You might have noticed some trees cut down along Mt. Crawford Avenue recently between North River Library and the entrance to Oakdale Park. Sadly, those were ash trees, and they were infested by something called an emerald ash borer (EAB). EABs have been damaging or killing ash trees all across North America. The nine ash trees removed along Mt. Crawford Avenue were either partially or almost completely damaged by EABs.
For tree lovers, all is not lost. Last fall, we learned of a grant program from the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF). The grant will pay us for 50% of the cost for removing those nine ash trees. Additionally, the grant will award us $1,200 towards the purchase of new trees to be planted in Bridgewater. So, while we were sad to lose those nine trees, we will plant some new trees courtesy of the VDOF. (We will probably plant these new trees somewhere else, because construction will begin later this year along Mt. Crawford Avenue on the Gen Oak Connector. More on that in another post soon…)
