Cambridge Urban Forestry has had the pleasure of having three summer interns this year. Here’s more about each of them and their work keeping Cambridge green!

I'm a student at UMass Amherst studying to get my Master's degree in geography. I've been working on inspecting young, less established Cambridge street trees and reporting if they need any type of care or replacement, as well as doing some work with the database behind the tree inventory. So far I've enjoyed spending time outdoors and contributing to something tangible like improving tree coverage.

Cambridge is a moving hub between the end of August and the start of September. If you’re renting a moving truck or hiring a moving company, be careful to avoid overhead branches and tree trunks while parking or driving in Cambridge. If you’re placing signs on trees (like for a Moving Van Permit), use wire, and be sure to remove the signs and wire from the tree once the permit has expired. Signs left on trees can damage bark.

Raised beds around trees may look nice and seem like a good addition to the tree well, but they’re actually harmful to the tree’s health. What makes them bad for trees?

Raised beds put the trees under stress because they interfere with tree roots, especially at the top of the soil. The topmost tree roots are key to a healthy tree because of the oxygen readily available toward the top of soil. Raised beds bury the root flare of the tree, causing the tree to grow damaging girdling roots. When trees become stressed, they are more susceptible to disease and insect infestation. Thus, raised beds may create a cute landscape today, but they create long-term problems that will be seen in a number of years. Additionally, raised beds are a safety issue in our communities, posing a tripping hazard to pedestrians.

If you’ve noticed a tree or shrub that has flowers appearing unusually smokey and puffy, you have likely come across a smoketree. This large shrub is sometimes even seen in tree form, like at Tim Toomey Park. This tree blooms over the summer with six-to-ten-inch flowers that look like pink smoke puffs. The flowers come in hairy clusters, which gives the tree its smokey appearance.

This tree is commonly found farther south in the U.S. because it holds up well in hot and dry conditions. It requires a lot of sunlight to survive, so you will probably find it in more open, sun-filled spots in the city. When it is not in bloom, you can identify the smoketree by its oval-shaped leaves and bright fall foliage.

Is a tree smoking near you? It’s probably not on fire.

The Asian long-horned beetle presented big problems for Boston back in 2010. This bug is capable of causing more damage than Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight, and gypsy moths combined, according to Mass.gov. ALB prefers maple, horsechestnut, birch, planetree, poplar, willow, and elm. There is not a cure for ALB yet, so the main treatment is destroying trees where it is found. So, when it was found in Boston in 2010, the city took it very seriously. Boston was able to eradicate the beetle, but it still wreaks havoc in nearby Worcester. While ALB is gone from our immediate area, we should remain vigilant for any signs of its return. Early detection of the beetle is crucial for preventing significant infestations.

You can identify the Asian long-horned beetle by looking for a beetle 1 to 1.5 inches in length with six legs. It has a shiny black body with random white spots. ALB has a few lookalikes, familiarize yourself with some of them here. The signs of an infestation on host tree species include dime-sized holes, scars in the bark, dead branches, and sawdust-like material near the tree. If you notice these features on a host species, you can report ALB here.

We need your help to maintain a healthy, vibrant urban forest! Any Cambridge resident willing to regularly water the tree and provide some general care for the tree is welcome to become a Cambridge Urban Forest Friend.

If you have space for a tree on your property, Green Cambridge can plant a free native tree to help expand Cambridge’s urban tree canopy! If you own your home in Cambridge, MA and would like Green Cambridge to plant a tree in your yard for FREE, visit https://www.greencambridge.org/canopycrew