Somerville has been recognized and honored for 17 straight years as a tree-loving community. – Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

City wins Arbor Day Foundation Award

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Trees make good neighbors. And Somerville is welcoming more of them to the community all the time.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation recently honored Somerville with an Annual Tree City USA Award for the 17th straight year. While 84 Massachusetts cities and towns earned the 2012 award, which is sponsored by the National Arbor Day foundation, Somerville was only one of a handful of urban communities on the list.

“It speaks to the fact that we’re committed to actively planting trees and we’re aware of the benefits,” said planner Rachel Kelly, who manages 300 or more new tree plantings in Somerville every year. Kelly said that commitment has a big impact on a densely populated city bordered by major traffic arteries. “They do make the city look really pretty, but there’s definitely more to it than that,” said Kelly.

She said trees improve air quality and cut down on noise pollution. They save energy resources by sheltering homes and public buildings alike from heat in the summer and cold in the winter. Along busy streets, they provide a safety buffer between traffic and pedestrians. And they provide a natural filter for storm water run-off, which improves drainage and cuts down on city public works costs.

Parks Director Arn Franzen said studies have shown that tree-lined streets even have a calming effect on traffic. “You drive a little bit slower than along a treeless highway that feels like a wide open space,” said Franzen.

Somerville regularly invests about $2 per resident each year in new tree plantings along public ways, and The Tree City USA designation can help stretch that budget even further by making the city eligible for green space improvement grants.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone said his predecessors Gene Brune and Michael Capuano deserve credit for recognizing the value of expanding tree-planting efforts and turning Somerville into a recognized Tree City. But he added that in recent years there’s also been a more conscious effort to match the right type of tree to the right environment, so that trees survive and thrive longer term, and cost less to maintain.

The city isn’t just looking for trees that are hearty enough to weather the New England climate, and to live alongside city streets where they’re constantly exposed to auto exhaust and salt in the winter. Some species create less debris to clog city storm drains. Stronger wood trees can cut down on damage from fallen branches. And where maples or pear trees account for nearly half the current tree population, the city is trying to create a healthier mix of tree types, to keep diseases or pests from spreading quickly through the urban canopy.

Around 12,000 trees adorn Somerville’s public spaces today, and that number is increasing each season. Residents can request tree plantings by calling 311, or by applying on line through the City of Somerville website at www.somervillema.gov.

And along with all the ecological and economic benefits of planting new trees in Somerville, the Mayor points to one more reason it pays to be a Tree City.

“Tree planting has been given added momentum in Somerville by the results of our Happiness Survey,” said Mayor Curtatone. “There’s a strong correlation between the positive feelings people have about their neighborhoods and the number of trees in those neighborhoods.”

So more trees won’t just make Somerville a greener place. They’ll make Somerville a happier place.