Hope Street

City Forester Douglas Still, behind tree, instructs the volunteers on how to prepare the trees for planting along North Main Street.

There are now dozens of new trees along Hope and North Main streets – thanks to cooperative efforts by the city Department of Parks and Recreation and Summit neighbors.

On April 8, city crews cut eight new tree pits through the sidewalks along Hope Street and put in new soil. Then they added the trees, including four in front of the Rochambeau Library branch. The site selection was done in cooperation with the Hope Street Merchants Association.

Then, on April 13, city crews again delivered trees, but this time along North Main Street to a collection of about 20 neighborhood volunteers, including members of SNA, who dug the holes, planted the trees and spread the mulch. A total of 25 trees were put in, including some on streets intersecting North Main. When the planting was finished, Whole Foods Market provided goody bags for the workers.

The effort was supervised by City Forester Douglas Still and coordinated by George Harvey of Groundwork Providence. It was part of the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP), a street-tree planting partnership of the Mary Elizabeth Sharpe Street Tree Endowment, the city and its residents.

Since 1988, the endowment has matched Parks Department funds to provide trees, soil, sidewalk preparation and tree delivery at no cost to Providence residents who apply for and receive a Neighborhood Street Tree Planting Award.

The new trees might not look like much now, but are a legacy of beauty, shade and clean air to future generations.