It Happens Here: "Tree Eastie" bringing more shade to East Boston
EAST BOSTON - The city of Boston now has an "urban forest plan." The long term goal is to invest in the trees with a focus on the city's diverse residents.
But there is one volunteer group that is helping the city reach that goal by getting to work and changing the landscape of East Boston.
They're called "Tree Eastie" and just like the name sounds, they are all about trees.
"I wouldn't consider myself to be a tree hugger but I just knew that there was a need to be able to plant more trees and create more shade in East Boston," founder Bill Masterson told WBZ-TV.
Masterson moved here three years ago from North Andover and noticed what Eastie was missing.
"East Boston has the lowest tree canopy in the city, 7 percent. The average for the city is 27 percent," he said.
No trees means no shade on this heat island, but that's not all.
Masterson said trees have so many benefits, including reducing air and noise pollution and absorbing storm water. So he started Tree Eastie hoping to fix the problem. Volunteers are taught, trained and they get to work putting trees into the cramped concrete sidewalks.
"Right now, we are focusing on empty tree wells. This was just an empty tree pit, these are areas that we don't have to break up the sidewalk that our volunteers can come and dig a hole," he told WBZ.
They are the only group with the green light from the city to do this and Boston's Tree Warden is thankful for the help.
"It's great to see new people and to have all this extra help because we are a small division and small staff, so it's great to always have any help we can get," said Tree Warden Max Ford-Diamond.
Trees planted last fall are already making a difference, one block a time. Dozens are already in the ground, a slow, but significant change to the landscape and the quality of life.
"It's incredibly satisfying, it really is, because we are starting from a pretty low base. Every tree makes a difference," said Masterson.
They also have an "adopt a tree program" to have neighbors water the new trees and make sure they survive the first two years.
The group relies on grants and donations. Delta Airlines has provided a grant to help fund the trees. They plan to plant more this fall. For more information go to treeeastie.org.