Friends of Cloverly Park

Cloverly's Trees Need TLC--And YOU

Cloverly Park’s trees are a significant part of its natural beauty and appeal. But maintaining them—ensuring proper growth, minimizing risk from dead or damaged branches, and mitigating damage caused by storms and people (sadly, yes, this happens)—takes time and resources.

Here’s what we are doing to keep Cloverly’s canopy healthy and beautiful for years to come:

1. Timely professional care
We are committed to getting professional tree care if the problem is such that Parks & Recreation cannot provide the care or do so in a timely fashion.

Thanks to the hard work and generosity of several park neighbors, we recently got professional care for two of the park’s oldest trees: the towering katsura near the School House Lane steps and the massive paulownia near the play area.

With a go-ahead from Parks & Recreation, on September 13 and 15, arborist Hal Rosner and his crew from Shechtman Tree Care strategically cabled the paulownia, pruned both trees and gave them a root stimulation and deep watering treatment. While proceeds from Cloverly’s annual plant sale and donations from individuals help us maintain a small cash reserve for specialized park maintenance that the city cannot provide, it is not enough to provide for the needs of our oldest trees. Therefore, neighbors contributed more than $1,500 toward the cost of the work, and a group of seven neighbors spent a Saturday morning clearing out growth under the katsura. We will know more about the prognosis for the katsura next spring, but in the meantime we’ve gotten them ready for a restful winter’s sleep.

2. A plan for the park’s trees
We will form a tree committee of the Friends of Cloverly Park to develop a plan for the park’s trees.
The committee will put together a comprehensive plan for the trees, along with projected costs and a timeline. The plan will focus on caring for Cloverly’s oldest trees, ensuring that our new and maturing ones get a great start on a long life, and continuing to plant “successor” trees for our big beauties. We will share the plan with the Cloverly Park community, Parks & Recreation, and the Fairmount Parks Conservancy. The committee will strategize about resources for tree care.

To join the tree committee, leave a message via the contacts section of the website.

3. Money in the bank
We commit to raising funds to care for the park’s trees.
If you would like to help us keep Cloverly's trees healthy and beautiful, please print and fill out the attached form to mail a check to the Friends of Cloverly Park.