Page 339 - BOXFORD

The following is the article in the July 29, 2016 TriTown about our 10 year Tree City award:

“The Arbor Day Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National
Association of State Foresters awarded Boxford with their Tree City USA Award. The ceremony
took place in June at the College of Holy Cross where several towns were given the award but
Boxford received special recognition for reaching the 10 year milestone.
Tree Warden John Dold, who is also the town's Department of Public Works Superintendent,
proudly accepted the award on behalf on the town, as he continues to do work on improving tree
life in Boxford. Dold works with the DPW's Tree Department under the guidance of the board of
selectmen as well as the planning board.

The town's tree department receives an annual budget of $80,000 a year which mainly goes
toward tree removal and/or trimmings. "If there are diseased or dying trees that need to be
removed, I make a list and bring it before the planning board at a tree hearing," said Dold.

Meets 4 criteria
Boxford has received this honor for the past decade because the town follows the four
requirements outlined by the Tree City USA program. The town has a tree department, a tree-
care ordinance, an annual tree budget and hosts an Arbor Day observance at either Cole or
Spofford Pond School every spring. At the end of the Arbor Day ceremony, the children are
always given tree seedlings to take home and plant.

This past year's Arbor Day celebration took place at Cole Elementary School. "I wanted to gear
the ceremony towards the younger audience so instead of simply handing out the seedlings, we
set up tables where adults gave the children river birch seedlings, soil, and a plastic bag to put it
all in," explained Dold.”

The annual Arbor Day celebration was held on May 12, 2016 outdoors at the Harry Lee Cole
School. The special guest speakers were Selectman Peter Perkins, Selectwoman Mary Anne
Nay, Brian Middleton Cox, Principal of Cole School, and Dan Mayer, owner of Mayer Tree
Service. Second grade students Meryl Amaral and Michael Ellard helped Dan Mayer plant a pear
tree on the campus by the Little Red Schoolhouse. At the end of the ceremony, River Birch
Seedlings for planting were handed to each of the students.

The winter of 2015 was brutal, but the trees were beautiful when they were covered with snow. This
year marks the ninth year that Boxford has received the Tree City USA award.
The annual Arbor Day celebration was held on June 12, 2015 outdoors at Spofford Pond School on
an unusually hot day. The special guest speakers were Selectman Bill Cargill, Dr. Katherine

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