Welcome to ReGreen Springfield!
Welcome to visiting the ReGreen Springfield initiative website. This site provides a path to information, resources and advice related to planting trees in the city, in response to the devastating weather events of 2011, as well as improving the overall quality and sustainability of Springfield’s urban forest.
Recent events, including the June 2011 tornado, and the October 2011 snowstorm, have created a great opportunity to apply the latest knowledge and professional practices of urban forestry to ensure healthy and vigorous trees will once again line the streets of the neighborhoods affected. With your help, Springfield will be able to regreen the devastated neighborhoods and restore its urban forest canopy.
Please join ReGreen Springfield in this reforestation effort by planting a tree in your own yard, helping to plant trees along our streets and in our parks, or donate your time or funds to neighborhood regreening efforts. With your help, Springfield’s urban forest will be restored… one tree at a time.
Please take some time to explore the website and check back often to keep up to date with the latest news, information and volunteer opportunities.
City Forester Ed Casey (right) teaches students at Elias Brookings School about the importance of trees.
Students at the Elias Brookings school showed their commitment to the environment by celebrating Arbor Day on Friday April 27th. Students in the fifth grade classes performed songs and dressed up as trees to show their appreciation for the many benefits that trees bring to our community. Joining principal Terry Powe were Alan Ingram, Superintendent of Springfield Schools, Densie Jordan, Chief of Staff for Mayor Domenic Sarno, and representatives from Congressmen Richard Neal’s offices. Ed Casey, City Forester, was on hand to teach the students about the importance of trees and to plant a tree at the school building. After the program, the students went outside to help plant the horsechestnut tree. Mr. Casey also gave every student at the school a white pine seedling to take home and plant. To learn more about Arbor Day visit the Arbor Day Foundation website at: http://www.arborday.org/arborday/
Ever wonder if the Robins nesting in your backyard were the same birds nesting there last year? If they were color banded, then you would know. Amazingly, many birds breed in the same place year after year. Would you like to help scientists answer important questions about birds in your own backyard?
The US Forest Service Northern Research Station based at the University of Massachusetts is joining forces with the Smithsonian Institution to bring their signature Neighborhood Nestwatch citizen science program to Springfield, MA. Urban sprawl is destroying wildlife habitat at an unprecedented rate, adversely impacting birds and increasing public isolation from nature. Neighborhood Nestwatch seeks to mitigate these efforts as citizens and scientists gather the data necessary to understand how rapid land conversion impacts backyard bird populations. The project offers the opportunity to learn about bird biology in your own backyard. If you live in the Springfield, MA area, then you are eligible to participate in a mentored experience in which Northern Research Station scientists visit your backyard once every summer to band birds and help you find nests. They’ll also teach you how to keep track of the banded birds, collect nesting data and monitor year-to-year survival for scientific study. Ultimately, Neighborhood Nestwatch will provide scientific data and public awareness to aid in the associated goals of conservation and responsible growth. Time commitment is approximately five hours per month for three months (May – July).
If you are interested in participating in this citizen-science project, email Susannah Lerman at slerman@cns.umass.edu
