Politics & Government

Arbor Day Celebration Rescheduled to Coincide With Parks Dedication

The Liberty Elm tree dedication will take place on April 24 instead of May 1.

The dedication of Basking Ridge's newest piece of history, a descendent of the Liberty Elm Tree will occur on April 24 this year and not May 1 as originally planned.

The Bernards Township Shade Tree Commission decided to reschedule their Arbor Day celebration to coincide with the dedication of Sons of Liberty Farm and the English Family Woods.

Arbor Day falls on the last Friday in April in New Jersey, and the Shade Tree Commission has typically scheduled their annual Arbor Day celebration plans for the Saturday following Arbor Day so more people could attend. With the dedication of the new parks scheduled for the preceding Saturday, Shade Tree Commission chairman Randy Santoro said it made more sense for the Arbor Day celebration to be on the same day.

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Carolyn Gaziano, Township Committee liaison to the commission, said, "I think it is good to combine it because it will get more publicity and more interest."

The Department of Public Works will place a plaque about the Liberty Elm on the site and plant the tree before the dedication, and the Shade Tree will prepare a presentation to commemorate the planting. Suggestions included reading the Thomas Paine poem "Liberty Tree" about the original Liberty Elm in the Boston Commons during the time of the American Revolution. The tree will be placed at Sons of Liberty Farm.

Find out what's happening in Basking Ridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For more information about the Liberty Elm Tree and its historical significance, see Basking Ridge Patch's feature on the purchase.

Shade Tree Meeting Notes

The Shade Tree commission continues to wait to receive grant money for a tree-trimming project throughout the town. The commission also finalized its purchase requests for spring planting, including Hackberry trees for around Ridge High School and William Annin Middle School.

The commission was also busy planning for Charter Day at their meeting on Wednesday. Commission member Jack Gray plans on having a presentation on biodiversity for the Shade Tree table, and the will give away trees left over from the Eagle Scout Tree planting project on April 2.


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