Do you want to be a part of making your city greener, cleaner, and healthier? The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) is raising awareness about multiple programs offering free trees to plant on your property this fall:
Greening the Gateway Cities MA Urban Canopy Project – for residents of Chelsea, Everett, Malden, and Revere
You can learn more about these opportunities and sign up to receive a free tree at www.mysticriver.org/trees.
The benefits of trees are not just aesthetic. Trees lower temperatures and provide shade, which helps communities weather increasingly hot summers. The most urban communities in greater Boston—with the least tree cover—are often the hottest. These communities also tend to have the highest percentages of low-income residents and/or people of color. When MyRWA asked residents what changes they wanted to see to address this problem, trees were one of the top solutions.
Trees bring other benefits beyond shade and cooling. They can improve air quality by absorbing pollutants, and tree roots soak up water, reducing the volume of polluted runoff into rivers and streams. Trees create habitat for beneficial birds, insects, and other wildlife. More greenery in a community can also reduce stress and improve mental health. Finally, trees can save you money! Tree cover reduces energy usage, bringing down cooling and heating costs, and more greenery can increase property values.
The Mystic River Watershed Association is committed to building solutions so that all people across the watershed, no matter who you are or where you live, have safe and easy access to nature and a healthy environment. MyRWA is working with cities and towns to plant trees on public property, including parks, paths, and parking lots. So far, the organization has helped plant over 1,000 shade trees, but resident tree planting is key to expanding the canopy even further. Request a free tree today!
Mystic River Watershed at a Glance
The 76-square-mile Mystic River watershed stretches from Reading through the northern shoreline of Boston Harbor to Revere. An Anglicized version of the Pequot word missi-tuk (“large river with wind-and tide-driven waves”), it is now one of New England’s most densely populated, urbanized watersheds.
Its 21 municipalities are home to 600,000 residents, including many who are disproportionately vulnerable to extreme weather: environmental justice communities, new Americans, residents of color, elders, low-income residents and employees, people living with disabilities, and English-language learners.
The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) builds shared solutions so that all people, no matter who you are or where you live across the Mystic River Watershed, have safe and easy access to nature and a healthy environment. MyRWA believes that understanding the roots of current inequity, access to information, and opportunities to learn about the natural world empower us all to work together for a better future in the Mystic.
