Tree City USA

Today, the Town of Sturbridge was again honored for its continuing commitment to trees, being presented with several awards. For the 20th consecutive year under the guidance and management of Tree Warden Tom Chamberland, Sturbridge has been honored as a Tree City USA recipient.

Old Sturbridge Village hosted the event, which began at 8:30 a.m. with registration and coffee in the Clock Room, followed by a series of presentations beginning at 9:15 a.m. in the Theater.

The presentations began with a welcome and introduction by Department of Conservation and Recreation Urban Forestry Coordinator - Eric Seaborn, followed by Tree Warden Tom Chamberland, who delivered an outstanding presentation of the Sturbridge Forestry Program. Tom provided me with a copy of his presentation, which was then added to the audio I recorded and is in the right side bar for viewing. Please take a few moments to watch it as it is most informative.

The next presentation was delivered by OSV's own Christie Higginbotton who provided a historical analysis of OSV's forestry in New England program. Christie was followed by keynote speaker Dr. John O'Keefe, Coordinator of the Harvard Forest Museum, who detailed the history of forestry in New England. Much of Dr. O'Keefe's presentation was based upon his work which is chronicled in his book - New England Forests Through Time, which were available for a mere $5.00.

The presentations were followed by a luncheon sponsored by National Grid and Lewis Tree Service, which preceded the awards ceremony. The slide show in the right side bar below Tom Chamberland's presentation highlights the awards ceremony, which included a Proclamation presented by Representative Todd Smola to the Town of Sturbridge. The day was capped off with a tree planting ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on the OSV grounds.

Congratulations to Tom Chamberland and the Sturbridge Tree Warden's Advisory Committee - Doris Sosik, Alfred Champagne, Joseph Kowalski, Calvin Montigny, and Brian Chamberland.