30 new trees take root in Asbury Park
Sunshine Girls Charities, American Forests provide saplings
Two different groups planted a total of 30 new trees in Asbury Park on Saturday, May 17.
Through a donation made by Manasquan-based Sunshine Girl Charities Inc., the city’s Environment and Shade Tree Commission [ESTC] planted seven fruit trees adjacent to the community garden behind the municipal complex. Two 6-foot apple trees, two plum trees, one peach and one pear trees were carefully placed in the ground along with one smaller fig tree, each surrounded by stone blocks to set them apart and further beautify the area.
In about two years from now, if not by next spring, the trees will mature and bear fruit, adding to the availability of free, fresh fruits and vegetables in the garden, said Tom Pivinski, chairman of the ESTC.
The charity was founded by Jacqueline Klosek [shown above, third from left] and Thomas Lozinski [second from left], to honor of the birth of their little sunshine girl, Kayla Emerson. Sunshine Girls Charities seeks to pay forward the joy that Kayla has brought to their lives through the undertaking of various projects intended to help children, animals and the environment with the end goal in mind to make the world “a bit sunnier for Kayla’s generation,” according to Klosek.
“It seems so great, you get shade from a couple of trees and, eventually, fruit for the whole community,” Klosek said.
The group assembled 500 safe birth and newborn welcome kits for women in need in Haiti for their first charity effort
A few blocks away, members of the New Jersey Tree Foundation, American Forests, and volunteers from the Bank of America planted 23 trees on along the Wesley Lake side of Lake Avenue.
Blackgum, Hawthorne, Sugar Maple, Crape Myrtle, Katsura and Service Berry trees were planted, chosen because of their salt resistance necessary to thrive in a coastal shore climate, according to Lisa Simms, executive director of the New Jersey Tree Foundation.
The Lake Avenue plantings continue a Community ReLeaf project that seeks to increase the city’s tree cover from 23 to 35 percent over the next 40 years, according to Ian Leahy, director of Urban Forest Programs for American Forests [shown below, wearing black].
American Forests conducted an urban forest assessment after Hurricane Sandy, and although the city’s tree count was not severely damaged by the storm, the group selected the city to help increase the value of the ecosystem, Leahy said.
About $100,000 total will be spent planting 300 new trees in the city. The same group planted several trees along Dewitt Avenue last year.
Over the years, the group will study how the trees contribute to the improvement of air quality, water quality, energy efficiency through shade and the capture and storage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
An outreach program for residents who would like to request trees planted on their properties will soon take place in accordance with the effort, Leahy said.
————————————————————
Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook and Twitter.
