Trees for Watertown

10/16/2026

Look what Toronto is doing!
Here's a city which understands just how important it is to urban well-being to preserve big neighborhood shade trees.

🌳 Do you have a large tree on your property?

We’re launching a new pilot program to help residents care for healthy mature trees on private property.

Eligible property owners may receive funding of up to $1,500 to support professional pruning and maintenance of mature private trees greater than 61 cm in diameter at breast height (DBH).

Applications open today (October 15).

Learn more about eligibility and how to apply: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmental-grants-incentives/urban-forestry-grants-and-incentives/

10/14/2026

This Canadian article gives valuable practical advice on how to prune a tree to maximize its resilience in strong winds.

"Codominant stems" are what you are looking to avoid. The pictures in the article are a great help in identifying whether your tree has codominant stems.

Note to the wise: Hire a Certified Arborist to do the pruning, to make sure the cuts don't badly stress your tree.

September 28, 2026 by Jess Wilkin The way you care for a young tree today can set it up for decades of strength, stability and safety. Identifying and correcting structural weaknesses early can mean the difference between a tree that thrives and one that develops weak branches, splits and requires c...

10/13/2026

Nature isn't a guest in the city. Nature is infrastructure. Right on!

10/04/2026

We hear it's a mast year for black walnuts in some regions, so you may be seeing lots of nuts near this native tree, even in the city. If you want to try making a natural black ink from black walnut hulls, see this excellent step-by-step procedure from LEAF, a Toronto tree advocacy group.

What if fallen black walnuts could become something creative?

The outer hulls of black walnuts contain a rich, earthy pigment that can be transformed into ink for drawing, painting and other creative projects. It’s a simple way to explore the natural colours found in the trees around us.

Curious to try it yourself? Check out our latest blog for a step-by-step guide to making black walnut ink.

Read more: www.yourleaf.org/node/2857

10/01/2026

Just a reminder! Planted in the right place, with adequate density, urban trees help keep us healthier by trapping road pollution.

09/22/2026

A thoughtful article about how important it is to plan for high density of healthy, long-lived urban trees.

Share your thoughts on this article: Urban forestry for cooler cities faces three critical hurdles

While canopy cover close to buildings is a vital tool for urban heat adaptation, it remains inadequate in commonly used urban designs. This is the case even in cities with relatively high overall canopy cover. Upscaling urban tree-planting programs will be important in responding to this problem.

However, to do so meaningfully today and into the future, cities must plant large numbers of trees in a way that: (1) Achieve sufficient density to provide meaningful shade in streets; (2) Ensure adequate soil volume, water infiltration, and appropriate species selection for healthy growth; and (3) Ensure these trees grow to maturity over their decades-long life course.

We currently possess the means to achieve these outcomes; an array of governance tools (e.g. building and civil design codes, zoning provisions, tree protection ordinances, and urban forestry implementation plans) is available or can be modified to achieve what is required.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-70723-6

09/21/2026

Important reminder! Watertown neighborhoods need their existing healthy shade trees. It takes 30 years for a new tree to replace the profoundly important community, environmental and municipal benefits that a healthy 30-year-old shade tree provides to its urban neighborhood.

Every municipality must find effective ways to help homeowners preserve the big healthy shade trees on their property -- and to prevent developers from cutting them down.

Check out this Op-Ed published in the Boston Globe about our efforts in keeping Boston a green city!

Read here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/18/opinion/letters-boston-tree-canopy-preservation-challenges/?s_campaign=8315:varf

09/15/2026

The first image in this reel shows a COMMON MISCONCEPTION about how tree roots grow. It's an important reminder as Watertown develops! Planning and maintaining healthy root environments for our urban shade trees helps ensure our trees have long, healthy lifetimes of beauty and service.

Please watch this short reel to see how wrong that picture is!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/711523961329285