Introduction
Are there empty spaces on the berms in your neighborhood where street trees formerly provided shade and beauty? Would you like to work with your neighbors and the Newton Tree Conservancy (NTC) to plant new trees? Then organize your neighbors and ask them to submit an application to our Community Tree Planting program! You can submit your application now or at any time to establish the group name, then give your neighbors a link to this web page and have them use that group name when they submit their information.
Contributions from NTC members and the community, and grants from Newton Community Pride’s Stella and Leo Levi Tree Endowment Fund, have enabled the NTC to plant over 2,000 trees since it was founded in 2008. We currently have the logistical capability to plant about 300 trees per year (150 Spring, 150 Fall), but keeping up this pace is dependent on adequate funding from memberships and other contributions.
In order to plant where the need for trees is greatest, and for logistical reasons, the NTC plants in groups of eight or more trees where five or more homeowners, in relatively close proximity, have one or more empty spots.
Each neighborhood group will consist of the Planting Group Leader and other homeowners who are tree recipients. Planting Group Leaders can also be tree recipients.
The leader will contact homeowners within a range of a few blocks to ask if they want a tree, organize the participants and manage the group planting, and function as the primary contact for the NTC director who will be assigned to work with that neighborhood group.
Contact information is required for all participants, including the leader and homeowners in a planting group.
Requirements
Please review the commitments below to which Planting Group Leaders and tree recipients must agree. If you have any questions, please reach out to the NTC (newtontreeconservancy@gmail.com) for clarification.
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Contact owners of all potential planting locations within a range of a few blocks to ask if they want a tree, and to ensure that no one is left out from the Community Tree Planting application. Once homeowners who want trees are identified, start, complete and submit your application form by clicking the Start Your Application button below.
As the leader, when you fill out your application, you will choose a name for your group. Typically, groups are named based on the name of the street where the majority of trees in the group will be planted. Because Newton includes many roads that use the same street name, its best to qualify the street name with its full, not abbreviated, suffix (Avenue, Street, Road, etc.). For example, specify "Maple Street" as the group name, not just "Maple". You will provide this name to the tree recipients in your group along with a link to this web page. They will enter the group name when they complete and submit their application forms. Alternatively, you may prefill the group name in the link you send them as shown below:
www.newtontreeconservancy.org/plantings?group_name=Maple Street
You would replace "Maple Street" with the name of your group.
If you are unable to contact homeowners directly, either in-person or electronically, leave a printed copy of the Dear Neighbor Letter with those homeowners. A generic version of this letter is available by clicking the Download Dear Neighbor Letter button below. Be sure to include your name and contact information on the letter so homeowners can contact you.
Ensure that individuals in your group understand and agree to the tree care commitment.
Meet with the NTC director assigned to your group and applicants during the review of specific planting sites.
Keep an eye on all trees planted to make sure they are being watered, weeded, and mulched. All three are important to the trees developing a healthy root system in their new locations.
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Start, complete and submit your application form by clicking the Start Your Application button below. When completing your application specify the group name the leader provided you. It is important that all members of the group specify the designated group name.
Be prepared to help plant (or have a friend or relative help) all of your group’s trees until all trees have been planted on planting day. (Note: helping does not necessarily require digging; it may be holding the tree, watching to ensure it remains straight during the planting process, or watering).
Provide water (via a hose long enough to reach the planting site) for use during the planting process. You can connect two hoses together.
Water your tree by filling the irrigation bag that will be provided with each tree, once per week for two years (or more often in hot, dry weather) from April to November.
If you, or your neighbor go away on vacation, coordinate to ensure trees are watered.
Keep the area 3 feet on each side of the trunk mulched and free of weeds and other vegetation to ensure the tree is not competing for water, and that the trunk or irrigation bag is not damaged by string trimmers or lawnmowers. (Note: This applies for the life of the tree, not just the two-year watering period.)
Keep trash and recycling containers an ample distance from your tree to ensure the robot arms do not hit the trunk and the containers do not brush branches when they are set down.
Notify your Planting Group Leader and the NTC (newtontreeconservancy@gmail.com) of any problems such as missing or non-draining irrigation bags, broken branches or tree health issues. Notify the NTC if your contact information changes, or if house ownership changes, as we send periodic emails regarding watering and other tree health issues.
Once the set of applications for a planting group is complete, the NTC director assigned to your group will review tree locations with you and the other tree recipients.
Upcoming Community Tree Plantings
The NTC is now accepting applications for our Fall 2024 Community Tree Plantings. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2024. Planting Day will be the morning of November 16, 2024. That morning, someone from each planting location will be required to be present to help and to resolve questions. Applications received after the deadline will be considered for subsequent plantings.
Application Deadline
June 30, 2024
Planting Day
November 16, 2024
If you would like to invite others to register to be tree recipients, please forward a link to this page. Also, if you would like them to join a specific tree planting group, include the name of the group (see the above instructions for naming convention, such as "Maple Street") in your invitation.
Additional Information
Tree species will be selected in consultation with Newton’s Director of Urban Forestry, Marc Welch, taking into consideration the presence or absence of utility wires and other location factors, and availability of species when ordering. Our policy is to plant varieties that will grow the largest in the available planting spots to maximize Newton’s future tree canopy. Species most frequently planted under utility wires include serviceberry, crabapple, Amur maackia, tree lilac, and cherry. Where wires are not present, we have planted swamp white oak, red oak, linden, London plane trees, and both hybrid and disease-resistant American elms. When available, other species have included hornbeam, hophornbeam, Kentucky coffee tree, Turkish filbert, Worplesdon sweetgum and mountain ash.
In order to plant as many trees as possible with limited funds and people, we ask that each group provide one planter/helper per property on planting day. Please note that while some digging ability is helpful, the Forestry staff will pre-dig the holes, so most of the hard work will already be done. Other non-strenuous jobs are holding the trees upright and spotting to make sure they are straight as the hole is filled. Bare-root trees are not heavy and are very easy to plant.
Also please note that the planter-helper and the caretaker (person who will water and weed the tree) do not have to be the resident/owner. If you have elderly neighbors who would like a tree but are not up to physical participation, or absentee landlords, we encourage the group to ask for the participation of other neighbors to help with the work. Having neighbors as backup to water will also be helpful during vacation absences.