BERLIN, Md. — The town of Berlin will begin planting trees this month as part of the “Keep Berlin Cool” initiative, a program supported by the Berlin Horticultural Advisory Committee and funded through a grant from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. The campaign aims to increase urban tree canopy coverage and reduce stormwater runoff.
The first plantings are scheduled for late October on a mix of private and public properties, including a church, a local business, and eight residential properties. The effort will kick off at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 21, at Stephen Decatur Park, where the Mayor and Town Council will participate in planting a grove of small bald cypress trees. The public is invited to join in the event.
The trees for the initiative were grown from seeds collected from the oldest bald cypress in the eastern United States, a 2,630-year-old tree in the Three Sisters Swamp along North Carolina’s Black River. Outdoor guide and explorer Charles Robbins collected the seeds and donated them to the Old-Growth Forest Network in honor of its founder, Dr. Joan Maloof. Maloof, a Berlin resident, contributed the trees to the “Keep Berlin Cool” initiative, and the grove will be dedicated to her conservation efforts.
A second planting event is scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, at noon on the front lawn of Buckingham Presbyterian Church at 20 S. Main Street. Attendees will have the opportunity to plant four native trees and learn about proper tree planting techniques.
Photo: BerlinMD.gov
