The City of Madison Streets Division’s Urban Forestry section plants thousands of trees each year in the right of way space along the road edge. This spring alone, arborists have planted over 1,500 trees within Madison.

This year the arborists were able to do something special.

Thanks to work by the Urban Forestry Task Force, and additional funding support, arborists were able to plant 92 trees in the Allied, Darbo-Worthington, Brentwood, and Owl Creek neighborhoods that make the up the final vacant planting sites for these neighborhoods.

These trees will be large growing shade trees. Once they are fully grown they will beautify their neighborhoods, lower cooling costs, improve the air quality, and provide countless other benefits to residents and wildlife for years to come.  The photos accompanying this release show what the freshly planted trees look like now, and a second photo of a different neighborhood of Madison that gives an idea of what residents of these neighborhoods will gain once the new trees mature.

“Finally planting trees in these locations is a long time coming,” says Charlie Romines, Streets Division Superintendent. “These trees, and the continued dedication from our arborists and specialists, will help us reach our canopy coverage goals.”

Why were these sites vacant for so long?
When a tree is planted for the very first time, a one-time special assessment is charged to the adjacent property owner to cover the initial planting costs. Replacement trees do not have an assessment – this only happens in places that never had a tree before.

The 92 once-vacant planting areas were in places where the one-time assessment could not occur for a variety of reasons– resulting in these neighborhoods receiving less canopy coverage and fewer benefits that a vibrant urban forest brings.

Additional Information
More information about the Urban Forestry section can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/Forestry.