In partnership with the town of Camden and the Camden Garden Club, individual property owners are being offered the opportunity to have street trees professionally planted. Those applicants selected will be asked to contribute $75.00 towards the cost of planting the tree and to accept the responsibility of watering it throughout the summer and fall. The trees will be guaranteed for one year, provided they are properly watered. The trees will be planted, staked and mulched during late May or early June and will be planted street-side in accordance with town specifications.

The town Shade Tree Program was established primarily to replace town trees lost to age, infestation, disease and weather, and its origins can be traced to 1937 when the Garden Club voted to plant a tree on the Knowlton Street school ground. Since then, the Club’s archives have documented more than 1,455 trees planted by Camden Garden Club programs. The town’s “aggressive effort to plant successive generations of shade trees along its highways and byways” earned Camden the designation of Tree City USA from the National Arbor Day Foundation in 1997.

Applications can be obtained by contacting Janice Esancy, Assistant Town Manager (207) 236-3353 or jesancy@camdenmaine.gov. The deadline for submitting applications for this year’s program is April 15, 2021.