The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Community Forestry Program and the New Jersey Community Forestry Council, in collaboration with the West Windsor Shade Tree Commission, will celebrate New Jersey’s 65th Arbor Day by planting trees in West Windsor at the Ron R. Rogers Arboretum on Friday, April 25, at 3 p.m.
West Windsor was selected to host the event to help celebrate its 35 years as a Tree City USA and accomplishments in working to develop a healthy, safe, and sustainable community forest. The arboretum was dedicated in honor of the late Ronald R. Rogers, who is remembered as West Windsor’s forester, an honor that reflects the time and effort he volunteered to promote and implement community forestry in the township.
The arboretum has close to 25 acres of land with 12 acres of open space and 13 acres of woodland. The arboretum is also the site of the September 11 Memorial.
During the ceremony, the 2014 Arbor Day Art Contest winners from the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District will be recognized. The Joyce Kilmer Award for outstanding contributions to community forests will be presented. Recipients of the 2014 Tree Line USA, the 2014 Tree Campus USA, and the 2014 Tree City USA Awards will also will be recognized.
“We are very proud of the awards bestowed upon our community and thank our Shade Tree Commission,” says West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. “They have been an incredible asset to the township helping to ensure West Windsor remains a green and sustainable community. We thank those who strive to create and care for the community forests of our great state of New Jersey providing for the health and enjoyment of all.”
Ron Slinn, a former forester and vice chair of the West Windsor Shade Tree Commission, shares tips for planting a tree this spring.
“If you are planning to plant a tree near your home this spring, take into account that it may have the inherent potential to grow to more than 50 feet in half that number of years and produce a canopy width half its height. Its roots can spread unseen to occupy as much space underground as it does above ground. Undeniable facts of tree life are that they are under constant attack from insects and diseases and will — regrettably — eventually die. Bringing them down can be not only dangerous but complex and costly.”
Born in Sydney, Australia, Slinn moved to Durham, North Carolina, in 1967 and to West Windsor in 1970. He has a bachelor of science degree in forestry from Sydney University, a master’s degree in forestry from Melbourne University, and a PhD in forest economics from Duke University.
He was a forester with Australian Forest Research Institute, a tenured associate professor of forest economics at Duke University, a group vice president at American Paper Institute, and principal at Slinn and Associates, Forest Products Consulting. He has been a fellow of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry and of the Society of American Foresters.
His West Windsor civic activities include vice chair of the West Windsor Shade Tree Commission, second vice president of Friends of West Windsor Open Space, president of Friends of West Windsor Senior Citizens, a member of the Senior Center Advisory Council, a leader with West Windsor Retirees Group, and past president of the West Windsor Lions Club.
Arbor Day Celebration, West Windsor Shade Tree Committee, Ronald R. Rogers Arboretum, Clarksville and Princeton Hightstown roads. Friday, April 25, 3 p.m. 609-799-2400.
