Medford Spends $300,000 On Tree Revitalization

MEDFORD, MA — The city has allocated $300,000 from its capital budget to remove old stumps and plant new trees.

According to Mayor Beanna Lungo-Koehn, the Department of Public Works has removed more than 220 stumps throughout Medford since the beginning of the calendar year. The Department identified approximately 430 stumps in need of removal overall and is still in the process of removing them.

In addition, 106 new trees are still yet to be planted to reach the city’s goal of 200.

“Many of the large stumps we encounter were planted decades ago and are a result of poor planning and a lack of understanding of root systems at the time,” Lungo-Koehn said. “Now as we work through our stump removal inventory, we have far more knowledge and technology that allows us to effectively and efficiently remove stumps, fix impacted sidewalks and plant new trees that force the roots to grow down and not out under our infrastructure.”

Lungo-Koehn also described Tree Warden Aggie Tuden as a driving force behind the project.
Residents are able to sign up to the “Adopt a Tree” program in which they will be tasked with filling slow-release watering bags after rainfall.