Volunteers Team Up to Make Newark's Urban Forest a Little Bigger

Brick City became a little more green Thursday, when the city government partnered with Rutgers-Newark, individual volunteers and other groups to plant 28 trees at the campus’s Samuels Plaza in celebration of Arbor Day. New Jersey's Arbor Day, which is celebrated on different days in different states, is observed on the last Friday in April.

“What happened with Hurricane Sandy really hurt our urban forest. With our partners, like the university, we’re trying to rebuild the urban forest,” said Kim Green of the city’s Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services.

Green said the city plants hundreds of trees a year throughout Newark, sometimes working in concert with the New Jersey Tree Foundation, the main partner in Thursday’s planting. Since 2006, the nonprofit has helped place 1,661 trees in Newark, said Elena Lopez, a program coordinator with the foundation. 

Lopez Thursday supervised the planting of species including pioneer elm, cherry, hornbeam, crabapple and dogwood at the campus. Previous plantings at Rutgers have been done along University Avenue and Warren Street.  

Among the volunteers working the shovels Thursday were Rutgers students and young people from the International Youth Organization, a Newark-based group that provides support services for low-income families. The New Jersey Tree Foundation, which focuses much of its effort on urban areas, frequently partners with organizations that serve marginalized groups, such as ex-offenders. 

In addition to prettifying city streets, trees are also sources of oxygen and help absorb excess carbon dioxide, the gas primarily responsible for global warming. Trees are also natural air conditioners, providing cooling shade during hot summer days.

But despite its benefits, managing an urban forest can be a tricky proposition. Some species are not compatible with city environments, growing so large their roots dislodge sidewalks or their boughs pull down power lines during storms, a widespread hazard during Hurricane Sandy last year.

Arborists now work with species that are a better fit for a densely populated community like Newark.

“Right tree, right place,” said Jay Kaplan, who works in the forestry department at PSEG and who was among the volunteers Thursday. “The New Jersey Tree Foundation is a great organization. They do it right.”