Communities across the state are reaching out to their citizens and encouraging them to plant trees in their own yards, greening the community with both yard and street trees. The Village of Bayside and the Village of Greenfield are accomplishing this through “Adopt-A-Tree” programs and species lists.

The Village of Bayside Adopt-A-Tree program offers residents a variety of tree species to be planted in the right-of-way with a limit of one tree per property. It will cost citizens $100 for a tree, including planting, mulching and an initial watering. The species being offered are River Birch, Sugar Maple, Hackberry, Eastern Redbud, Exclamation London Plane Tree, and Ironwood. By providing a list of species for residents to choose from it will ensure species diversity and decrease the destruction caused by invasive pests and diseases.

Greenfield, Wisconsin has also created a similar tree list. Their list is organized by site size restrictions and is updated annually. They have developed a tried-and-true method for planting in their community as this list was originally developed in 1992. This list is a great resource for homeowners and businesses alike.

These resources that communities provide are a wonderful way to get citizens interested in planting trees and keeping their communities green.