Trees for Watertown

WELCOME to the website for Trees for Watertown, Watertown's volunteer citizen tree advocacy group!
Trees for Watertown's mission is to care for our community and environment, by • promoting the planting and preservation of shade trees • serving as an educational resource as to the beauty, value, and requirements of trees • collaborating with town departments, local, regional and national organizations, and the public to support a healthy urban forest in Watertown, Massachusetts. NEWS TFW and Mount Auburn Cemetery collaborate to grow a new tree variety to try out on Watertown's streets "Whips" of Osage Orange 'White Shield', a thornless, fruitless variety of this tough and handsome tree, were planted in Spring 2011 in Mount Auburn Cemetery's tree nursery, to grow until they are tall enough to be planted out on the street. Look how tall and healthy these seedlings are just seven months later!	COMPLETE STREETS WORKSHOP IN WATERTOWN THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012, 6-9 pm Hosted by TFW, WCES, and the Town of Watertown Register now!! Enrollment is limited. Watertown's streets were once much more pleasant and safe for pedestrians. They were complete streets, by design. Then came the era of cheap gas and lots more cars. Pedestrian comfort and safety became a secondary concern, after traffic management. All over town, shade trees were damaged or destroyed by street, sidewalk and driveway work. Front yard green space and public street tree sites were blacktopped out of existence. The result: a much harsher street environment for anyone not wrapped in the cocoon of a car. But it doesn't have to be that way. CLICK HERE to register to learn about the Massachusetts Complete Streets Coalition and how Watertown can join in and benefit from this important national movement. CLICK HERE to download a copy of the information brochure for this free 3-hour workshop. PLEASE HELP PROTECT OUR SHADE TREES! If you observe construction or pruning activities that you feel may be damaging public shade trees, CONTACT THE TREE WARDEN AND YOUR TOWN COUNCILOR IMMEDIATELY. This includes utility pruning. See below for an example of the pruning protocol NSTAR subscribes to. For email or text message announcements about public shade tree hearings or utility pruning schedules, go to Watertown's NOTIFY ME website and select Tree Warden.
*CLICK HERE* for info about Watertown's TFW-sponsored public conversation on "What is a Tree Worth?" *The video is now on YouTube!* *CLICK HERE* to download a brochure on 22 Benefits of Urban Shade Trees	NSTAR Utility Pruning, June 2010