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Past Accomplishments
December 2004 Tree Maintenance Begins
Following the goal of maintaining a healthy forest, two tree service companies were hired to begin tree
removal and pruning. Village Green places care of existing trees as top priority. Integral Tree and Landscape
Corporation and Greenspace Enterprises completed the initial phase of maintenance. A total of 17 trees were
removed and 19 trees were pruned. Maintenance will continue in 2005.
October 30, 2004 Fall Planting Completed
Community members came together on Saturday for the annual fall tree planting and a memorial service. A
total of 10 trees were planted - six in Abrams Park and four throughout the village. The oak trees planted
in the park were donated in memory of six community members - Claire O'Neill Carr, George
Husted, George
M. Reid III, Ann R. Wicks, Bessie and Webster Coon, and Gilbert J. Kelly.
After the trees were planted, Village Green hosted a memorial service in honor of the community members for whom
the trees were donated. Approximately 30 people attended the event. Following a brief talk by Reverend Ryan
T. Nace of St. John's Reformed Church, the attendees enjoyed a potluck lunch in the gazebo.
Village Green wants to express appreciation for the generous contributions of local businesses
Northern Dutchess Landscaping and Integral Tree and Landscape
Corporation and, of course, to the many volunteers who helped make our
day a success.
THE VILLAGE GREEN HAS NOW PLANTED 58 TREES !!
September 11, 2004 Hardscrabble Day Parade
Village Green members could be seen wearing their tree costumes in Red Hook's annual Hardscrabble Day
Parade. They also had a table set up with many information booklets on trees, their care, and their many
benefits.
April 24, 2004 Arbor Day Observed
In observance of Arbor Day, members of Village Green were joined by volunteers from the Red Hook Middle School
Who Cares Club, along with their teacher Mary Pat Budd, to plant eleven trees throughout the village. Volunteers
met at the Elmendorf Inn where a commemorative tree was planted for the late Jane
Knobloch, who was a member of
the Village Green.
April 2, 2004 Village Forestry Management Plan
Announced
At a special event on April 2, the Red Hook Village Green Committee announced a new forestry management plan for the village. The plan is based on a street tree inventory conducted in September 2003 by Cornell's Community Forestry Outreach Program. The inventory revealed that the village's street tree population has a replacement value of over $2.5 million. The new forestry management plan will ensure the long-term health of this valuable village resource, guiding Village Green activity for years to come.
The forestry management plan was announced at a 2004 kick-off event,
Friday, April 2, 2004, at the Red Hook Inn. See pictures from the event. The appointed officers of the Village Green presented the forestry management plan.
You can read the full Forestry Management Plan:
... or view the
PowerPoint presentation given at the event.
September 13, 2003
Street Tree Inventory Completed
In September 2003, Cornell's Community Forestry Outreach Program conducted a
street inventory and arrived at a number of interesting findings. According
to the inventory data, which the Village Green received in December 2003,
the villages street trees have a replacement value of over $2.5 million.
They sequester approximately 20,000 lbs of carbon per year, with total
pollution removed per year valued at over $1,200. Several communities across
the US have used the USDA Forest Service's Urban Forest Effects (UFORE)
model to estimate specific tree values, but Red Hook is only the 4th
community in the nation to get realistic values from tree census data
collection, rather than by estimates. Other data received in the inventory
includes tree species, condition, size, location, and planting sites.
October 25,
2003 Fall Planting Undertaken
Our second fall planting was undertaken in October 2003. Eleven trees were
planted throughout the village, with a focus on the replacement of
previously cut-down trees on residential streets.
May 10, 2003 - $251.50 Raised on Apple Blossom Day
The Red Hook Inn hosted a fundraiser for the Village Green during the
village's Apple Blossom Day celebration, Saturday, May 10, 2003. The event,
which took place from 2 p.m.-6 p.m., brought musical entertainment as well
as refreshments and door prizes. Admissions generated $214.00 in
contributions. Musicians donating their talents were Will Smith (saxophone)
and Richard Sullivan (piano and vocals) playing soft jazz, Sheryl Wheeler
from the Hudson Valley Folk Guild, and songwriter Mark S. Meritt. Door
prizes include a $100.00 gift certificate donated by The Phantom Gardener in
Rhinebeck, a Maple tree valued at $100.00 donated by Grandiflora in Red
Hook, and two $33.00 gift certificates donated by Mac's Agway of Red Hook.
