Planting trees in Battery Park
Volunteers will grab their shovels, don their work gloves, and gather at 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 12, rain or shine, to plant seven trees in Richmond’s Battery Park. The volunteers, Richmond Tree Stewards, Friends of Battery Park and neighbors, will meet at the Stone House, 2803 Dupont Circle, and then disperse to five sites in […]
Volunteers will grab their shovels, don their work gloves, and gather at 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 12, rain or shine, to plant seven trees in Richmond’s Battery Park.
The volunteers, Richmond Tree Stewards, Friends of Battery Park and neighbors, will meet at the Stone House, 2803 Dupont Circle, and then disperse to five sites in the North Side park, which is recovering from a flood that occurred three years ago.
The entire release after the jump.
Volunteers will grab their shovels, don their work gloves, and gather at 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 12, rain or shine, to plant seven trees in Richmond’s Battery Park.
The volunteers, Richmond Tree Stewards, Friends of Battery Park and neighbors, will meet at the Stone House, 803 Dupont Circle, and then disperse to five sites in the North Side park, which is recovering from a flood that occurred three years ago. The actual planting, watering and mulching are expected to be completed in an hour, depending on the number of volunteers.
“We are so looking forward to this event,” said Ginnie Morrow, president of Friends of Battery Park.
She and Karen Wylie, another member and neighborhood resident, have worked for weeks to finalize the site selections and other details with Norman Brown, city arborist in the Department of Public Works, and Mary Lois Mitchum, city parks operations manager in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities.
Six of the trees were purchased by Richmond Tree Stewards with the proceeds of their Arbor Day celebration last April. Three were selected to provide shade – a fruitless sweet gum, a river birch and an elm — and the other three — two Yoshino cherries and a white dogwood – will occupy prominent spots to provide visual feasts in the spring.
The seventh tree will be another flowering species, a redbud bought by the Friends of Battery Park with donations given by WRIR listeners last year. The redbud will brighten the landscape in three seasons: bright pink flowers in the spring, purplish green leaves in the summer and red foliage in the fall.
The Friends of Battery Park are also organizing neighbors to water the young trees to ensure that they survive and thrive, and plan to place commemorative plaques in the spring identifying the species and donors.
TREE INFORMATION: When mature, a sweet gum can reach 80 to 100 feet tall with a 40 to 60 foot canopy spread. A fully grown river birch, a native species easily recognized by its distinctive peeling bark, may be 40 to 50 feet tall and spread its branches 20 to 30 feet. The species of elm is fast-growing and may become 40 to 50 feet tall with a 40 to 50 foot spread. For comparison, a typical house is about 10 feet tall per story, not including the roof.
The Yoshino cherry is the same species of tree that was given to the United States by Japan. The blossoming of the Yoshino cherry attracts thousands of tourists to Washington, D.C., in the spring. This species may grow 40 to 50 feet tall.
Both white dogwoods and redbuds are species native to Virginia and their blooms dot early spring woods across the state. White dogwoods were planted by George Washington at Mount Vernon and by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
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