BERLIN, Md. - Volunteers planted five trees at Stephen Decatur Park as a part of the new "Keep Berlin Cool" tree planting initiative. The idea of starting the initiative began with a Berlin resident feeling the physical impact of having few trees in downtown Berlin.
Lara Mulvaney moved to Berlin in 2023 and noticed something was missing in the downtown area.
"The very first summer that I lived in town and would walk up Main Street, there was a very drastic change in temperature," said Mulvaney.
Mulvaney said she used to teach Anne Arundel residents how to deal with storm water on their properties, and learned about planting Maryland native trees in that process. Now, she wants to continue her love of planting trees in Berlin, Maryland. She pitched the idea to the Berlin Horticultural Advisory Committee who now supports the initiative and was funded a grant from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. 28 trees will be planted with the funds.
The trees planted at Stephen Decatur Park come from a tree that is over 2,000 years old. Joan Maloof, the founder of The Old-Growth Forest Network, was gifted the trees and she wanted to gift them to the new initiative to make a difference in her community.
"Maybe in 20 years people could be having a picnic under this grove of trees in the shade," said Maloof.
Four more trees are set to be planted at the Buckingham Presbyterian Church in Berlin on October 28th at noon.