About Us - Red Hook Village Green Committee

About Us

With the cooperation and support of the Village Board of Trustees, in particular Trustee David Seymour, a group of village citizens and businesspeople formed the Red Hook Village Green Committee in Spring 2002. During the few years prior, the village had cut down scores of old maple trees, many of which were over 100 years old. The village, however, did not replace the maples. Residents' concern over the situation led to the formation of the committee, which dedicated itself to ensuring that the missing trees, as well as any future trees cut down, would be replaced and that additional trees would also be planted.

Fall 2002 brought the committee's first successes Two planting dates brought 11 new trees to the village's business district. Also, on October 7, 2002, the Village Board passed into a law an ordinance implementing a community forestry program. Not dealing with mere tree replacement, the ordinance ensures the proactive pursuit of a healthy tree population for the village. Trees will be regularly inspected, properly maintained, taken down only when necessary, and replaced promptly upon removal. Planting guidelines ensure the selection of aesthetically and ecologically appropriate trees.

The ordinance also provides an annual budget for the community forestry program, establishes an annual Arbor Day observance and proclamation, and makes the Red Hook Village Green Committee an official actor on behalf of the village government. Each year, the Village Board appoints three people to one-year terms as the committee's officers. The officers then develop and implement the community forestry program and the Arbor Day observance for the coming year, with the assistance of the committee's other members from throughout the community. The ordinance's various provisions combine to qualify the Village of Red Hook for recognition by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA, allowing the Village of Red Hook to benefit from various kinds of assistance for its community forestry program.

The committee took perhaps its biggest step forward in early 2004 when it created a Forestry Management Plan. The plan is based on a street tree inventory conducted in September 2003 by Cornell's Community Forestry Outreach Program. The forestry management plan will ensure the long-term health of the village tree population, guiding Village Green activity for years to come.

Dedicated to beautifying and ensuring the ecological health of the Village of Red Hook, the Red Hook Village Green Committee looks forward to a successful future with the volunteer and financial support of the community.