The Ladies Village Improvement Society, which maintains the trees, greens, ponds, and parks that characterize East Hampton Village, has announced a plan to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States by planting 250 trees over the next decade.
Rachel Cooper, the L.V.I.S. executive director, announced the initiative, which is in partnership with the village, at the village board’s meeting on Friday. Since its 1895 founding, the L.V.I.S. has worked with the village to plant and maintain more than 3,500 trees. Its tree committee has long worked to combat Dutch elm disease and, with the village and Cornell University, monitors and treats more than 120 elm trees annually.
A commemorative tree is to be planted in honor of the 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, and each new tree is to be cataloged in a newly created village tree database and will be staked, fitted with a water bag, and provided organic nutrients for three years following planting. In December, the village board approved a $51,750 quote from the Davey Resource Group, the parent company of which was founded in 1880 to train tree surgeons, to catalog every tree on village-owned land and provide inventory and management software, creating a database that the public will be able to access.
Ms. Cooper, Joyce Tuttle, the L.V.I.S. president, and Marcos Baladron, the village administrator, recently discussed plans to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. “As often happens during these meetings, the conversation naturally turned to trees,” Ms. Cooper said, “and it was at this time that Marcos came up with a big idea to say, ‘What about the L.V.I.S. doing something really big to celebrate this moment?’ We were immediately inspired by this idea. We brought it back to our board and a plan immediately took root” to plant 250 trees throughout the village over 10 years.
Olivia Brooks, chairwoman of the L.V.I.S. tree committee, said after the meeting that the commemorative tree will likely be planted on the grounds of the society’s 95 Main Street property. This, Ms. Cooper told the board, will be followed by “the first wave of plantings” on the southwestern perimeter of Herrick Park, where a sidewalk leads to the just-renovated long-term parking lot. “Many more waves of plantings” will follow, she said.
The L.V.I.S. maintains between 3,500 and 4,000 trees and 800 memorial plaques. “Our tree canopy in the village is one of our greatest assets,” Ms. Cooper said. The Davey Resource Group’s software will also identify areas ripe for new plantings, “so it’s perfect timing, and it’s going to be a great utilization of those resources. We’re super excited to have that in place, which is going to happen later this summer.”
Ms. Brooks has been chairwoman of the tree committee for almost 20 years. “She spends her time, day in and day out, taking care of our wonderful trees in our community,” Ms. Cooper said. “Under her leadership, I feel like our partnership with the village is really stronger than it’s ever been.”
“Thank you so much,” said Mayor Jerry Larsen. “You guys are amazing.”
