Cultivating Community: Canton Canopy Leads Arbor Day Tree Planting

Canton Canopy’s Matt Rescott and Tree Baltimore’s Sam Seo, in conjunction with Baltimore City Rec and Parks Forestry Division and the Baltimore City Forestry Board, led a team of community volunteers and students in an Arbor Day planting at St. Casimir Park, 2736 O’Donnell Street, on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Trees planted included Hawthorne, Red Buckeye, Ginkgo, Honey Locust, London Planetree, Magnolia, and Oak. The team chose not to plant any trees in the middle of the park to avoid interfering with the recreation area, instead planting them around the perimeter.

Students and teachers from the St. Casimir School, located across from the park and utilized by the school for recreation, helped to dig and plant while learning about the importance of trees to our environment. Also helping were members of Tree Baltimore, Baltimore City’s Forestry Board, BCRP Forestry, and the Maryland Forest Service.   

 “We had a great Arbor Day event where we got to give back to the community by planting trees and the St. Casimir’s students got to plant trees in their favorite park that they’ll hopefully be able to watch grow for years to come. The trees will help clean the air and provide shade for those hot summer days. We really appreciate all of the parents, teachers, students, community members, and different organizations that helped organize and run such a fun and fulfilling event.” – Matt Rescott, Canton Canopy 

With the help of Forestry Board member Robert Black, the students assembled and buried a time capsule in the park. Nestled inside are letters, photographs, and personal items, including a bracelet.

Baltimore City’s lead arborist, Sam Seo, read a proclamation signed by Mayor Brandon Scott and talked about the history and meaning of Arbor Day. VIDEO

TreeBaltimore serves as the umbrella organization for all City agencies, private organizations, and individuals in their effort to increase the tree canopy of Baltimore. TreeBaltimore strives to increase the urban tree canopy through the establishment, management and preservation of trees. TreeBaltimore is a mayoral initiative led by the Baltimore City of Recreation and Parks in partnership with Blue Water Baltimore, Baltimore Tree Trust, Canton Canopy, Flowering Tree Trail, and many other tree-minded groups and individuals.

Canton Canopy, established in 2017, is an all-volunteer-run initiative operating in affiliation with the Canton Community Association and with support from the Baltimore City Urban Forestry Division. Canton Canopy's mission is to facilitate the planting of trees in existing tree pits, fundraise and apply for grants in order to cut new tree pits, and organize volunteers to help with the care and maintenance of the community's trees. LEARN MORE

Interested in improving the landscape of Canton? Follow Canton Canopy on Facebook for updates on upcoming events or e-mail: cantoncanopy@cantoncommunity.org.

To volunteer with the new CCA Parks Committee, email info@CantonCommunity.org.