From Maplewood Township:
Free tree seedlings will be available to Maplewood residents in the month of April as part of the New Jersey Forest Service’s New Jersey Tree Recovery Campaign.
From 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (or until seedlings are gone) on Saturday April 23 residents will be able to pick up tree seedlings at the Department of Public Works Facility (359 Boyden Avenue, Maplewood). Seedlings, available on a first come, first served basis, come with instructions on how to store, care for, and plant the trees. The guides help residents choose the right place on a property to plant a tree while keeping in mind the tree’s full-grown size in the future. Residents should plant the seedlings within two days after pick-up in order to prevent the roots from drying out.
Please follow NJ State COVID19 recommendations when picking up the tree seedlings.
The goal of the Tree Recovery Campaign is to distribute over 700,000 tree seedlings to New Jersey residents over the course of eight years was met in 2020. With natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy, and the damage caused by several new invasive insects to New Jersey, our state needs more new tree seedlings than ever before. Therefore, the campaign is moving into its 9th year. The program is a joint effort between Maplewood Township, NJ Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program, NJ Forest Service Nursery, New Jersey Soil Conservation Districts, Arbor Day Foundation, FedEx and Texpo Energy.
When properly planted and maintained, trees can be assets to a community. They improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood or business district, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants, and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits.
For a list of all distribution locations across the state, visit www.forestry.nj.gov or www.facebook.com/newjerseyforests.
If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Cordray at the Maplewood Department of Public Works (973) 762-1175 ext. 2 or by email: kcordray@twp.maplewood.nj.us.
