OFFICE OF MAYOR DUANE PARRY–City of Michigan City
The City of Michigan City Department of Forestry hopes that you are all safe and staying healthy during these uncertain times, and while many of our favorite pastimes are restricted at the moment, spring is in the air and we are looking forward to bringing a bit of it to our community.
Last year, as part of the Urban Forestry Management Plan, the Forestry Department selected, tagged, and purchased trees to be planted in our neighborhoods in the spring of 2020. Now that the spring planting season is upon us, these trees are ready for their new homes here in Michigan City. The trees were grown and tended to at Dogwood Hills Tree Farm, an Indiana based nursery with decades of experience providing quality trees for urban landscapes. In addition to delivering the trees to us, they will also professionally plant them in locations surveyed and designated by the City Forester.
If your tree lawn has been marked with utility locates, you may have been selected to receive a new tree! After planting, the Forester will be implementing a maintenance schedule for all new trees that includes watering, mulching, and necessary pruning. There are things you can do, however, to help your new tree settle in such as contact the Forester if you suspect any problems, keep lawnmowers and weed eaters away from the trunk, and making sure the mulch layer does not become overly disturbed. You may also opt to adopt your new tree, and if you would like to do so the Forester can send you additional information on what this would entail!
Given that many construction and infrastructure businesses have been deemed essential per the guidelines in Governor Holcomb’s most recent executive order, we look forward to beginning our planting on Monday, March 30, 2020. Dogwood Hills Tree Farm employees can implement the planting plans with no face-to-face contact with residents or city employees. We will begin in the midtown area, with plantings along Tremont Street, Pearl Street, DuPage Street, Thurman Avenue, and Madison Street. We will also be planting trees along Ohio Street north from Russell Street to William Street, on Barker Avenue from Ohio Street east to Wabash, the 2400 block of Buffalo Street, the 700 block of Hoyt Street, the 2300 and 2400 blocks of Elston Street, the 800 block of Spring Street, the 300 block of 9th Street, the 1500 block of Washington Street, and the 2000 block of Wabash. These areas were chosen due to the pronounced lack of urban tree canopy cover in the area and a desire for those residents to experience the economic as well as aesthetic benefit of urban trees. These benefits include, but are not limited to, decreased utility expenditures, increased property values, cleaner air, and stormwater runoff management.
If you have questions or would not like a tree in your tree lawn, please feel free to contact the City Forester, Jessica Arnett, at 219-873-1500 or by email at jarnett@emichigancity.com