A tree nursery has opened in Brookhaven’s Osborne Park to encourage residents and developers to preserve the city’s tree canopy, part of the Sustainable Brookhaven initiative.
Indigenous trees will be given away for free once they reach a certain level of maturity, said Brookhaven Arborist Jeff Dadisman.
“Sustainable Brookhaven is committed to protecting our natural resources,” said Assistant City Manager Patrice Ruffin Dowdell. “Managing our tree canopy in this way costs almost nothing. It just requires a mindset to preserve indigenous trees whenever the opportunity presents itself.”
construction of the Public Safety Building property. Credit: City of Brookhaven
Osborne Nursery is offering nearly 250 trees indigenous to this area, like species of oak, elm and hickory trees. Some saplings were rescued from the new Public Safety Building property.
“This is another demonstration of Brookhaven’s commitment to preserving our tree canopy, our most valuable natural resource,” said District 2 Councilman John Park. “We have some of the most robust ordinances regarding tree removal. Now we also have an easy way to repopulate and replenish trees that die or need to be removed.”
Brookhaven has three full time arborists. The city’s goal is to employ six certified arborists by the end of 2023.