Transcript:
When Nathan Ives was growing up in Rockport, Massachusetts, tall elm trees shaded many of the streets in town.
Ives: “They were just gorgeous, and there was just this canopy that would cover you and embrace you as you went up and down most of the thoroughfares in Rockport.”
But over time, most of the elms in Rockport and across the peninsula of Cape Ann died from a fungal infection called Dutch elm disease.
Ives: “So it was a radical, radical difference. Streets were now just plain, bared to the sun. That canopy was gone forever.”
So when Ives learned that scientists had developed new disease-resistant elm varieties, he was inspired to take action.
He and a group of other volunteers applied for a grant, bought trees, and offered to plant them for free in people’s yards.
Over the past few years, requests have poured in. So far the group has planted more than 350 trees. And they’re aiming for 1,000.
The elms will not just help restore the shady canopy Ives remembers from his youth. They’ll reduce climate change by absorbing carbon.
Ives: “I’m a newly created grandfather because my daughter had our first grandson. But I also feel like a grandfather to so many of these trees. It’s a riot to drive around and to see them thriving all over Cape Ann. … So it’s just wonderful.”
Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
