by Greg Cznadel

     This year the Old Brooklyn Tree Stewards will once again be at Pedal for Prizes, OB Streetfest, and the Farmer’s Market. But this year we will be sharing our love of trees with the community in new ways.  

     Hope Fierro, Community Engagement Manager at Old Brooklyn CDC and originator of the Tree Stewards and Tree Steward Coordinator Brittney Hooper are not only working partaking in previous Old Brooklyn events but creating new ones.

     Thanks to the Cleveland Tree Coalition, our new Tree Talks are hosted by neighborhood businesses Six Shooter, the Rebel Reserve, and Apothecary Verde. At these events, residents can see and talk to the people who help with our free tree give-away program, some of whom they may have already met during weekly tree watering in area parks. New and long-time residents can ask questions. They also can see the trees that are being offered and sign up for one. Some stewards even bring their four-legged friends.

     Stewards stand out. Barb Caldwell attended Park Pride in Atlanta this March. Having recently obtained her Master Gardener status she was excited to meet other like-minded advocates – representatives from Kamms Corner, Slavic Village, and Tremont and bring back newly found knowledge.

     Another, Eileen Dorsey, is up for the “Best Of” for the Scene Magazine. Her recent exhibit at the Botanical Garden, “Neglect of Urban Canopy,” was one of her continuing displays showing her love of nature through art. Check out Dorsey’s Old Brooklyn Blooms murals in our neighborhood.

     Tim Werling was recently featured in the Spring issue of the Old Brooklyn News. He spends time at Loew Park with grandkids and dog Ruby. Werling loves planting trees and helping people. He is one of the original Tree Stewards.

     Other first-time events this year:  Arbor Day weekend Loew Park clean up and tree tagging. A chance for Stewards to work with the community in cleaning up, weeding, mulching, and tagging a tree with their name.  The tags are designed to help better with their identification and explanation of the benefits we offer.

     The Tree Stewards will be hosting for the first time a Tree Steward and Green Team meetup at Loew Park on June 25. Green teams from West Park Kamms, Slavic Village and more will be joining us for this meetup to get to know each other and learn about what we all do in our neighborhoods, the challenges, successes, and more.  We all have lot to learn from each other.

     Also in June, the Stewards in conjunction with Old Brooklyn CDC and Huntington Bank will be having a tree care workshop as part of an Exterior Home Repair Workshop Series. There you will see examples of good and poor mulching. You can learn about damage to trees from deer and ways to protect trees from deer. The Tree Stewards will show and explain types of tools for working around the yard including how to maintain them. Tree Stewards will demonstrate both the correct way of pruning as well as the incorrect way. You might learn some new terminology from our Master Gardner. For more information and to sign up for Old Brooklyn CDC’s other home repair workshops, visit https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/exterior-home-repair-classes-june–2025.