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The central business district is abloom with twice as many trees as it once had, thanks to the city’s Environment and Shade Tree Commission.

The volunteer group saw to the selection and planting of the 220 trees after the city was awarded a grant to complete infrastructure improvements in the downtown. The federal grant provided funding to install new sidewalks, drop power lines underground and restore the city’s antiquated sewer system. The total cost of the project was $7.1 million, commission member Russell Lewis [pictured above, right] said.

But to complete the project, the downtown’s 110 Bradford pear trees had to be removed completely, Lewis said. That caused a heated controversy with the many citizens who opposed the tree removal and wanted to keep the downtown green.

That “Avatar” was the biggest movie in the box office that year didn’t help the commission’s efforts.

“It was in the psyche and consciousness,” Lewis said. “That movie was evoking, ‘Save our trees,’ and we kept saying, ‘There really isn’t anything to save.’ There’s no bigger tree lovers in the town than [commission chairman Thomas Pivinski] and myself.”

Commission members knew that a few seasons after planting the trees in 2010, “we were going to have an amazing environment that actually had longevity, sustainability and was designed properly,” Lewis said. “We just had to go through surgery.”

He likened the process of removing the old trees to make way for the new infrastructure and new landscaping to chemotherapy.

“We had this head of hair that wasn’t that healthy and we were going to lose our hair but we were ultimately going to have a better quality of life,” he said.

The pear trees were about 40 years old, having been in place since the 1970s, said commission chairman Thomas Pivinski [pictured above, left]. The trees were “out of shape” and so large, they obstructed street lighting, he said.

Those 110 trees were taken down and the infrastructure project was completed. Then, 220 new trees were planted throughout the central business district. Lewis, Pivinski and the other commissioners selected different types of trees for each block to minimize the risk of an invasive plant pathogen that could kill an entire species.

The commission selected plants from a list compiled by New Jersey tree experts. These trees are durable even in seashore winds and can withstand car doors, children’s bicycles and wear and tear from passersby, they said.

The commission also made sure flowering pear trees were placed at every city corner to maintain the look citizens had come to expect from the 40-year-old Bradford pear trees. The new trees are Chanticleer pear trees, which are more hardy than Bradfords.

Each block is home to a row of one of the selected species — Accolade Elm, Small-leaved Linden, Chanticleer pear or Kentucky coffee tree.

After the heavy snowfall two winters ago, five to eight trees were lost, which is standard for a new planting, Lewis said.

The trees downtown improve air quality and absorb excess water in the ground, mitigating flooding and drainage issues. Shade trees also have been shown to bring people into shopping districts because they cool the street, Lewis said.

Also, areas with more trees tend to have lower crime rates than those with only hardscapes, or streets and sidewalks, Lewis said.

“If you walk down a street that has no life, it’s very cold and stoney,” Pivinski said. “People feel unsafe. The trees make them feel friendly and safe.”

Now that the trees are in bloom, the commission’s focus is a community vegetable garden. Volunteers have constructed 15 raised beds and have invited people in town to purchase a bed to grow their own vegetables throughout the season. Two thirds of the beds will be used to raise fresh produce for the city’s food pantries.

The commission will raise tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans and peas, collard greens and more to donate to the food pantries.

The community vegetable garden will be located on a piece of property next to City Hall’s council chambers on Bangs Avenue, across from the post office.

The Environment and Shade Tree Commission is completely comprised of volunteers. Members raise money for their outreach efforts. So far, they have raised close to $3,000 for the community garden.

The commission also cultivates a rain garden near the train station, which absorbs polluted rain water and keeps it from draining into Wesley Lake.

For more information on the commission, email Chairman Thomas Pivinski at iksnivip@aol.com.

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