Garwood Shade Tree Advisory Board
The Garwood Shade Tree Advisory Board is looking forward to its first full year as a formally created entity of the Borough. The purpose of the Board is to provide recommendations and advice to the Mayor and Council, Planning Board, and other Borough Departments for regulations and actions for the protection of trees and shrubbery upon public lands, easements, and rights-of-way in the Borough. In other words, the Board is responsible for all the shade trees – plantings, pruning, removal and sidewalk interference- between the sidewalk and curb along every street.
The Board is starting off 2024 with one vacancy and looks forward to one more Borough resident with an interest in and some knowledge of shade trees volunteering to be a part of the restoration of Garwood’s tree canopy. Each member is assigned a section of the Borough to review and respond – with the Shade Tree Officer’s guidance- to requests for tree related work. The Board works closely with the Department of Public Works to coordinate all work. We also hold an annual Arbor Day ceremony on Arbor Day, which will be on Friday, April 26, 2024.
The Board was disappointed in mid-December 2023 when work had to stop on the Borough awarded contracts for road reconstruction projects including portions of Second, Third and Locust avenues, and all of Fifth Avenue and Maple Street, and sidewalk improvements at other various locations throughout the Borough as these projects would have resulted in the planting of over 100 new trees. These trees will now be planted in the spring of 2024. The Board was successful, however in working with the Union County Shade Tree Bureau and having 11 new trees planted along South Avenue. We also look forward to the State of New Jersey Department of Transportation planting 24 trees along North Avenue in the spring of 2024.
The Board meets the Fourth Tuesday of every other month starting in February 2024. Any and all interested residents should contact Borough Hall to complete an appointment form in order to be appointed or contact Shade Tree Officer Bill Nierstedt.
