Forty new trees will be planted at Berzinec Park on Central Avenue and the new Salvatore Mione Park on New Church Street as part of an initiative of the New Jersey Tree Foundation, with TD Bank and the city.
A ceremony is scheduled take place Friday at 9 a.m. before a planting demonstration takes place at 9:15 a.m., after which volunteers will begin planting – rain or shine.
Pink and white dogwoods and a weeping willow will be planted in the New Church Street park. Littleleaf lindens and maples will be placed in the planting strip along Central Avenue and Berzinec Park.
Salvatore Mione Park on New Church Street is comprised of flood-prone residential lots that were acquired through the state’s Bleu Acres program and converted into open space. Two years ago, the state acquired 20 properties in Rahway, including a swath of New Church Street lots, for more than $5 million in all. The properties generated property taxes of almost $162,000.
The planting will be completed with the help of employees from TD Bank as part of the TD Tree Days initiative. The project is made possible through a grant to the NJ Tree Foundation from the Arbor Day Foundation and TD Bank.
The Newark-based NJ Tree Foundation has planted trees across New Jersey since 1998 to improve the environment and quality of life. Trees can help with absorbing rainwater, reducing runoff to the nearby Robinson’s Branch River and helping to mitigate flood risks.
Maples have been dying off at high rates due to old age in Rahway, so planting them here will help replenish the tree canopy, according to the NJ Tree Foundation. Street trees are particularly important in residential areas as researcher Kathleen Wolf has found that trees provide a traffic calming effect, increasing the safety of adults and children playing outdoors.
A former City Councilman, Mione was a veteran and very active in a number of veterans organizations as well as a member of the Planning Board and Sept. 11 Committee. His home previously stood on one of the lots on New Church Street that was acquired and demolished. City Council dedicated the park last year, after Mione died in March.
Great gesture but I hope these young trees once planted are watered properly and consistently.
I’ve noticed once in the ground, the City does not follow up in the care/maintenance of newly planted trees. I had requested several be planted at Roosevelt School due to Sandy taking down so many of them. The school lost shady areas in the play areas and the neighborhood homes were baking from the additional sunlight late in the afternoons.
The Town finally planted a couple of very young trees there were still pretty much just sticks (and, not nearly enough of them), They were dead in less than a year from lack of care.
I’ve witnessed this problem all over Rahway. You can’t just stick a small tree in the ground and think it will thrive. They need to be watered regularly to help root growth – not just count on the rain to provide enough moisture.