Regular readers of my blog already know how much I love the Friends of Webster Trails. This is an amazing group of volunteers who create and maintain the many miles of beautiful trails that snake through our town.
But their commitment to our town’s natural beauty does not stop there, evidenced by the group’s most recent project, which they call ReTree Webster.
Basically, ReTree Webster is a program born from recognition that Webster’s forests are under attack from insects and disease. As thousands of ash, hemlock, oak and beech die, they’re replaced by invasive and, usually, non-native trees.
The Friends of Webster Trails has come up with a plan to fight back. They first completed tree surveys along many of the trails to record the kinds of trees present and how many of them there are. Then, after removing some of the invasive species, new trees will be purchased or grown from seedlings and planted.
Plans are continuing apace. The Friends recently completed their new ReTree Nursery, located adjacent to the Webster Parks and Recreation maintenance building on Webster Rd. A few weeks ago, volunteers planted 100 Sweet Gum, Red Pine, White Spruce and Nine Bark seedlings in the nursery, many purchased from New York State and Monroe County, and others raised from locally collected native plants.
When these baby trees grow to a healthy height, they’ll be planted in Open Space areas throughout the town to replace trees lost to insects and disease.
To find out more about this amazing ReTree Webster project, to volunteer or donate to the effort, send a message through the Friends of Webster Trails’ website contact page.
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(posted 5/16/2022)
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