The Red Hook Inn donated the space and the hors d'oeuvres. Outside the Inn,
Village Green members Evelyn Krueger, Dave Seymour, Lorrie Klosterman and
Linda Keeling raised an additional $37.50 by dressing as trees and asking passersby
for $1.00 to "hug a tree."
April 21-27, 2003 - $4,677.00 Raised for
1st Annual Arbor Day Observance
Red Hook Village Arbor Day 2003 was April 26, and we celebrated with a week
of events. Red Hook was designated a Tree City USA on Tuesday, April 22 -
see below for details. On Saturday, April 26, twelve trees were planted
throughout the village. And for the entire week of Monday, April 21 through
Sunday, April 27, Stewart's Shops generously chose to provide a matching
gift to the Village Green to assist our efforts. The public showed its
wonderful support with $2,338.50 in donations, and Stewart's matched
dollar-for-dollar, giving the Village Green a total of $4,677.00 in
donations for our Arbor Day 2003 celebration. On May 16,
Stewarts presented a check for all funds raised.
April 22, 2003 - Red Hook Becomes a Tree City USA
The National Arbor Day Foundation accepted the Village of Red Hook's
application to become a
Tree City USA,
and we held a special event during our weeklong Arbor Day celebration to
mark the occasion. The ceremony began at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22 in
Memorial Park. On behalf of the foundation, Lou Sebasta, New York State
Forester, and Mary Kramarchyk, Volunteer Coordinator of the Urban and
Community Forestry Partnership, New York State, declared the village a Tree
City USA. They also presented a Tree City USA flag to David Cohen, Mayor of
the Village of Red Hook. Other guests in attendance included New York State
Assemblyman Patrick Manning, Sally Mazzarella from New York State Senator
Stephen Saland's office, and Village of Tivoli Mayor Marcus Molinaro. The
historic event was capped off with refreshments at the Elmendorph Inn.
See pictures from the ceremony.
Tree City USA status allows the village to benefit from various kinds of
assistance, both financial and informational, for its community forestry
program. The Village of Red Hook's qualification makes it only the fourth
municipality in Dutchess County to participate in the Tree City USA program,
after the City of Poughkeepsie (since 1979), the Village of Millbrook (since
1984) and the City of Beacon (since 1995).
October 19, 2002 - Memorial Park tree planting
The Village Green squeezed in a second Fall 2002 planting, with two gingkos
and a London plane added to the grounds of Memorial Park, between Broadway
and Old Post Road across from the IGA. These trees will all grow to be tall
and stately, both benefiting from and contributing to the environment of
Memorial Park. Village employees worked with staff members from Integral
Tree and Landscape and community members to plant the trees.
See pictures from the
planting.
October 7, 2002 - Community Forestry Ordinance
Passed
The Village Board of Trustees passed into a law an ordinance implementing a
community forestry program. The ordinance provides an annual budget for the
program, which will ensure the proactive pursuit of a healthy tree
population for the Village of Red Hook. Planting guidelines ensure the
selection of aesthetically and ecological appropriate trees, proper
maintenance and prompt replacement when necessary. The ordinance also
establishes an annual Arbor Day observance and proclamation, and it
officially empowers the Red Hook Village Green Committee, under the guidance
of its board-appointed officers, to develop and implement the community
forestry program. Read the ordinance.
September 21, 2002 - Village center tree planting
The Village Green's first tree planting took place in a public ceremony on
the first day of autumn, 2002. The first tree, a Callary Pear, was planted
in front of Billie's Restaurant on South Broadway. Seven additional trees, a
combination of Callary Pears and Honeylocusts, were then planted at a
number of locations near each of the "four corners" of the intersection of
Broadway and Market Street. Village employees worked with staff members from
Integral Tree and Landscape and community members to plant the trees.
See
pictures from the planting.
Summer 2002 - Village tree inventory
Community members helped prepare an inventory of street trees throughout the
Village of Red Hook, indicating both placement and condition of all street
trees and utility poles. This inventory will aid future implementation of
the village's community forestry program.
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