Ossining Celebrates Arbor Day

Press release from the Village of Ossining:

May 5, 2021

The Village and Town of Ossining celebrated Arbor Day by planting a tree at the newly-established COVID-19 Memorial at Nelson Sitting Park. Mayor Rika Levin and Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg were joined April 30 by fellow Village Trustee Dana White and Town Councilwoman Elizabeth Feldman with New York State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, Westchester County Legislator Catherine Borgia, Superintendent of Ossining Union Free School District Raymond Sanchez, Green Ossining Committee Chair Suzie Ross, Town of Ossining Environmental Advisory Committee Chair Mitzi Elkes, and Town of Ossining Planning Board member Donna Sharrett.

"It is a profound moment here in the Village of Ossining, where together, we planted a tree at the Ossining COVID Memorial for our first of many Arbor Day celebrations as a Tree City USA. It is my hope that this place gives space to families who lost loved ones" said Mayor Rika Levin.

“We are so grateful to be here today recognizing Arbor Day once again,” said Supervisor Dana Levenberg. “After taking a year off due to COVID-19 restrictions, it is very meaningful to gather today at the Ossining COVID Memorial to renew our commitment to planting trees in our community.”

"The past year of the pandemic has taught us how connected we are to nature and how much we benefit from our local parks and other natural sites," said Westchester County Legislator Catherine Borgia. "It's my pleasure to be in Ossining on Arbor Day, planting a tree for the enjoyment of residents for generations to come. Arbor Day reminds me of a quote from actress & humanitarian Audrey Hepburn "To plant a tree is to believe in tomorrow."

Arbor Day 2021 marks the first year that the Village and Town of Ossining celebrated the Tree City distinction together. The Village received this designation for the first time in 2020, while the Town celebrates its 21st year. “Trees have the remarkable ability to acquire food & eliminate waste, build defenses & strategies against native insects and diseases, and reproduce while remaining in one spot," said design consultant Donna Sharrett, who has been assisting the Village in creating the COVID Memorial's design. For this purpose, an oak tree has been planted, as they support over 500 different species of butterflies and moths native to our area, making them the best single pollinator.

Arbor Day has been celebrated in the United States since the 1800s, when pioneer J. Sterling Morton and his wife planted an abundance of trees, shrubs, and flowers in their new home in the Nebraska Territory, sharing their passion for trees and agriculture with their neighbors. In 1872, Morton proposed a tree-planting holiday to the Nebraska State Board of Agricultural, and with that, Arbor Day was born.

Ossining has long been considered an environmentally progressive community by neighbors throughout Westchester and New York State and has been leaders when it comes to taking action on climate change. Both the Village and Town have worked on numerous initiatives to decrease the community's carbon footprint while enhancing and protecting the natural landscape in this Hudson River community. Ossining also boasts active and engaged residents who encourage both governments to raise the bar on sustainability efforts. In recent years, both communities have begun to invest more heavily in urban forestry, tree and plant management, and eliminating invasive species, all in furtherance of preserving the community's precious natural resources. Both communities have passed legislation limiting the usage of gas-powered leaf blowers, and, most recently, the Village of Ossining passed new wetlands regulations.

“Trees play an important role in the health and welfare of every community, and as we work towards reducing Ossining's carbon footprint, it should be noted that trees also offer carbon sequestration benefits, said Green Ossining Chairperson and co-founder, Suzie Ross. “Both the Village and Town of Ossining continue to demonstrate that they value our natural environment by prioritizing conservation efforts such as this, and I am thrilled that we are continuing to plant more trees in our parks, coupled with programming that bolsters our residents’ knowledge of the beautiful environment around them. We are laying important environmental groundwork here in Ossining, and each year on Arbor Day, we are inspired to keep going."

“The Town and Village of Ossining are the environmental leaders we are today thanks to the incredible groups of volunteers that inspire us to take our sustainability commitments to the next level,” said Supervisor Dana Levenberg. “In the Town, our Environmental Advisory Committee was instrumental in starting Arbor Day celebrations over 20 years ago, and they remind us through their continued volunteerism and advocacy that as James Kilmer once wrote, ‘I think that I will never see a poem as lovely as a tree’ -- these beautiful trees certainly deserve our dedicated stewardship and care.”

Both the Village and Town anticipate being named a Tree City for 2021 as well— The Town of Ossining received $33,750 in grant funding for tree maintenance at Ryder and Engel Parks. Additionally, the Town has partnered with a group of citizen volunteers in 2021 to introduce the Ossining Town Parks Habitat Stewards program. Focusing on Ryder Park in 2021, this group of volunteers will identify and mitigate invasive species and vines. The volunteers will also be planting and caring for young, native trees this spring to care for and grow a sustainable, natural habitat in Ryder Park. This volunteer group plans on rotating to other Town parks in future years. It will continue to engage the community on the importance of caring for our natural habitat and native species.

The Village was awarded a $38,000 grant through the Department of Environmental Conservation's Urban Forestry Grant, where as many as 80 native species trees will be planted at Nelson Park and Nelson Sitting Park. This project also ties in an educational component—the Village's Environmental Advisory Committee will be designing interpretative signage for the park to teach visitors about the various species of trees, and Green Ossining will be hosting a virtual tree planting presentation for residents to watch from their homes.

As Tree City USA designees, The Village and Town of Ossining continue to look for ways to care for trees and add trees back into the environment through legislation, policies, grant funding from New York State, and annual tree-planting celebrations on Arbor Day. "We are pleased to be part of the esteemed group of Tree City municipalities celebrating Arbor Day today; it is a testament to our commitment to protect the Village of Ossining's trees, as well as a recognition of the impact that trees have on our community’s health, well-being and quality of life," said Mayor Rika Levin.

This press release was produced by the Village of Ossining. The views expressed here are the author's own.