A nationally competition has recently resulted in a TD Green Streets grant being awarded to the City of Springfield and Regreen Springfield. The award of the grant is a great honor, since it was a national, highly selective competition. The grant funds will enable the creation of two urban orchards in Springfield, as well as help support Regreen’s outreach and education activities, and help engage youth, neighborhood residents and community groups in the work of establishing the two orchards, which will produce fruit, as well as more engaged residents of the city.

Springfield joins Burlington, Vt.; Cheltenham Township, Pa.; Greenville, SC; Casselberry, Fla.; Myrtle Beach, SC; Salem, Mass.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Wilmington, Del. in receiving an inaugural TD Green Streets grant. Launched in 2013 by TD Bank and the National Arbor Day Foundation, TD Green Streets supports innovation in urban forestry.

The official announcement was made on April 26th at the City’s Arbor Day Ceremony, held at Kennedy Middle School, in the Indian Orchard neighborhood.

Why not follow Regreen Springfield on Facebook.  By ‘liking’ us, you will be kept up to date with the latest information on the work that Regreen Springfield is undertaking, and you can join in the discussion and commenting on the latest topics related to Springfield’s urban forest.  Take a few minutes to visit the Facebook site, and don’t forget to ‘like’ the page.  You can access the page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Regreen-Springfield/236395849730069?sk=wall

Be part of an exciting research project, which is being co-sponsored by Regreen Springfield, looks at whether different lawn mowing frequency (weekly, every two weeks or every three weeks) can improve the sustainability and biodiversity of Springfield’s yards.  We are looking for 15-20 properties in the tornado zone of the city for the project.  In addition to all of the newly planted trees in your yards, pollinators (e.g., songbirds, bees and butterflies) provide important ecosystem services that help enhance the livability of cities.  The presence of these animals might be enhanced by a more sustainable approach to lawn management.  We will provide a report on the findings at the end of the study.

The lawmowing study is part of the Sustainability Begins at Home project, which aims to identify ways to improve the sustainability of yards for people and wildlife. This project is being supported by partners that include the USDA Forest Service, the National Science Foundation, UMass Amherst and the City of Springfield.

Here’s what we will do with your yard:

• Mow your lawn for most of May through September
• Document which pollinators are in your yard
• Keep track of soil conditions and identify all the plants growing in your yard

To participate or for more information, please contact:
Susannah Lerman
USDA Forest Service
email: slerman@cns.umass.edu
phone: 413/545-5447