For Immediate Release – May 13, 2008

SavATree Provides “TLC” for NYC Trees in Central Park

New York, NY—Twenty five volunteer managers and executives from SavATree conducted an extensive community service project on Tuesday, May 13 in the East Meadow of Central Park that provided expert care to approximately seventy five trees that hadn’t been pruned in over forty years. The tree care crew also planted a commemorative Adams flowering crabapple tree on site.

“The objective was to accentuate the natural beauty of the East Meadow knoll, maximize safety along pathways, and open up the view. Hopefully, we restored some of the sense of limitless space that was a key part of the Greensward Plan for Central Park,” says SavATree Vice President Ralph Robbins. He added, “We’re excited to be able to make a significant contribution to such an iconic and historic American landscape.”

Several representatives of the Central Park Conservancy were also in attendance, including Douglas Blonsky, President of the Conservancy and Central Park Administrator; Stephen Spinelli, Chief Financial Officer; Neil Calvanese, Vice President for Operations; Russell Fredericks, Director of Horticulture; Josh Galiley, Central Park Conservancy Tree Care Supervisor; and Sara Cedar Miller, Associate Vice President for Park Information and Conservancy Historian. “It’s a huge contribution to the people that are using the park,” according to Sara Cedar Miller, “They are the park, the trees…To bring out the best in a tree is an art I have learned to appreciate deeply.” She added, “I would hope other companies would be inspired to give back to the community the way [SavATree] has given back to Central Park. Miller also treated the group of volunteers to a short oral history of the park during their lunch break.

Galiley and Fredericks worked with SavATree to identify an area of Central Park in need of professional tree care on this scale. Robbins says, “Russell’s knowledge of the park and the support of the Central Park Conservancy played a big role in making this project possible. We used a variety of pruning techniques on a wide range of species. The East Meadow has lindens, cherries, sugar maples, red maples, white pines, elms, crabapples and sycamores that needed care.” A handful of invasive plants in poor health were removed, and chipped wood from the project will be reused in other areas of the park.

Galiley was also happy with the newly planted crabapple. He said, “We try to keep with the original design when planting a tree. Urban environments offer a lot of limitations, and we don’t want to have to spend too many resources on one tree. This is a smaller tree, less prone to disease, and proven in an urban environment.” The site of the planting was previously occupied by a cherry that had fallen over. Galiley added, “It will give a beautiful spring display.”

About The Central Park Conservancy and Greensward Plan: This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Olmsted and Vaux Greensward Plan for Central Park. In 1858, an independent board of commissioners chose the vision created by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux as the winner of a public competition to design the new Central Park. Today, Olmsted and Vaux are widely considered the founders of the landscape architecture profession. Visit www.centralparknyc.org for information about The Central Park Conservancy and the Greensward Plan.

About Us: SavATree is the green choice for tree, shrub and lawn care. The company is an Environmental Protection Agency Performance Track Partner, an Audubon International Partner for the Environment and accredited by the Tree Care Industry Association. Certified arborists provide expert analysis, recommendations, and environmentally sensible services to help customers maximize the health, beauty, safety and value of their landscapes. Services include tree pruning, tree fertilizer, insect control treatments, tree disease diagnosis, organic tree and lawn care, hybrid program options and more. SavATree is headquartered in Bedford Hills, NY with 19 branch offices servicing homeowners, businesses, institutions and historic properties in CT, DC, MA, MD, NJ, NY, PA and VA. For more information, please contact us.

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SavATree provides tree care in the following areas:

Connecticut – Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland, Windham; Illinois – Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry County, Will; Massachusetts – Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Rockingham, Suffolk, Worcester; Maryland – Montgomery, Prince George’s; New Hampshire – Rockingham; New Jersey – Bergen, Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union; New York – Bronx, Brooklyn, Columbia, Dutchess, Manhattan, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Rockland, Suffolk, Ulster, Westchester; Pennsylvania – Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Hampshire, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, York; Virginia – Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William; Washington, D.C.