The Department of Natural Resources is currently overseeing a city-wide inventory and survey of Quincy’s more than 20,000 street-trees, Mayor Thomas Koch announces.
Tree Warden Dan Cathcart is working with CN Utility Consulting (CNUC) to identify the size, species, and condition of every street tree in Quincy. The data will be collected and shared with the public through the Natural Resources’ Urban Forestry Management System webpage.
The project was made possible by funding provided by Mayor Koch and approved by the Quincy City Council. Certified Arborists from CNUC will be canvassing neighborhoods, wearing identification and bright vests to make them easily identifiable. The street survey work should wrap up in late September.
“Our street trees are as important as any other public asset in the city, if not more so,” Koch said. “They provide oxygen, sequester carbon dioxide, provide shade and cooling, alleviate stormwater, offer habitat, and provide incredible beauty throughout the year but especially in the Fall. Quincy’s neighborhoods are defined by our street trees and they help make a city feel like a small town. Its not enough just to plant more trees every year, we should set out to protect these incredible natural assets that we already have.”
Working with the City’s GIS team, Natural Resources’ Urban Forest Management System aims to provide as much public information as possible on Quincy’s urban forest. The public will be able to identify key factors on all trees throughout the city. Residents can even plug those data points into an app to estimate the value of the tree.
“We are fortunate to have a mayor that cares so much about trees and natural resources,” said Commissioner of Natural Resources Dave Murphy. “He has made parks, trees, and open space protection and enhancement a priority and it shows with the many upgrades that we have seen in recent years. In addition to the more than 2,500 new trees we have planted in recent years, we are now elevating the protection of our existing street trees to a level this city has never seen.
“I want to thank our GIS team, Steve Washburn and Jacqui Devin, for their incredible work with our urban forestry webpage; hopefully it fosters a stronger understanding of the importance of our street trees and creates new stewards of our local environment,” Murphy added.