Norfolk Reporter

Mayor Thomas Koch announced that the City of Quincy is receiving two grants totaling $130,000 from the State to assist with neighborhood tree-planting, watering of new trees, and expanding tree-pits. This grant will augment the $400,000 Mayor Koch has dedicated to street-tree planting in the municipal operating budget. The grants is from the Greening the Gateways Grant Program.

“Our city and its neighborhoods are defined by its tree-lined streets; it’s what separates Quincy from other cities our size,” said Mayor Koch. “I appreciate the State contributing to our efforts to continue to grow our urban forest. It is critically important in our changing world that we prioritize tree-planting and tree maintenance. This grant will add to our efforts to plant over 500 new trees in the upcoming year.”

Quincy has planted more than 2,500 trees in the past five years. Through its partnership with the DCR and the Greening the Gateways Tree Planting program, the new tree-planting number is close to 4,000.

The Department of Natural Resources has developed a “right tree, right place” planting policy that increases a new tree’s likelihood of success. Project Manager/Urban Forester Mike Casinelli selects each planting location and matches an appropriate species based on a variety of factors to include utility interference, biodiversity, planting areas, and other factors. Soil augmentation has also been added to the City’s bid specifications to provide new trees the nutrients needed to thrive. The City has also extended the warrantee required from contractors for new trees and placed heavy emphasis on new-tree watering.

“I want to thank Mayor Koch for his relentless support for tree-planting in our city,” said Commissioner of Natural Resources Dave Murphy. “Planting trees is a great investment in the future of our city. Our trees provide cleaner air, help with cooling in the summer months, help manage stormwater, provide habitat, increase property values, and are aesthetically wonderful for our neighborhoods. I want to thank Mike Casinelli for his work on this grant and all of our tree-planting efforts.” 

Original source can be found here.