By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
The Town of Manlius celebrated Arbor Day with its annual tree planting a bit later in the calendar than usual.
The morning of Oct. 11, community members gathered in the parking lot of the Between Friends Early Learning Community at 101 Wortley Way in Fayetteville to commemorate Manlius earning the Arbor Day Foundation’s “Tree City USA” designation for the 15th year in a row.
MaryEllen Letterman, one of the co-chairs of the town’s tree commission, said this year’s Arbor Day celebration had been delayed past the last Friday in April, when the holiday is celebrated, due to the “disarray” caused by the passing of commission members Pat Tobin and Brian Skinner since late this past summer and the resignation of previous chair Nancy Needham in March.
Town Supervisor Ed Theobald started the Oct. 11 ceremony by introducing fellow officials and welcoming guests.
The children of the Between Friends day care center then led a reading of the poems “An Autumn Greeting” and “The Autumn Leaves.”
Stephanie Guereschi, the other co-chair of the town’s tree commission, said these poems celebrate the seasons and “a love of trees.”
Theobald followed by reciting the proclamation of Arbor Day 2019.
“Trees benefit our municipality by cleaning the air, holding rainfall, moderating temperature, lowering heating and cooling costs, providing habitat for birds and reducing soil erosion,” Theobald said.
He also acknowledged the work of Needham over the years and dedicated the day to Tobin and Skinner.
Tobin had been a founding member of the town’s tree commission in 2002, while Skinner was registered with the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA).
Guests and officials then handed swamp white oak seedlings to the children and later the other attendees for them to plant.
A group of men and women eventually grabbed their shovels and started digging a few yards away on the town hall grounds.
The group planted a Japanese tree lilac in the place of two dead crabapples behind the town hall at 301 Brooklea Drive in Fayetteville.
Employees of the Town of Manlius Highway Department, a representative from Bartlett Tree Experts and tree commission members worked together to plant the lilac.
The process required maneuvering to make sure the tree would be level.
Guereschi said the planting made the row of trees encircling the back parking lot “more welcoming” for those accessing the town hall from Wortley Way.
Letterman said anyone planting a tree should always expose its crown instead of piling up mulch into a “volcano” shape.
To meet the standards to become a “Tree City USA,” municipalities must establish a tree board or department, write a public tree care ordinance, create a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita, put together an annual Arbor Day ceremony, and pass and recite an official Arbor Day proclamation.
