Grant enables town to plant about 40 new trees

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BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield celebrated National Arbor Day on Friday, April 29, with the planting of an elm tree on The Green.

The tree was part of a $20,000 Green Streets grant awarded to the township by TD Bank. The funds provided Bloomfield with about 40 trees. All but one, the elm planted on The Green, were flowering cherry trees. Four types of these cherry trees were planted along the traffic islands on Newark Avenue and Ampere Parkway, 20 at each location. They were planted Saturday, April 30.

Judith Earley, the chairwoman of Greener Bloomfield, said she was happy an American elm was chosen for The Green since many American elm had died from Dutch elm disease.

Steve Schuckman, the Bloomfield forester, took charge of the planting and the ceremony on The Green. He said the elm being planted was disease-resistant. A proclamation from the mayor and council was read by Councilman Nicholas Joanow.

Schuckman said Bloomfield has a tree inventory of 30,000 to 40,000. The township loses 200 to 300 trees a year from disease, injury or age.
“And climate changes are contributing, for sure,” he said.

Schuckman, who has been the township forester for 11 years, said in that time, 3,000 trees have been planted in Bloomfield. Also, careful pruning has helped reduce the risk of future storm damage.

“We’ve been a Tree City, USA, for 13 years,” he said.
Monica McCormack-Casey, the senior government banker for TD, said that from Maine to Florida, only 10 Green Street grants were awarded by the bank and Bloomfield got one. The dozen or so people at the celebration broke into applause.

The TD grant is not only for trees. It is expected that alligator bags will be purchased to water the newly planted trees. Also, Schuckman said Department of Public Works and Parks Department personnel will be trained in the caring for the trees.

Anthony Nesto, who has been director of DPW&P for about five years, said the fact that it rained after the 40 trees were planted was a good start. And the alligator bags, which slowly water a tree, will also be a big help for the trees along Newark Avenue and Ampere Parkway.

But the traffic islands are routinely maintained by the township, Nesto pointed out, and these new trees can be watched. But caring for every township tree was not possible. Nesto said he was asking residents to water trees in front of their homes during dry weather so they will have a much better chance to survive.

The Shade Tree Department, which looks after the trees, has three to six personnel, Nesto said. Brian Connolly is its acting supervisor. The crew has two aerial lifts and one stump grinder.

“When I got here, there were 300 tree stumps in town,” Nesto said. “Now there are 15 to 20.”
Nesto moves his personnel around to acquaint them with different tasks.
“The part-timers are a huge help,” he said. “We have 11. On any given day, we have five.”

As the Bloomfield forester, Schuckman said he was very fortunate to have a dedicated public works crew to help him. Several DPW&P workers were on hand at The Green to plant the elm. They also helped out the next day with the flowering cherry trees, as did local volunteers.

“We do encourage people to plant trees,” Schuckman said. “The Eastern Seaboard is facing difficult times. Ash trees will be dead in 10 years.”

He said residents interested in planting a tree on their property should be made aware that a bacterial leaf scorch is killing red oak, pin oak and scarlet oak. He said it is a matter of time before they disappear.

“You can’t give a tree a penicillin shot,” he said. “If you’re going to plant a tree in your yard, consult with an expert. A gardening center will sell you an ash for cheap.”

Shade trees that would be good to plant, he said, would be the red maple and black gum. Among ornamentals, he recommended the American dogwood.
“Sugar maple is out of the question,” he said. “They want a smooth, cooling fall, a freeze and then coldness.”

He said the U.S. Forest Service predicts there will be no sugar maples south of the Canadian border in 50 to 60 years.

He said some notable Bloomfield trees grow on Huck, Skyview and Davidson roads. “They are major oaks,” he said. “Big red oaks.”