site; 3) a photo gallery of trees to showcase the types of trees we have; 4) a village “tree walk” brochure, and 5) tree pruning workshops for the DPW and for citizens. Trees are “political” “Trees are inherently political,” Mayor Blackman said. She referred to the citizen protests that occurred on the second Arbor Day and on the recent clear-cutting of trees on the canal bank. •Protesting the planting. For Mayor Blackman, the first conflict occurred on the Arbor Day 2006 on Monroe Avenue. At two locations on the street, one building owner called the mayor before the planting and threatened to destroy the tree if planted; the other tried to stop it in progress. She stopped the planting, respecting the citizens’ demands.
•Protesting the cutting. Recently, some Brockport citizens living near the canal have protested the clear-cutting of trees on the embankment. It is a project of the New York State Canal Corporation now under the authority of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), claiming the trees threaten the stability of the canal bank and create a safety hazard. In this case Mayor Blackman sided with NYPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the engineering firm that conducted the study of the canal’s embankments and concluded that “trees do not belong on earthen dams (embankments).” However, she publicly disagreed with the Canal Corporation on the implementation of their plan, calling it “a public relations disaster,” lacking clear communication and advance consultation with residents who would be affected.
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Earth Day international, April 22, began in 1970 to honor the earth. • Arbor Day international, April 27, began in 1983 to encourage tree planting.