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ReTree Schenectady
Contact Information
Betsy Henry
bhenry01@nycap.rr.com
Stan Hickok
stanh6@verizon.net
Mission Statement
ReTree Schenectady is a non-profit
organization dedicated to the planting, care, and
conservation of current and future generations of trees in
the City of Schenectady. Our goals are achieved by
fostering community involvement through education and
collaboration with local organizations and businesses.
History
ReTree Schenectady was founded in 1991 by
concerned
citizens of Schenectady, New York. The group
was motivated by the rising loss of trees in Schenectady due
to aging, disease, or injury. Schenectady had (and
continues to have) limited funds for maintaining its urban
forest and discontinued its municipal tree planting program
in the 1980s.
Since its founding in 1991, ReTree
Schenectady has facilitated the planting of over 3,000
trees, trained volunteers to plant and maintain trees,
participated in community events to educate the public
regarding tree planting and care, and developed a Tree
Master Plan for the City of Schenectady. ReTree Schenectady
has worked closely with the City of Schenectady,
particularly with the Parks Department, the Public Works
Department, and the Department of Neighborhood
Revitalization. Alliances with other local organizations
such as Schenectady 2000, Union College, Schenectady High
School, the Boy Scouts, several churches, the General
Electric Elfuns (a service organization), and numerous
neighborhood associations have helped tremendously.
In 1998, ReTree Schenectady received a
JCPenney Golden Rule Award for exceptional volunteer
service. In 2002, the City Council of the City of
Schenectady issued a resolution congratulating ReTree
Schenectady on its tenth anniversary and acknowledging its
continued efforts to make the city a better place to live.
The City Council has also issued annual Arbor Day
resolutions since 2004, recognizing our efforts on behalf of
Schenectady’s trees.
Neighborhood Tree Project
Neighborhood Tree Project involves planting
bare-root trees on thoroughfares, in parks, and in
neighborhoods with the assistance of neighborhood residents
and other community volunteers.
On
planting days in April and October, City staff deliver trees
and mulch to the planting sites and ReTree Schenectady
planting coordinators demonstrate and then supervise proper
tree planting technique. Neighborhood residents and other
community volunteers plant the trees. Tree recipients are
shown how to maintain the trees and, in the spring, receive
an informational flyer reminding them how to water the
trees. ReTree Schenectady tracks viability of the trees
through the growing season and beyond.
Each year,
ReTree Schenectady plants over 100 bare-root trees and has
planted over 1,500 bare-root trees since 1999.
Funding
ReTree Schenectady is supported by the City
of Schenectady, National Grid (through its 10,000 Tree and
Growing Program), urban and community forestry grants from
NYSDEC, and private donations.
Volunteer Opportunities
·
Tree planters on planting days in April and
October
·
Planting supervisors on planting days
·
Board members to plan and implement plans
If you want a tree:
Contact Betsy or Stan (contact info at top of
page). We’ll assess your site and work you into our plans.
Tree recipients are expected to assist on
planting day with digging and/or watering, water trees
regularly through the growing season, maintain mulch, and
protect trees from injury.
We encourage you to help organize a block
planting and get your neighbors involved.
Recommended Tree Species
ReTree Schenectady has been planting
bare-root trees in Schenectady since 1999 and has identified
numerous species that can be reliably planted in the city.
The trees are also recommended by the Urban Horticulture
Institute at Cornell University for bare-root planting in
urban environments. ReTree Schenectady is committed to
increasing the diversity of trees in the urban forest and to
using native trees, when appropriate and available. The
standard size for bare-root planting is 1 ¾” caliper,
although occasionally 1 ½” or 2” caliper trees are planted.
For underwire situations, trees of mature
size less than 30 feet are planted. These shorter trees
include:
Acer campestre
(hedge maple)
Acer truncatum
(Shantung maple)
Amelanchier
sp. (serviceberry)
Cercis canadensis
(eastern redbud)
Crataegus
sp. (hawthorn)
Prunus
‘Accolade’ (flowering cherry)
Prunus virginiana
‘Canada Red’ (Canada Red chokecherry)
Syringa reticulata
(Japanese tree lilac)
Larger trees are planted where utility wires
are not present and are selected based on amount of space
available as well as aesthetics. These larger trees
include:
Cercidiphyllum japonicum
(Katsuratree)
Gingko biloba
(gingko)
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
(honeylocust)
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
(Dawn redwood)
Platanus x acerifolia
(London Planetree)
Pyrus calleryana
(flowering pear)
Tilia cordata
(little-leaf linden)
Tilia x euchlora
(Crimean linden)
Ulmus x
sp. (elm hybrids)
Zelkova serrata
(Japanese zelkova)
Schenectady has an abundance of maples
(silver and Norway, in particular) so we try to minimize
maple planting. Green and white ashes have excellent
survival rates; however, with the expected arrival of the
emerald ash borer, ReTree Schenectady is limiting ash
plantings.
Tree Maintenance
Bare-root trees have many advantages (i.e.,
low cost, wider range of available species, ease in
planting) but one major short-term disadvantage. They are
susceptible to drought. Short-term maintenance activities
therefore involve providing a gator to each “tree owner” to
ensure that trees are watered sufficiently in their first
season (and, in some cases, their second season) after
planting, training owners on use of the gator, and checking
up on tree status through the season to ensure that watering
is occurring. Gators are sturdy nylon bags that are placed
around the base of the tree, filled with water. They supply
20 gallons of water per tree over a several hour period,
thereby ensuring deep infiltration.
Planting and watering through the first
season are only the first steps towards ensuring longevity
of the urban forest. Maintenance is an ongoing obligation
that requires a well-defined plan for long-term success.
Long-term maintenance primarily involves pruning. The
bare-root trees are relatively small and require “limbing
up” or “raising” of the branches and, in some cases,
training (e.g., selection of main leader, thinning) within
3-5 years of planting. ReTree Schenectady volunteers visit
each tree within three years of planting to assess the need
for pruning, and to implement pruning, if required.
ReTree Schenectady relies on technical advice
on tree planting and maintenance from the local Cornell
Cooperative Extension agent, the Urban Horticulture
Institute at Cornell University (where bare-root tree
planting in urban environments was developed and refined),
and the local urban forester from New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation.
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