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Greening the Gateway Program
The City of Taunton's Greening the Gateway Cities Program
The Greening the Gateway Cities Program is a partnership between The City of Taunton and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Urban & Community Forestry Program, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)
Greening the Gateway Cities Program provides free trees to increase tree canopy cover in select urban residential areas.
How would you like some free trees to beautify your yard and your neighborhood? Residents and business owners can order free trees to be planted on their properties, as part of the Greening the Gateway Cities Program (GGCP). The program was created with a goal to increase the number of trees planted in urban residential areas of the Massachusetts Gateway Cities. It’s also designed to reduce household heating and cooling energy use by increasing tree canopy cover in urban residential areas, while improving the aesthetic appearance of these neighborhoods.
Through the GGCP program, trees (ranging from 6ft to 10ft tall) are planted with a goal of covering 5% of target neighborhoods in new tree canopy cover. The trees are planted by foresters from the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) Urban & Community Forestry Program, with crews hired from local communities.
To be eligible for this program’s benefits, residents and property owners must agree to a two-year watering commitment, to ensure the trees’ survival. Easy care instructions are provided by the DCR to tree recipients addressing watering, mulching and pruning. When a potential tree recipient signs up, a DCR forester will visit their home to determine the best location and species of tree for energy efficiency. Foresters also conduct year-round site visits and are available to answer questions.