Nonprofit NNGI donates two 18-foot red maple trees to Cow Harbor Park, with more to come

Despite the brisk drizzle on Saturday morning in Cow Harbor Park, a sense of generosity, positivity and excitement filled the air as two native red maples went into the ground, along the autumn-colored pathway to the harbor. A collaboration between the Northport Native Garden Initiative (NNGI), Jon Holden of Steven Dubner Landscaping, and the Village of Northport made the donation – a gesture of community support – possible. 

“I have an 11-month-old and we walk around that park all the time. It will be cool to walk with him over the years and watch the trees grow,” said Holden, a Northport resident and Vice President of Steven Dubner Landscaping, which donated services to the initiative by handling the sourcing, transportation, and professional planting of the maples.   

Holden connected with NNGI when the nonprofit’s cofounder, Matt Gorman, reached out to him for help. NNGI wanted to donate trees substantial in size to the Village for use in Cow Harbor Park, and needed professional assistance in transporting them. Holden said he was on board right away and offered even more than what was asked: the landscaping group prepped and transported the homegrown saplings to Northport from its tree farm in Manorville. Around 6am on Saturday morning, crew had the 18-foot maples in position, awaiting location approval from NNGI, Northport Village Trustee Meghan Dolan, and Village engineer Roland Buzard. From there, the holes were dug and trees planted, then topped with soil, mulch and tree sticks for support. 

“If the park needs more trees, let’s get in more trees,” Holden told the Journal.

The tree-planting project came to fruition after residents voiced concerns about losing some trees in the area for the Cow Harbor Park Revitalization project, which is proposed to include a new basketball court and bathroom. 

“We hear the importance of the trees that are there in the park,” NNGI co-founder Nicole Tamaro said during public participation at the September 5 Village board meeting. “And we agree that they are truly important. So we would like to work in collaboration with the Village in donating multiple trees to Cow Harbor Park to meet the needs of the community that’s looking for shade, quaintness and different types of trees.” 

Later, NNGI worked one-on-one with Trustee Dolan, the commissioner of parks, to plan for the donation, and a group meeting took place in Cow Harbor Park with Holden, Northport Village Mayor Donna Koch, and Robb Smith, a landscape architect for the New York State Department of Transportation. “We were all asking questions, talking to one another about how we can best execute this project, when it should be done, and really to best understand the park and where the two tree placements would be best for everybody,” Tamaro told the Journal. 

The donated red maples (Acer rubrum) are native to our area and currently dormant. Smith explained to the Journal that the tree leaves will bloom this April with a green color and reddish stems. In the fall, they will turn a bright orange-red color. “Red maples are good because they adapt to dry and wet conditions. They’re a good street tree and a good all-purpose tree,” Smith said. Red maples are low maintenance and will not impede on the nearby walkway; they also host native insects and caterpillars, and attract songbirds, contributing to the park’s biodiversity. 

NNGI expects to donate two more native trees to Cow Harbor Park after construction on the basketball court and bathroom are complete. They are hoping to choose an area that can benefit from more shade, such as around the playground where there is little tree cover. “We will be more than happy to collaborate with the Village to decide on the types of trees that will be best for everybody,” Tamaro said.