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Lasting Esplanade Arbor Fund (L.E.A.F)

SPONSOR A TREE

We Need Your Support!

By sponsoring a new or existing tree, you are impacting our annual care and enhancement of the park’s trees. You can designate a gift of any size to this annual need. All directly, and immediately, support the planting of new trees and the pruning, watering, and soil improvement of all the trees. 

Gifts to help increase the tree endowment are also always welcome, and needed, to continue to grow this critically important long-term designated fund.

We cannot do this alone. If you are interested in supporting tree care efforts on the Esplanade, please contact Jim Diverio the Director of Development at jdiverio@esplanadeassociation.org  or at 617-227-0365 – Ext. 502

In 2019, building on a 2015 tree inventory, the Esplanade Association launched a comprehensive tree canopy enhancement initiative, the Lasting Esplanade Arbor Fund project. Executed in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the project was explicitly designed to secure the future of the Esplanade’s trees. 

The foundation of this multi-year care and enhancement effort is a tree management and succession plan prepared for the Esplanade by Kyle Zick Landscape Architecture. The project focuses on increasing species diversity, creating guidelines for succession plantings, removing dead, dying, and dangerous trees, and making recommendations for scheduled preventative care such as pruning and air spading. The L.E.A.F. project has been approved by the Boston Landmark Commission, the Massachusetts Historic Commission, and the Boston Conservation Commission. 

View our Tree Management and Succession Plan here.


The project is informed by the original, historic planting plans created by landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff. L.E.A.F. is also a key feature in EA’s Climate Action Initiative. 

Learn more about the history of the park  here. 

L.E.A.F. Tree Planting Effort 2019-2023 

Since the launch of the L.E.A.F initiative in 2019, the Esplanade Association has planted over 130 trees. These represent over two dozen different species and varietals. This five-year semi-annual tree planting effort contributes to a healthier, more diverse, and more resilient Charles River Esplanade tree canopy. When this intensive tree planting period ends, the L.E.A.F. initiative will focus on ongoing tree care, succession planting, understory development, and soil improvements. 

Climate Change Impact 

L.E.A.F. is important to our commitment to the environment, sustainability, and support of Boston’s climate goals. The Esplanade’s canopy of over 1800 trees helps to mitigate the impact of climate change through its extensive root systems, foliage, and natural carbon sequestration processes. Each 18” caliper tree, which represents over half of the park’s tree population, helps filter approximately 3,000 gallons of stormwater runoff that otherwise would run untreated into the Charles River. Each mature tree in the park also absorbs approximately 400-600 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, creating oxygen for all in return. The shade and fresh air from the Esplanade’s tall, healthy trees helps provide a refuge from the urban heat island effect caused by city surfaces like cement, concrete, and glass, which absorb heat from the sun and increase the ambient temperature by as much as 20°F degrees. With more than 1,800 trees in this precious urban forest, the Esplanade’s tree canopy presents substantial ecological benefits to the millions of park visitors each year, the park’s animal inhabitants, and surrounding communities.

*Stormwater and CO2 calculations determined through the National Tree Benefit Calculator. The Calculator is based on data from the USDA Forest Service’s i-tree STREETS assessment.

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Leadership Support for L.E.A.F. 

Organization Support

Anonymous
Garden Club of Back Bay
Beacon Hill Garden Club
The Biber Foundation
Garden Club of Back Bay
City of Boston Community Preservation Fund
DCR Partnership Matching Funds Program

Individual Support

Lisa and Brian Conway
The Heather and Robert Keane Family Foundation
Diane Gipson 

Partnerships and Funding

Early in the L.E.A.F. project, due to several partnerships including the Biber Foundation and the Boston Community Preservation Fund, and in particular DCR’s Partnership Matching Funds program, we initiated our tree care efforts. For example, in 2020 and 2021, a total of 579 trees were pruned. Pruning unstable, unwanted, or weak branches improves tree structure and supports new and healthy growth. Additionally, several trees identified as dead, dying, or dangerous to public safety were removed.  

As part of the L.E.A.F. program, the Esplanade Association replaces removed trees with new ones. In addition, as recommended in the Management and Succession Plan, we plant trees to fill gaps in the canopy and increase species diversity. Wherever appropriate, we plant new or native species to diversify the canopy and offer additional wildlife habitat. By the end of 2023, the first five years of the L.E.A.F. initiative, EA will have planted at least 150 new trees throughout the park. 

 The Lasting Esplanade Arbor Fund is also designed to not only support these initial restorative efforts, but also the long-term needs of the Esplanade trees. To that end, creating a L.E.A.F. endowment would ensure the health, care, and well-being of the tree canopy in perpetuity. Through the generosity of the Heather and Robert Keane Family Foundation, Lisa and Brian Conway, and Diane Gipson, this vital fund has been established and is growing.