Maple High - Six Corners Neighborhood Beautification Project

2013

FY 2014 Application - Round 2a Neighborhood Targeted Improvement Program Springfield, Massachusetts

in partnership with the Maple High - Six Corners Neighborhood Council and The City of Springfield Forestry Division

Maple High - Six Corners Neighborhood Beautification Project

Springfield, MA

PROJECT BRIEFJu

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The purpose of this project is to restore a sense of natural beauty to the Maple High - Six Corners Neighborhood. The Maple High-Six Corners (MHSC) neighborhood is one of Springfield’s oldest and home to many historic landmarks. In recent years, the neighborhood has fallen on hard times and is home to a large percentage of low-income families. Researchers from the US Forest Service have recently released a report identifying tree canopy cover throughout the city of Springfield. The results indicate that the Maple High - Six Corners neighborhood has a staggeringly low percentage of canopy cover at only 13%. To put that number into perspective, the city has an average of around 30% canopy cover across all neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Targeted Improvement Program provides a great opportunity to replant trees in MHSC in an effort to restore the urban canopy. This $10,000 grant would allow ReGreen Springfield, in cooperation with The Springfield Forestry Division and the Maple High Six Corners Neighborhood Council, to plant shade trees, ornamental trees, and shrubbery in the neighborhood. The new plants will drastically improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, making a greener and more beautiful place to live. The following items are proposed via this funding request:

• Community Engagement - Regreen Springfield will work with the MHSC to reach out to the residents of the neighborhood to solicit participation in a tree and shrub planting program that will provide aesthetic and environmental improvements to the neighborhood.

• Resident Visits - A team of trained staff from Regren Springifeld will visit homeowners to determine species, location and number of new trees and shrubs for each property

• Tree and Shrub Planting Volunteer Day - In May, teams of volunteers from the community will with homeowners to plant the new plants in the locations selected via the process outlined above.

• Tree Planting Celebration - Working with residents and volunteers, a cook out will be geld to distribute information on the value of trees and urban greening in the neighborhood.

ONE FEDERAL STREET SPRINGFIELD, MA 01105 WWW.REGREENSPRINGFIELD.ORG

FY 2014 Application Neighborhood Targeted Improvement Program - Round 2a City of Springfield, MA GENERAL INFORMATION: 1. ORGANIZATION: ReGreen Springfield Inc. 2. ADDRESS: One Federal Street Springfield, MA 01105 3. DUNS NUMBER: 079268907 4. CONTACT PERSON(S) David Bloniarz (dbloniarz@regreenspringfield.org) 413/285-3056 5. PROJECT NAME: Maple High Six Corners Neighborhood Beautification 6. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this project is to involve the residents of the Maple High Six Corners Neighborhood in a effort to replant trees that have been destroyed by the 2011 tornado, or have died and have been removed in their neighborhood. The overall goal of this project is to restore a sense of natural beauty to the Maple High - Six Corners Neighborhood, while engaging residents and homeowners in a community-based project that will improve the quality of life for the neighborhood residents. The Maple High-Six Corners (MHSC) neighborhood is one of Springfield’s oldest and home to many historic landmarks. In recent years, the neighborhood has fallen on hard times and is home to a large percentage of low-income families. Researchers from the US Forest Service have recently released a report identifying tree canopy cover throughout the city of Springfield. The results indicate that the Maple High - Six Corners neighborhood has a staggeringly low percentage of canopy cover at only 13%. To put that number into perspective, the city has an average of around 30% canopy cover across all neighborhoods. There are many reasons why Maple High Six Corners is lacking tree cover. In 2011, a devastating tornado impacted Springfield and destroyed thousands of street and residential trees. In MHSC, many trees were damage so badly that they had to be removed, leaving vacancy in the canopy. While some tree plantings have occurred since the tornado, there are still many parts of MHSC that are desperately in need of trees. The Neighborhood Targeted Improvement Program provides a great opportunity to work with neighborhood residents in an effort to replant trees in MHSC to restore the urban canopy. This grant would allow ReGreen Springfield, in cooperation with The Springfield Forestry Division and the Maple High Six Corners Neighborhood Council, to work with residents and volunteers to plant shade and ornamental trees in the neighborhood. The new plants will drastically improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, making a greener and more beautiful place to live. Beyond the visually improvements, the plants will provide a suite of ecosystems services to the residents of MHSC. The benefits provided by street trees are numerous and very important to the environmental health of neighborhood residents. It is the goal of ReGreen Springfield to provide everyone the same access to a healthy urban forest. Planting trees in underserved neighborhoods allows us to provide residents with a healthier and more enjoyable place to live and provides an opportunity to foster new community relationships.

7. TIMELINE: August 1-10 Selection of specific tree species, final determination of planting locations August 15-20 Tag trees at nursery Sept. 1-15 Volunteer recruitment in neighborhood Sept. 15-30 Neighborhood meeting with residents and volunteers October 15 Contact with Dig Safe and Springfield Water & Sewer Nov. 1-15 Planting event and community celebration Nov. 15-30 Planting evaluation with neighborhood surveys 8. PROJECT LOCATION: This planting will take place in the Maple High Six Corners neighborhood. New trees will be planted along public streets, within the municipal right of way, as designated in the grant guidelines. Several streets within the project area have identified for planting, and preliminary species selection has been completed. A full listing of the street addressed and proposed tree species is provided in this proposal. All plant types and locations have been approved by the City Forester.

