This fall, Olmsted City’s volunteers will be planting our first round of trees funded by the Urban and Community Forestry Grant through the US Forest Service. These trees will not only begin to replace the many trees that have been lost over the past 100 years of F.T. Proctor Park’s life, but will also add many beneficial services to the local community.
F.T. Proctor Park entrance in the 1920s.
In this first phase, we are focusing on the most visible borders of the park along Culver Avenue and Rutger Street. We have selected large tree species that over time will grow to provide more shade along the popular upper walking loop. These borders once featured a much more dense canopy cover, as seen in this postcard from the 1920s. Restoring these tree lined alleys will return the upper level of the park to something more closely aligned with its historic roots.
We have also chosen a diverse selection of native trees that includes a few maple varieties, red oaks and white oaks, along with birch, hickory, pine, and sycamore. Planting a wide variety of trees increases biodiversity and supports a wider range of wildlife species and birds. According to Doug Tallamy, a University of
Mature Black Gum, Nyssa sylvatica tree. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Geiger.
Delaware entomologist and author of the 2021 book The Nature of Oaks, our native oaks, like the Scarlet Oak, Quercus coccinea, or the Bur Oak, Quercus macrocarpa, are the host plants for more than 1,000 kinds of moth and butterfly caterpillars. Before these creatures transform into the beautiful moths and butterflies we love, their larvae are the most important protein that parent songbirds need to successfully raise their offspring. Native birch trees host just over 400 caterpillar species and maples host 295. Planting these trees close together provides a dense habitat where birds can build nests and seek refuge from predators. In the fall, acorns and other nuts like hickory provide nutritious food for squirrels, turkeys, foxes, woodpeckers, and deer. The berries of the Black Gum tree, Nyssa sylvatica, are a highly nutritious food source for fall migrating birds, and the nectar produced by the small spring flowers is important for bees. These trees put on stunning fall color for the park’s human visitors, but each individual tree’s leaves are different, from red or purple to yellow or orange.
Leaves of Nyssa sylvatica in fall. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Geiger.
Upper canopy in F.T. Proctor Park. Photo courtesy of Diane Hartig.
Planting a wide variety of tree species will also protect the overall canopy if one species is destroyed by a pest or disease. Many Uticans remember the destruction caused by Dutch elm disease, a fungus that caused wilt and death in all elm species. These trees had been planted along streets in long stretches of a monoculture of elm trees. When they died, these streets were left completely bare. Now we strive to plant a variety of different species of trees together to prevent this total loss if one species becomes vulnerable. We have chosen a few less common species as well to increase biodiversity, like the Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis. It can tolerate just about any growing condition, sun or shade, dry or wet, and birds love the berries it produces in the fall.
A few smaller trees will be interspersed in the understory of these large canopy trees. Interplanting taller and shorter trees like this provides a more diverse habitat – some birds will only nest in understory trees. Cardinals and bluebirds, for example, will not nest above 15 feet while others, like orioles, demand high, exposed branches. These understory trees thrive in the partial shade provided by larger trees and tend to be more showy. The American Hophornbeam, Ostrya virginiana, bears clusters of creamy white, seed bearing pods that resemble hops through summer and into winter. It is a host plant for the luna moth and the seeds are preferred by downy woodpeckers.
Seed pods of American Hophornbeam, Ostrya virginica.
Tall canopy trees have been shown to provide many ecosystem services along with benefits for the surrounding community. According to the US Forest Service, their extensive root systems control stormwater runoff, reducing flooding and filtering out pollutants as the water flows to nearby drains and streams. Their leaves intercept rain water as it falls, slowing down the effects of heavy rain events and preventing erosion of the soil under them. Trees also act as giant, green air purifiers, cleaning the air we breathe by catching and absorbing pollutants, in addition to removing and storing carbon dioxide. The shade they provide cools the air temperature and mitigates the heat island effect caused by pavement, concrete, and buildings in cities. Research has shown tree canopy cover reduces temperatures 11 – 19 degrees Fahrenheit compared to communities with no tree cover. And it seems that being in the company of trees can make us happier. A study by the University of Michigan revealed that exposure to nature can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety in young people. Other studies have shown that spending time around trees reduces stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and improves mood. Simply viewing nature from a hospital window can speed recovery time.
Stakes mark the planting sites along Rutger Street at F.T. Proctor Park.
Olmsted City has been installing benches along many of the paths in F.T. Proctor Park to encourage visitors to sit and enjoy the sights and reap the benefits of spending time amongst the trees. We will continue to install more trees and benches in the coming years with funding from this grant and donations from our many supporters. We hope you will be inspired to visit the park, see the work Olmsted City in partnership with the City of Utica have been accomplishing, and watch these new trees grow through the coming seasons.
To learn more:
Why choose native plants? https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter
Finding relief in the shade https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/finding-relief-in-the-shade
What is the heat island effect? https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/urban-heat-island
Birds and trees https://www.americanforests.org/article/backyard-for-the-birds/
The benefits of oaks https://www.nwf.org/Gardening/Planting-Oak-Trees
