Which are the leafiest neighborhoods?

Brown areas are less leafy than green areas in tree equity maps like this one (Credit: American Forests)

Urban trees provide economic, social, environmental, and health benefits, but how do we ensure every community has the canopy they need? Join the Quincy Tree Alliance and the Thomas Crane Public Library for an online discussion on tree equity on February 15 at 7 pm.

Molly Henry, senior manager of climate and health at American Forests, will introduce the national Tree Equity Score Explorer tool that her organization developed for every urbanized area in the country. The tool shows that wealthier neighborhoods are often significantly leafier than poorer neighborhoods with more people of color. For example, about 50% of Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood is shaded by trees, while that figure is less than 10% for East Boston. Henry will also go over Quincy’s canopy maps.

David Meshoulam, executive director of Speak for the Trees, Boston, will discuss his organization’s work on tree equity at the local level in Boston. “There are two sides to that tree equity equation,” he says. “One is who has access to trees and the benefits that trees provide. The other, that we’re working towards, is who has access to those workforce jobs in tree care. The work has to come from the community, for the community, by the community. A tree is not something that you plant and walk away from.”

Meshoulam will also briefly discuss legislation now being considered at the statehouse aimed at planting trees in the places that need it most, with the aim of reaching 60% tree canopy cover in Massachusetts cities and towns.

Finally, Quincy’s tree warden, Chris Hayward, will discuss new initiatives aimed at increasing the canopy coverage and tree equity here. One is a plan to offer reduced-cost tree plantings in the front yards of Quincy residents, and the other is a plan to get citizens involved in inventorying the trees here, which will help determine where new plantings are needed. “The inventory, when it’s completed, will be a huge tool,” says Hayward.

After short presentations, speakers will take questions from participants. To join the event, go to https://bit.ly/qtaequity on Feb. 15 at 7 pm, or dial (646) 558-8656 and enter meeting ID 838 7285 6404. You can also watch the event, either live or after the fact, at https://www.youtube.com/c/ThomasCranePublicLibrary.

Quincy Tree Alliance is a volunteer group that works to sustain and expand our city’s tree canopy. To learn more, visit quincytreealliance.com or email quincytreealliance@gmail.com.

Video: candidates’ environmental forum

If you missed the Quincy city council candidates’ forum on environmental issues on Oct. 7, have no fear - you can watch it below. Quincy Tree Alliance asked two questions at the forum, which was hosted by Quincy Climate Action Network.

Oct. 7: Candidate forum on environment

UPDATE (10/9): Watch the event here

City council candidates will answer questions about local climate and environmental issues in an online forum on October 7 at 7 pm. Quincy Climate Action Network is hosting the event on Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube, with questions submitted by Quincy Tree Alliance and other organizations.

All but one of the city council candidates are expected to attend, including at-large candidates William Burke, Noel DiBona, Nina Liang, and Anne Mahoney; Ward 1 candidates David McCarthy and Joseph Murphy; Ward 2 candidates Anthony Andronico and Steven Perdios; Ward 3’s Ian Cain; Ward 4’s Brian Palmucci; and Ward 5 candidates Stephen Christo and Charles Phelan. 

The event will feature questions from QCAN as well as Quincycles, Quincy For Transformative Change, Quincy Making Waves, and Quincy Tree Alliance. As in previous QCAN political forums, candidates will receive most questions ahead of time so they have time to research their answers.

“This year’s extreme weather events have really driven home how urgent the climate crisis is,” says QCAN board member Julie Mallozzi. “There is so much we can do locally to help prevent the worst from happening, so it’s important that we hear from our city council candidates about what they will do to help mitigate Quincy’s climate impact and prepare us for a sustainable future.”

To tune in on October 7 at 7 pm, visit bit.ly/qcan2021 or QCAN’s Facebook or YouTube pages. After the event, you can watch the entire recording as well as video clips at quincycan.org, or the whole event at QATV.org. The election will take place on November 2 and will feature not only candidates for all city council seats but also a competitive race for three school committee seats (see school committee candidates’ responses to climate questions).

Plant trees to honor COVID victims

Join us on Oct. 9 and 10 to commemorate the lives lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic by planting trees here in Quincy. The memorial project, called 4C Trees (Capture Carbon Commemorate COVID), began in Newton and was brought to Quincy by a passionate local college student.

Saturday, Oct. 9, 11 am - 2 pm: Passaganesset Park, next to the Quincy Youth Hockey Area

Sunday, Oct. 10, 11 am - 2 pm: Monroe Park, next to Pond Street

Hope to see you there!

