Town Plants Tree At Engel Park For Arbor Day

OSSINING-CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY - From the Town of Ossining: Town of Ossining Supervisor Dana Levenberg was joined by Town Board Members Liz Feldman and Jackie Shaw, Village of Ossining Trustee Omar Herrera, Environmental Advisory Committee Chair Mitzi Elkes, Green Ossining Chair Suzie Ross, Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardner Donna Sharrett, Emily Loughlin from Assemblywoman Sandy Galef’s Office, Town Highway Superintendent Michael G. O’Connor, Town Parks Foreman Mario Velardo, and Town staff to celebrate Arbor Day with a tree planting at Louis Engel Park.

The Town of Ossining, a 19-year Arbor Day Foundation designated “Tree City,” planted a red oak tree at Louis Engel Park along the banks of the Hudson River. The tree planting location was determined by a recent tree inventory that was conducted using grant funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Urban and Community Forestry grant program. The Town engaged Matt Weibel and Mike Galvin from SavATree’s consulting division to collect data along North State Road, the portions of Route 133 and 134 within the Town, and at Louis Engel Park. The data collected was compiled into a recommended management plan, as well as analyzed using a special type of software known as iTree that quantified the numerous benefits we all receive from trees in these areas.

“It was so compelling to learn that Ossining’s urban forest stores the amount of carbon equivalent to the
annual carbon emissions from 196 automobiles and 81 single-family homes, and produces 12.39 tons of
oxygen per year,” said Supervisor Dana Levenberg. “Thank you to our hardworking trees!”

Donna Sharrett, volunteer Master Gardener from the Cornell Cooperative Extension provided the Town with
species recommendations that were both native to the area and tolerant of soils with high salt content along
waterways like the Hudson River. This red oak was planted in a location that will help bolster the Town’s tree
canopy. “This red oak will grow nice and strong, providing shade to park goers and environmental benefits to
the Ossining community for many years to come,” said Supervisor Levenberg, “In the words of Ralph Waldo
Emerson, ‘The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.’”

Ms. Sharrett shared guidance and best practices for planting trees, preferably with a bare root base as opposed to a ball and burlap base. Also, she shared that it is important to make a well around the tree to help contain water, to make sure the tree gets an inch per week of water, and that any light mulch around the trunk does not come in direct contact with the trunk. Seedlings with roots in tact are the best to plant and will grow at a steady pace and be healthier if cared for properly, according to Ms. Sharrett.

Arbor Day has been celebrated in the United States since the 1800s, when pioneer J. Sterling Morton and his
wife planted an abundance of trees, shrubs, and flowers in their new home in the Nebraska Territory, sharing
his passion for trees and agriculture with his neighbors. In 1872, Morton proposed a tree planting holiday to
the Nebraska State Board of Agricultural, and with that, Arbor Day was born.

Photo courtesy of Town of Ossining