Friday, March 5, 2021

The Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department's Feature Friday

Each Friday, the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department features something new for residents and visitors to learn more about. This week, we're going to dip into the forestry side of our Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department a little bit.

Did you know that the Town not only plants, but also maintains the trees that are located in the road right-of-way? During the winter months and into early spring you may see our crews, or a contracted tree service, out pruning these “street trees.” The purpose behind the type of pruning that is performed will depend on the size, age and species of the tree. We maintain an inventory of all public trees in our GIS system. Young, developing trees are pruned on a three year cycle while we aim to prune the older, more mature trees on a six year cycle.

Generally speaking, our street tree population is still young and developing. During this stage it is important to prune the tree regularly to promote healthy growth with a sturdy structure. We remove dead, broken or diseased branches, rubbing or competing branches and prune back branches to promote a central leader. We also remove some of the lower branches to begin providing the necessary clearance over roads, walks and yards. By maintaining our tree population on a regular schedule we are giving these trees the best chance to provide the community with their many benefits for generations to come.

To see more photos of today's Feature Friday or to see more posts like this, check out the Parks & Recreation Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/greenvilleparkandrec/