Tree hearing on July 13

UPDATE on July 23: Watch the tree hearing below!

Tree warden Chris Hayward will hold a hearing on Tuesday, July 13, at noon, about 11 trees being considered for removal here in Quincy. The hearing is open to the public and will be held in person at the Quincy Parks & Rec meeting room at 1 Merrymount Parkway.

We encourage you to attend, or to write public comments that will be read at the meeting (send them to chayward@quincyma.gov by 11 am on July 13). To help provide context for those comments, below you’ll find QTA’s calculation of the benefits of the trees to neighboring houses and our position on each tree up for possible removal.

• Callery pears @ 97 East Howard Street

QTA’s position: Callery pear trees like these are prone to injury and are non-Native, with invasive tendencies, so QTA is not opposed to these trees being removed for a new development. That being said, we want the new development to include numerous and diverse trees in its plans for the property, and we would like to see those plans.

• Norway maple at 75 Ames St, 30 feet from two houses

(Image: David Shiga)

QTA’s calculation of this tree’s benefit to nearby houses:

• Energy savings per year: $20

Electricity Savings (A/C): 27 kWh

Fuel Savings (natural gas, oil): 1 MMBtu

• Lifetime carbon stored: 2.8 tons

• Carbon captured per year: 96 pounds

• Stormwater runoff avoided per year: 670 gallons
  
  

QTA’s position: We would like this healthy tree to remain, and for the DPW to include planning around trees when it does street improvements – both on the sidewalk and on the curb side. Ideally the DPW plans would include providing adequate soil volume for trees to grow to their maximum potential sizes.

• Norway maple at 79 Ames, 20 feet from house

(Image: Photo from Google Maps)

QTA’s calculation of this tree’s benefit to the homeowner at 79 Ames:

• Energy savings per year: $18

Electricity Savings (A/C): 19 kWh

Fuel Savings (natural gas, oil): 1 MMBtu

• Lifetime carbon stored: 4.5 tons 

• Carbon captured per year: 84 pounds

• Stormwater runoff avoided per year: 720 gallons
  
  

QTA’s position: The resident has other large canopy trees in their yard, making this one *somewhat* less critical to keep. However, expanding the driveway, a surface that does not allow water to pass through it, opposes the good that trees do in helping to take up water and reduce flooding. In addition, good tree cover in a neighborhood increases the value of houses by 6-9% ($34,000 - $52,000 per house based on average home price in Quincy, and that might be an underestimate in this neighborhood), so this resident and their neighbors might prefer to keep this healthy tree just for the financial benefits of living in a leafy neighborhood.

• Ash @ 93 Ames Street, 20 feet from house

(Image: David Shiga)

QTA’s calculation of this tree’s benefit to the homeowner at 93 Ames:

• Energy savings per year: $38

  • Electricity Savings (A/C): 40 kWh

  • Fuel Savings (natural gas, oil): 2 MMBtu

• Lifetime carbon stored: 4.1 tons

• Carbon captured per year: 94 pounds

• Stormwater runoff avoided per year: 1,500 gallons 

QTA’s position: We are looking forward to a discussion of the emerald ash borer and the risks it poses to ash trees of various health levels. Absent information to the contrary, we are likely to defer to the tree warden’s expertise on this tree. In any case, we would like to know if the city has an inventory of ash trees and their health, so that the healthiest might be preemptively treated with insecticides to prevent emerald ash borer infestations.

• Red oak @ 48 Miles Drive, 20 feet from house

(Images: David Shiga)

QTA’s calculation of this tree’s benefit to the homeowner at 48 Miles:

• Energy savings per year: $47

  • Electricity Savings (A/C): 152 kWh

  • Fuel Savings (natural gas, oil): 0.9 MMBtu

• Lifetime carbon stored: 7.4 tons 

• Carbon captured per year: 148 pounds 

• Stormwater runoff avoided per year: 3,000 gallons

QTA’s position: We want this healthy tree to remain. "Oaks support more forms of life and more fascinating interactions than any other tree genus in North America," writes scientist Douglas Tallamy in his new book, The Nature of Oaks. FYI: The city has information about tree roots and utility lines here. If a resident is sure that roots are causing issues in their pipes, the best remedy is to replace the section of pipe affected. Alternatively, the pipe can be rodded with a pruning head.

Please write in or attend the meeting in person!