Lynnfield earns Arbor Day Foundation’s Prestigious GROWTH AWARD.
Since 1970 when the last Friday of April was first proclaimed “National Arbor Day,” Massachusetts has recognized this as a special day to be set aside and dedicated to tree planting and increasing awareness of the importance of trees. Every year the National Arbor Day Foundation inspires communities who “plant, nurture and celebrate trees” by honoring those which are meritorious with Tree City Awards. We are proud to announce that in 2020 Lynnfield was both designated a Tree City and earned the prestigious Foundation’s Growth Award.
While Lynnfield has been designated a Tree City for over ten years, it is the first time that Lynnfield was chosen for the Growth Award. The Tree City USA Growth Award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate higher levels of tree care and community engagement during the calendar year.
In 2020 due to the pandemic, the Tree Committee thought it more important than ever for people to establish a better connection with Nature. We created Tree-O-Cache, a geocaching contest; where participants located up to six tree locations around town, which allowed for social distancing, was family oriented, and taught us about trees. In addition, a tree inventory created by Jacob MacPherson for his Eagle Scout Badge encompassed the main roads from a wide area around the center of town. Every tree was identified, measured, appraised for health, and GPS located for entering into a digital database. This catalog of information is shared with Conservation and the Department of Public Works for use to determine future planting and assessing our tree canopy.
Spring is the time to focus on our connection to trees as we eagerly anticipate the budding and greening of Lynnfield and think about planting new life in our yards and community. The Tree Committee wants to help everyone to blossom with our new 1000 Trees Project. Join us in this exciting community-based undertaking to plant 1000 trees in Lynnfield. Start by visiting our website, www.lynnfieldtreecommittee.org, for all the information you need. There you will learn why planting trees is important, how to choose the right tree and placement, receive recommendations for native trees to plant, and how to plant and take care of them. Help us track the project’s progress by registering your new tree and enter into a drawing to win a Rain Barrel. If you want a tree planted by the street, contact the DPW office 781-334-9500. Every week we will highlight a different tree and post to the website’s Home page. If you would like to submit a tree in your front yard for us to feature as our Tree of the Week please email lynnfieldtreecommittee@gmail.com or contact us through Facebook, and you may win a free gift.
The Tree Committee’s goals are to provide stewardship, education and advocacy to promote and foster an awareness of and appreciation for our town's natural tree resources. The whole community earned these Arbor Day Foundation awards. Please participate in planting another generation of trees.