WOODBINE – Woodbine’s always intrepid Green Team-led volunteers, again, braved the borough’s recent, multi-seasonal weather this year to distribute trees to local residents on a windy May 1 for the borough’s Arbor Day commemorative tree distribution under the New Jersey Tree Recovery Campaign.
According to a release, three different tree varieties were provided by the State: 50 mockernut hickory, 100 cornelian cherry, 100 willow oak, all of which have found homes by the completion of the distribution.
Green Team Chair (and councilman) Dave Bennett reports 31 households signed in to receive trees. He added that the species are chosen for each municipality by the state; the borough can only request the total number of trees.
Volunteers this year were Chamber of Commerce President and Green Team member Lisa Fisher, CORE-trained volunteer from the Public Works Department (and Land Use Board member) Louis Ciabatoni, youth volunteer Gemma Maureen Ciabatoni, and Bennett.
“It has been great to be part of this once again annual event, which enhances our tree-lined community and to, once again, be the state dropoff/pickup site for other local municipalities. I thank Green Team members and volunteers who worked with Councilman Bennett and borough staff for another very successful tree giveaway,” stated Mayor William Pikolycky. “Our partnership with NJDEP has been ongoing and fruitful for all involved.”
The Borough of Woodbine, again, also celebrated its special “Arbor Day” role in the county, as it served for a seventh, non-consecutive year as the Cape May County drop-off site for free tree seedlings to be distributed under the New Jersey Tree Recovery Campaign to participating municipalities. Bundles of trees were dropped off by Ed Russakow, of the New Jersey Fire Service, who gave the state Forestry Services a hand by loading the region’s trees and trucking them into Woodbine April 28, labeled as to their intended communities throughout the area.
Public Works employees, Shade Tree Commission members, and others from several Cape May County municipalities (and one in Cumberland, as well as now one in Atlantic) came into Woodbine to pick-up their bundled trees later that day, making the forestry people grateful to have Woodbine, once again, be their one-stop local drop-off/pick-up site.)
The goal of the Tree Recovery Campaign is to distribute 600,000 tree seedlings to New Jersey residents over the course of six years. It is a joint effort between the Borough of Woodbine, New Jersey Forest Service, New Jersey Soil Conservation Districts, Arbor Day Foundation, iCIMS, FedEx, State Farm and International Paper.
“As mayor, I want to thank New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), who administered this long-term program and thus continue to help to keep our community’s halo of green canopy,” stated Pikolycky.
