Tag: Tree City

I was at work (my excuse for infrequent posts this summer) when one of our rivertonhistory.com  stringers, Susan Dechnik, sent me a text message:

“An enormous tree fell, just missing my house. If you aren’t at work you might want a pic. It’s a town tree, mr. Edmonds says…”

Don’t you love autocorrect? That had to be Barry Emens. Mr. Emens is the authority on all things of the arbor variety since he is chairperson of Riverton’s Shade Tree Board.

I wrote back:

“If you get any more details or take photos pls forward. I will try to post them.”

Susan lost several shrubs when the tree fell, but she managed to save three cucumbers, two tomatoes, and one black swallowtail caterpillar from the wreckage.

Later, she confirmed with Barry Emens that the black oak tree was the biggest town tree in Riverton.

At right, you see May Tree Service cutting up and hauling off the fallen tree. Part of it remained standing.

The preliminary forensic examination shows that the tree fell about 12:30 a.m. September 16 because it had rotted inside and was not due to storm damage.

This whole episode gave me reason to check out the Shade Tree Board’s page on the Borough website. Clearly, Riverton is a place that takes its trees seriously. The National Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Riverton as a “TREE CITY USA” for the past 25 years.

Among other things, the Shade Tree Board conducts a census of our trees to tell us the species, location, size and health of each one in town.

 

So if we are keeping score, Riverton’s tree population of 2474 just diminished by one.

 

Lucky for Mrs. D that it was a town tree. It means that it is on town property so the removal will not be at her expense. It was fortunate, too, that it happened at night and not when she was out tending her beautiful garden.

 

True or false?

• A homeowner may fertilize a tree at the curb.

  

• It is OK to attach a ‘lost cat” sign or a yard sale to a tree advertising a yard sale to a tree in the park.
• It is OK to plant a tree at the street to replace one that died without a permit.

 

We’ll make this easy. They are all false. Chapter 35 of the Borough of Riverton’s Tree Ordinances explaining the organization and function of the Shade Tree Board and the care and maintenance of town trees may make for dull reading, but the information you find there may answer some questions you may have about what one may do, or not do, regarding the trees at the street.

 

 

It’s not all rules, though. There is a Homeowner’s Guide to Beautiful, Safe, and Healthy Trees in Riverton, and information on getting a federal tax deduction for making a donation for the purchase of new street trees and how to get free wood chip mulch.

 

According to the National Arbor Day Foundation, planting trees around your home doesn’t cost, it pays off in increased property values and lower fuel costs. Just seeing a tree can help reduce stress. And don’t forget all of those eco-science benefits you learned in junior high about absorbing carbon dioxide and pumping out oxygen.

There may be one less tree now in this Tree City, but it is good to know that the ones left are in good care. – Gaslight News editor, John McCormick