On Saturday, October 31, 26 volunteers from C&S Wholesale Grocers, located in Hatfield, worked with volunteers from Regreen Springfield to help regreen Camp Wilder Park in the Sixteen Acres Neighborhood.  The park was created as part of the effort to restore greenspace in the city following the June 2011 tornado.

The team of volunteers, who traveled to Springfield from as far away as Brattleboro, VT and Erving, MA worked to prune shrubs, weed and cultivate planting beds, spread bark mulch and remove invasive plants from the tornado recovery area of the park near Quarry Pond.

The effort provided an opportunity for Regreen Springfield to partner with another corporate supporter in an effort to regreen the city… one tree at a time.  The C&S team plans to visit Springfield again next spring, to help plant trees in the lower Forest Park Neighborhood of the city.

At the 2015 Annual Meeting and Conference of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (NE-ISA), held in North Conway, NH, Regreen Springfield was recognized with this years Gold Leaf Award.  The ISA Gold Leaf Award is designed to recognize an individual, organization, or  community in the New England Chapter for outstanding community landscape beautification projects. This is an opportunity for the NEC-ISA to recognize projects that have had an impact on a community or region with an international award.

The Gold Leaf award is intended to recognize individuals, organizations, or municipalities that have made significant contributions through tree planting and landscaping which enhances environmental protection, conservation,
beautification, air purification, or wildlife protection. Regreen Springfield’s dedication to improve the urban forest and environmental quality of Springfield’s neighborhoods was cited as key in the selection of this year’s recipient.

In addition to Regreen Springfield, David Bloniarz, President of the organization was recognized for his efforts to improve Springfield’s urbanized landscapes.