Figure 1. Proposed planting area. The area highlighted in green shows the extent of the MHSC neighborhood. The area highlighted in red shows the approximate path of the 2011 tornado. New shade and ornamental trees are to be planted within the tornado zone section of the Maple High Six Corners neighborhood.

The Maple High - Six Corners Neighborhood Council has requested that Neighborhood Targeted Improvement Program grant funding be used to plant trees on the following streets. Upper Dexter Street, Dorne Street, Ashley Street, Cedar Street, James Street, Walnut Street, Central Street (from Maple up to Pine), Beech Street, Spruce Street, Cherry Street, Mill Street, Clifton Avenue, Ashley Street, Mulberry Street, and Windsor Street.

9. PROJECT CATEGORY: ___ Street and Sidewalk related improvements and/or repairs: ____ Installation of Park Amenities: X Initial Beatification and/or Clean up activities in Parks, Schools, ect. _____ Neighborhood Signage _____ Lighting _____ Community Garden & Farmers Market Projects X Tree Planting ______ Other PROJECT BENEFIT: X Benefit a lower-income neighborhood X Remove slum/blight conditions X Make physical improvements in residential neighborhoods TOTAL PROJECT COST: Targeted Improvement Grant Funding $ 6,250.00 Additional Matching Funding $ 7,000.00 Source of Matching Funds REGREEN SPRINGFIELD INC TOTAL $ 13,250.00

Narrative: There are many added benefits to planting trees along residential side streets beyond aesthetic beauty. Street trees are extremely effective at mitigating urban pollution and other environmental health issues by providing numerous ecosystem services. Air Quality A mature street tree can absorb as much as 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually. Through the process of photosynthesis, the carbon dioxide is transformed into sugar and oxygen. One large tree can provide a years supply of oxygen for two people. Additionally, trees filter harmful particulate matter out of the atmosphere, making our cities a safer place to live. Water Quality Urban areas typically have a high percentage of impermeable land cover in the form of roads, parking lots and other paved surfaces. Impermeable surfaces result in increased storm-water runoff, which can transport pollution, liter and sediment into a city’s waterways. A tree’s root system absorbs storm-water runoff and prevents polluted water from entering important water resources. Energy Savings Trees provide valuable energy savings to residents in a variety of ways. Trees that are properly planted around buildings provide shade in the summer and help divert wind in the winter. Buildings

that are shaded by trees use up to 30% less energy on air conditioning in the summer months. In the winter, trees that divert wind away from a building can reduce heating bills by up to 20%. The June 2011 tornado destroyed a major component of Springfield’s urban canopy and many residents have seen an increase in their energy bills because of it. Restoring the canopy cover in MHSC will help residents by lowering their energy bills.

This proposed project has many benefits for the residents of MHSC Restoring the urban canopy will result in a more beautiful, livable and healthy neighborhood. ReGreen Springfield aims to improve the quality of life in MHSC through this small-scale neighborhood project. Grant funding from the Neighborhood Targeted Improvement Program would enable ReGreen Springfield to serve this area of priority.

Goals - Increase the tree canopy cover in the Maple Heights-Six Corners Neighbrohood - Community engagement and collaborate with neighborhood organizations, churches and

the MHSC Neighborhood Council - Develop landscape plans for tree planting - Contact utility companies and dig safe - Enlist neighborhood volunteers to assist with planting efforts - Replant new shade and ornamental trees - Develop rigorous watering schedule for next year summer months - Hold a volunteer maintenance day Activities - Development of planting plans - Tree planting - Watering - Continued monitoring and

maintenance Outcomes The intended outcome of this planting event is to enhance the natural beauty of MHSC through planting trees. Planting trees along the street will eventually result a healthy and vibrant tree canopy. Residents can expect an improved quality of life after implementation of this project. The trees planted will provide clean air and water, habitat for wildlife, decreased energy costs and natural beauty. Additionally, houses located on tree-lined streets typically have higher property values than those located on barren streets.

EXISTING CONDITIONS

* THESE PHOTOS REPRESENT EXAMPLES OF EXISTING CONDITIONS ON MANY STREETS WITHIN THE TARGET AREA IN MAPLE HIGH - SIX CORNERS. TO BE COMPARED AGAINST POST-PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHS IN OUR REPORTING DOCUMENTS.

Item

Number Cost Grant Funded In-Kind Services

Total

2.5-3” Shade Trees

20 $193.88 $3,877.60 $3,877.60

2.5-3” Flowering Trees

5 $193.88 $969.40 $969.40

Volunteer Labor

$1,000.00 $1,000.00

Community Outreach

$1,000.00 $1,000.00

Watering Services

$1,000.00 $1,000.00

Total $4,847.00 $3,000 $7,847.00

Line Item Budget Maple High - Six Corners Neighborhood Beautification Project

Vendor Cost Per Tree Shipping Total Cost Per Tree

Schictel’s $74.63 $20.00 per tree $94.63

Chestnut Ridge $87.38 No Charge $87.38

Biglelow Nursery $115.13 $3.13 per tree $118.26

VENDOR QUOTATIONS

TREES

Vendor COST Per Tree

Northern Tree $192.00

MON Landscape $150.00

Central Nurseries $215.00

Regreen Springfield $85.00

SITE PREPARATION, PLANTING, MULCHING & CLEAN-UP

The following price quotations were provided by vendors who were recommended by the City of Springfield Forestry Division. These vendors have all bid on projects with the City over the past several years, and have outstanding references.

Vendor Price Each

Ben Meadows $22.90

Forestry Suppliers $21.50

Gemphler’s Supply $22.70

TREE WATERING BAGS (20 Gallon Gatorbag)