Worcester Tree Initiative:
a Program of Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Our Mission: Rebuilding Worcester County's Community Forests

Our organization exists to grow, care for, and protect Worcester County's urban and town forests. Our community based approach includes education, training, tree planting, and long term monitoring and care to achieve significant improvements to the environment and to the quality of life in our cities and towns. 

For more information read Our Story.

Master Tree Stewards

We're evolving our Master Tree Stewards Training Program to cover even more topics and provide more field experiences. We will still hold our original program annually as a basic training program but for grads of the program and experienced gardeners and stewards looking for more information the new model will offer opportunities for greater depth and ongoing skill development.

Look for our newest Master Tree Stewards course offerings among other classes on the upcoming events page.

Arbor Week 2019

This spring the annual celebration of trees, Arbor Day, is getting an upgrade to Arbor Week! Worcester Tree Initiative will be utilizing this week to plant trees in communities throughout central MA. We need planting opportunities, volunteer organizers, and tree planters!

Email Derek with your planting proposals at dlirange@towerhillbg.org. We need information like the address(es) of the planting, number of trees proposed, ownership of the property/properties. Proposals for neighborhoods or parks with low tree canopy will be considered stronger but all proposals are welcome.

Proposals due by January 31st.

It Takes a City to Build a Forest

Growing an urban forest is hard work. Lack of space, poor growing conditions, and damage done by people, both accidentally and intentionally, make cities and towns tough places to grow trees, but in our view, it's not optional. We wouldn't want to live in a city without trees and we doubt you would either.

That's why we're asking you to consider supporting our efforts. We work to rebuild Worcester's urban forest and ensure that it is healthy, well cared for, and equitably distributed. We need your help to ensure that this work is carried out. You can do this in a lot of ways, from volunteering to donating; learn more by clicking below.

Steering Committee

Founders:

Congressman Jim McGovern
Tim Murray; President/CEO, Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce 
Co-Chairs:   

Mary Knittle
State Representative Jim O'Day  
Jordan Levy  
Members:
Paul Belsito
Deb Cary
Senate President Harriette Chandler
Andy Davis
Margaret Doyle
Grace Elton, CEO, Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Tony Enonomou
Steve Fischer
Allen Fletcher
School Committee Member Jack Foley
Margaret Guzman
Robyn Kennedy
State Senator Michael Moore
Paul Moosey, Commissioner, Dept. of Public Works, Worcester
Marie Morse
​Colin Novick
Joe O'Brien
Selectman Ken O'Brien
Kevin O'Sullivan
Chris Philbin
Kathleen Polanowicz 
Selectman Chris Rucho
City Councilor Matthew Wally

Thank You to Our Partners & Sponsors
You can see the whole list on our Partners and Sponsors page. 
Worcester Tree Initiative. An Independent Program of Tower Hill Botanic Garden.
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