A plan to begin replenishing some lost trees throughout the city, with special attention to be paid to Conimicut, has sprouted – as the Warwick City Council agreed to enter into a one-year contract with the Rhode Island Tree Council (RITC) to establish a tree planting initiative.

The Planning Department’s request to enter into the contract was passed unanimously by the City Council during their meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 15. The $15,000 contract – paid via funds in a city trust account, not through taxpayer dollars – will enable the city to oversee the RITC as they plant trees on volunteering private citizens’ lawns and along city streets.

“The goal here is to restore tree canopy in the city that we've lost due to development and also just natural decline of our street trees throughout the city,” said Lucas Murray, special projects coordinator for the Warwick Planning Department. “I think it's a positive program. It's something that is doable and it's, again, not on the taxpayer dollar.”

Murray said that they look to begin the project this fall, and centers around what is referred to as “set-back” planting, which refers to the practice of planting trees on larger portions of land located on participating properties of members of the public where the trees have a better chance of growing up healthy and “achieving their full potential.” According to a press release from the city, $10,000 of the $15,000 will go towards implementing this setback program.

Per the release, the remaining $5,000 would be set aside to allow the RITC to replace or remove missing trees, grind down stumps and prepare tree pits for re-planting in the village of Conimicut, which Murray said has been “the hardest hit” in recent storms that have damaged trees.

The Rhode Island Tree Council, or RITC, is a certified non-profit organization bent on creating and sustaining healthy urban and community forest. The organization is the only one in Rhode Island that has successfully implemented a set-back planting initiative through a public/private partnership arrangement. The RITC has also operated successful programs in other Rhode Island communities, such as Cranston.

“We are totally in agreement with this program. We support it, and we'll also volunteer and work to assist in any way we can,” said Philip D’Ercole, coordinator for the Friends of Warwick Ponds. “Warwick, over the last few years has lost so many trees it's a shame; with the construction at the airport, with the storms that we've had. We must replenish trees for air that we breath, for stormwater runoff that is polluting our water bodies.”

About a year and a half ago, Friends of Warwick Ponds approached the Rhode Island Tree Council after seeing the results of the project pilot in Cranston. The Friends of Warwick Ponds had noticed a lot of damage, dying and downed trees in the Warwick area due to severe storms and airport expansion and figured that the RITC could help. The RITC and Friends of Warwick Ponds partnered up and began a pilot program where trees were offered to members of Friends of Warwick Ponds. Four people volunteered in the program, including D’Ercole.

The volunteers had to maintain the tree for a year along with RITC helping them out on where to put the tree for best growing possibilities and what species of tree is natural to the environment. The program was successful, with many of the trees surviving today.

Upon the success of the pilot program, Friends of Warwick Ponds and RITC went to the City of Warwick to push for the program to be more widely adopted. The groups teamed up with Murray, and the council completed their role on Wednesday.

D’Ercole spoke recently of how excited everyone was upon learning that the council approved the plan.

“We are very happy that they approved it,” he said. Hopefully, the program will take off and restore the trees in Warwick…We also get to help the environment by replacing dead trees with new ones.”

The set-back program is defined by the practice of planting public trees, for the common good, beyond the public right of way and on private property. Ultimately, the program allows trees to be planted in large volumes of soil where they can survive and thrive.

As part of the program, homeowners that participate in tree plantings will bear responsibility for the care, needs and removal of any tree after being installed. The city believes that in this way, the cost burden for the tree’s upkeep and any attendant problems caused by root related sidewalk repairs will be relieved. The city also believes that the tree program will help it achieve its goal of increasing canopy cover over Warwick and offsetting the impact of deforestation due to ongoing construction throughout the city.

Under the contract, the RITC must screen applications, select the trees, inspect planting sites and contract with private contractors to help plant the trees. The city’s staff will oversee all actions with RITC, in order to make sure everyone is following the program’s contractual provisions.

Warwick’s Department of Public Works will also work with RITC on tree projects in Conimicut Village. The plan is to replace dead or missing trees in existing tree pits in the area. A tree pit is the square or round area that allows a tree to grow in crowded urban settings. DPW will remove dead or dying trees, grind stumps and prepare tree pits for replanting. If Murray, who has also recently been named the city’s landscape architect, determines certain tree pits are overcrowded or unusable, DPW will fill and cap them. The RITC will then plant trees in prepared pits, backfill any holes left behind and provide limited maintenance to the trees.

The City’s Tree Trust account was established under authority of Section 78-13 of the Warwick Code of Ordinances for the “purpose of purchasing, planting, and maintaining trees.” The Tree Trust ultimately will fund the project on planting trees throughout Warwick. Also, the Tree Trust is largely funded through private development impact fees.

The contract period for the Interior Tree Planting Program and Street Tree Initiative is one year from the date that the program was approved.

“I am very excited about this program, which will not only help to make our community more attractive, but will provide a myriad of other benefits,” Mayor Joseph Solomon said in a release. “Trees are beneficial for the environment, resulting in better air quality and reductions in stormwater runoff and heat effects. I encourage residents to consider taking part in this program, and look forward also to seeing the improvements that this funding will provide for in Conimicut Village.”