Treekeepers work fast to help10 second row trees

Restore Mass Ave volunteer Treekeepers gather for 2 hour workshops to help at-risk trees. We welcomed four new Treekeepers Saturday Sept 16. The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies was well represented thanks to Board Member and Yale alumna Lindsey K. Larson. (We welcome new signups on our Volunteer page.)

Back row L to R: Max Lambert, Paul, Winters, Nora Hawkins, Kevin Finneran

Front row L to R: Deborah Shapley, Karen Peterson, Lindsey Larson

Photo:  RMA Board member Marty Scherr

Right: Lindsey & Kevin

carry away stakes that braced the little trees against the wind for 2 years. Now the trees are strong enough to stand on their own.

Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) 'Wildfire' was chosen for the prominent point at 30th and Mass.  In fall 40,000 motorists passing daily will see its brilliant red foliage announcing the majestic row.

Left: Karen Peterson consults with the group on cutting little roots at the base of this tree. Since they could weaken it, she snip-snipped.

 Back Story: In 2014 the State Department Office of Foreign Missions decided to green the empty lawns with a second row of trees. Casey Trees designed the planting aided by RMA. 

Right: RMA's Kevin Finneran posing in the exact corner in need of a prominent tree, in 2014. 

In 2011, Casey Citizen Forester Gary McNeil paced these lawns seeking the original linden row from 1904.
Below: Gary measures for replacements;

the mysterious finger code shows which tree.

       

Further down: Casey Trees' planting and design. ⬇

Led by Jim Woodworth, Casey Trees installed the ten second row trees in December 2014.

Left: Planters at work. Right: How to lay out a double row design, from our award-winning book A Grand Avenue Revival: Massachusetts Avenue Landscape History & Design Guide. Pdf here.

Photos and image: RMA    

A BIT MORE:

• The land we planted on is city land known as "parking." How a second row in the "parking" helps neighbors and the city is on RMA's second row page.

• 3003 Mass was the Residence of the Ambassador of Iran. 3005 Mass is the former Embassy of Iran. Since 1979 when the United States broke relations with Iran over its seizure of US diplomats as hostages, these properties have been in the custody of Department of State Office of Foreign Missions.

• View the site on Google Maps.