“If you want to save the earth,” said Mayor Richard Turner at a tree planting ceremony on Arbor Day, “start in your own backyard.”
With help from students in the high school’s seventh-grade Academically Talented class, a young crabapple tree was planted at Old Glory Park on Boulevard East on April 24 in celebration of Arbor Day. “I told the kids to come back in 50 years and see how tall it’s grown,” Turner said.
To commemorate the township’s 150th anniversary, the tree was planted with help from members of the Board of Education, the Weehawken Historical Commission, and others. The picturesque Old Glory Park was selected for this year’s ceremony because it is the location of the highest flag pole on Boulevard East.
“The tree symbolizes all of the great activity the community has been doing on the environmental side of things,” Turner said.
The township hopes to finish a complete refurbishing of Old Glory Park by the end of the summer. Renovations to the park will include changing some of the cracked and worn slate stones, removing the overgrown vines in the flowerbeds and replanting them, painting the fence, and other general maintenance.
“Arbor Day emphasizes the fact that planting trees benefits the town both aesthetically and environmentally,” Turner said. “It’s been a long process [of planting trees] and that tree was planted in that honor.”
In an effort to continue more planting, the town offers residents the option of having a tree planted on their property at no cost.
Keeping the town green
For the last 15 years, the township has planted an estimated 1,500 trees in Weehawken, roughly 100 per year. From lower Weehawken to Park Avenue to Boulevard East – where there were no trees in the early ’90s – Weehawken is starting to look more and more like a suburban environment.
“A lot of people comment on how Weehawken is like a forest from early May to late August when the last leaves fall,” Turner said.
According to Turner, it’s important to plant new trees every year, not only to help protect the planet, but for the local community as well. Because of heavy snowfall in the winter months, many trees die due to heavy salting in addition to inclement weather.
“Planting trees really affects urban life and softens an urban environment,” he said. “It makes neighborhoods more pleasant and increases the value of people’s property.”
The township has also invested in many smaller pocket parks in an effort to revitalize dilapidated areas of the community. The Reading Garden next to Webster School and two parks near the water tower on Boulevard East all help to bring nature into the community.
“In addition to recreation areas,” Turner said, “it’s important to have passive areas where people can go to enjoy a little peace and quiet.”
Sean Allocca can be reached at seana@hudsonreporter.com