Tree Eastie, a local non-profit that seeks to plant, maintain, and educate people about trees, is continuing to work hard at strengthening the tree canopy in East Boston, which is the lowest in the city, and on Monday gave some updates and plans at the Gove Street Neighborhood Association’s (GSNA) monthly meeting. In an update about what Tree Eastie is working on, Carlos Garcia, who has worked alongside Bill Masterson (Tree Eastie’s Founder) on the upcoming fall planting season, noted that plans are to plant 150 trees this fall at Memorial Park, Brophy Park, Constitution Beach, and Belle Isle Marsh. Additionally, Garcia said Tree Eastie aims to plant 75 yard trees this fall.
“Right now, we have about 40 that are likely going to be going in through October and through the end of Thanksgiving,” he said.
Moreover, in helping strengthen the neighborhood’s tree canopy, Garcia says Tree Eastie is looking to combat heat islands. He explained that the organization is targeting the area between Lubec, Frankfort, and Porter Streets — specifically, 72 Lubec Street. “At 72 Lubec Street, the apartment-condo-complex there that has the yard — we’re looking to plant some trees there,” said Garcia, who noted the organization had surveyed the site with some students from BU that day.
“We want to present the idea of planting probably five to 10 trees along the fence on Frankfort Street to provide shade trees,” said Garcia.
“We really see a good opportunity to plant at 72 Lubec Street because I know that when I walk in that area, it’s a lot hotter than a lot of the other parts of East Boston.” As the presentation wrapped up, Garcia emphasized that Tree Eastie is looking for support from the neighborhood to plant at the Lubec Street property. Some attendees at the meeting supported the plan to plant, though some questions remained. GSNA Board Member Jane O’Reilly had asked what Garcia wanted attendees to do. In response, he noted they really wanted support and expanded on the plans. Specifically, he discussed a plan to speak with the property’s owners and residents about watering and indicated that Tree Eastie could provide a hose. O’Reilly also asked if the organization had spoken with the property owners. Garcia said they had but received pushback due to bushes not doing well there in the past.
“We are looking for some support. We are looking for people that maybe live in that apartment complex to maybe come forward, and we can provide the tools necessary for watering and even the water, but we are going to just need to get the okay from Brigs LLC to be able to plant the trees there,” said Garcia.
Another GSNA Board Member, Lorraine Curry, had asked how Tree Eastie had chosen that area over other properties and wondered how landscaping would be done and paid for on private property. In response, Garcia said that the location is the biggest heat island in the GSNA area. Regarding landscaping and its cost, they would look to come up with something the residents at the property can agree to, and the organization would do whatever it could to contribute with its funds. Again, Curry emphasized that 72 Lubec Street is private property; Garcia understood this but said,
“We are just looking to add trees on the side of the fence to add shade to the sidewalk — which is public property — and we would like to help the property.” As the discussion continued, other attendees made comments, some of which were supportive. It should be noted that Garcia also mentioned planting only a few trees at the property and seeing how that goes before planting more.
For more information on Tree Eastie, visit its website at https://www.treeeastie.org/. The next GSNA meeting is scheduled for October 28.