We love to talk to neighbors about our city’s majestic trees! Melrose Tree Project volunteers can often be found at the Melrose Farmers Market and other events. We also host interactive programs and projects as often as we can, so please keep an eye on this page for upcoming activities. Below are just a few of the educational events and activities we have hosted. We hope you will join us in outdoor tree exploration!
The Big Tree Hunt
For two weeks in May 2023, Melrose K-12 students fanned out across the city to identify our town’s largest trees by species. At the end of the scavenger hunt, a set of verifiers surveyed the top three trees by species to confirm the height and circumference, and Mayor Jennifer Grigoraitis presented awards, as follows:
Team: The Tall Tree Finder Kittens for tallest tree (a Douglas fir that was 115 feet tall)
Elementary School: The Oehler kids for widest tree (a silver maple with a trunk that was 121 inches around)
Middle School: Vincent Cunningham for tallest tree (a Chinese crab apple that was 30.8 feet tall)
High School: Joshua Johnston for widest tree (a Japanese crab apple with a trunk that was 64 inches around)
Adult: David Goodhue for tallest tree (a silver maple that was 98.8 feet tall)
Click here to see the original call to action for the Melrose Big Tree Hunt.
Tree Exploration with Students
Melrose Tree Project volunteers enjoy visiting school classrooms and collaborating with science teachers to take students on tree-focused field trips. For example, volunteer Marie C. created a 2-day program for fifth graders in the field behind Horace Mann Elementary that included meeting with an expert arborist from Bartlett Tree Service. Heather B. (who is herself a science teacher) led tree walks on Bellevue Ave with boy scouts and girl scouts that included tree identification, characteristics of the trees, and a leaf-rubbing session at the end.
If you would like to discuss having a custom tree-related lesson in your classroom or your child’s, please click here to get in touch.
Tree Education at the Melrose Farmers Market
Passers-by at the Farmers Market and other events enjoy chatting with our volunteers about favorite Melrose trees and how best to preserve our urban tree canopy. We bring samples of leaves to use in creating leaf art as well as for discussion of the history and ecological significance of various species.
Leaf-Rubbing Activity
For leaf rubbings, we bring fresh leaves and needles like the ones below, then place them underneath a sheet of paper and rub across the top with a crayon. No matter what age the artist is, the results never fail to be stunning!
Tree Health Education
Beech leaf disease is a serious concern in Melrose, and in fall of 2024, the Melrose Tree Project hosted a webinar to help residents understand the level of risk for trees across the city and in their own yards. As a result, assorted trees were fortified to fight back, and we continue to monitor the spread of the disease. Click here to watch the webinar.
