Everything You Wanted to Know About Swarthmore Trees
A sugar maple street tree on Harvard Avenue. Photo: David Page
Not sure what species that tree by the curb is? Wondering how many pounds of pollutants the oak on the corner absorbs? Now you can find out.
The Swarthmore Street Tree Survey, which compiles information on all the street trees and public-park trees within the borough, is now complete. Collected by the Davey Resource Group, the data, together with a software program called TreeKeeper, will allow better planning, planting, and care of our tree canopy.
Accessible to all residents, the software shows information about the general condition of every street and park tree, as well as its economic benefit. You can learn how many gallons of water and kilowatts of energy each tree saves. The survey even identifies “gold medal trees” that contribute more than average. Total yearly ecological benefits of our borough-wide street tree canopy are almost $270,000.
Members of the Swarthmore Tree Committee, which organized the survey, can go deeper into the software. We can identify young or recently planted trees, then set up a schedule for pruning. This should improve the long-term health of our canopy and save the borough money on tree-related problems. Additional benefits should include less storm damage to trees and less property damage from trees in decline.
TreeKeeper will also help the borough fight tree disease. With the click of a mouse, Tree Committee members can locate all the ash trees on borough streets and parks, for example. This will help them keep tabs on any damage from the emerald ash borer.
Vacant sites that would support a street tree are noted too — over 800 of them. Now we can better target areas to plant new trees. And, having documented the inventory of every species, we can work toward greater diversity.
David Page is the chair of the Swarthmore Tree Committee.
Street trees are available for sale until Monday, September 28. Order forms are at swarthmorepa.org. For more information, contact Karol Bock at 484-472-8639.
The Tree Committee appreciates the support of Swarthmore Borough Council and the Swarthmore Centennial Foundation, who funded this survey. Explore the site and to check out your street and your trees.
