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“TREES!”

“TREES!” exhibit opened at The LAVA Center Thursday, Feb. 5.  Closing reception will be Thursday, Apr. 30, 5-8pm. 

Display celebrates native trees of Greenfield and their importance in our lives

The LAVA Center was excited to announce a new exhibit celebrating native trees in our City: why they are a treasured resource, and where and how we can grow more of them. The exhibit will feature several projects that show the commitment that the City and its citizens have made to native tree propagation. The projects represent collaboration among several Greenfield entities and private individuals including The City of Greenfield, The Greenfield Tree Committee, Greening Greenfield and Youth Climate Action of Franklin County.

Visit “TREES!” to learn of the many ways in which Greenfield is investing in planting native trees and how you can be involved.

The Millers Meadow project, funded through the Commonwealth’s Municipal Vulnerability and Preparedness (MVP) Program, engages community members in restoring nearly two acres of forest and meadow in what was once a mobile home park sited in a flood plain. In 2025, 84 volunteers planted over 700 trees and shrubs. This coming year, the planting of additional trees continues along with the preparation of the soil for the fall planting of a pollinator meadow.

Two Cooling Corridors grants earned by the City from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs have already enabled planting 70 trees in the heat island areas around the middle school and hospital, and will support planting 40 new trees along Federal Street and side streets to the east this spring.

The Tree Committee has been busy for many years. Their ongoing programs include:

  • In 2025, planting over 90 new trees in our community, including 22 trees at a neighborhood planting event on Woodleigh Ave, and planting over 60 trees through home-owner requests;

  • Helping the City secure the Cooling Corridor grants mentioned above through grant design, and providing on-site technical services for over 110 trees to be planted in urban hot spots;

  • Creating a tree nursery that is growing saplings from tree whips at no cost to the City;

  • Hosting tree nursery workshops;

  • Creating a number of tree tours, including the popular downtown Crossroads Tree Tour;

  • Producing an interactive tree inventory for the core area of the City which allows for canopy assessment, tree planting planning, and other valuable joint efforts between the City and the Tree Committee.

Greening Greenfield, in addition to being a primary sponsor/collaborator on the Millers Meadow project, spearheads a variety of other projects that replace invasives with native pollinators and establish pollinator corridors.

The “TREES!” exhibit will share maps, infographics, photos, and narrative to tell the story of the importance of native trees in our lives and how our City has stepped up to the challenges of replacing the many non-native trees that are aging out, replenishing areas that once had trees that were lost to development and floods, identifying invasive species, replacing them with natives that support the pollinators our ecosystem depends upon, and addressing issues of climate change by increasing tree canopy throughout the City.

For more information: contact jan@localaccess.org

Project collaborators/sponsors: Greening Greenfield, City of Greenfield, Greenfield Tree Committee, Protean Garden, and Youth Climate Action of Franklin County.

The LAVA Center is grateful for support from Greening Greenfield, Markham-Nathan Fund for Social Justice, and Mass Cultural Council for making this exhibit possible.