Fair Haven is a small beautiful town located on the banks of the Navesink River. The town has a total area of 2.11 square miles (1,350 acres) with approximately 200 acres being public land. A small group of volunteers has a long-term goal is to improve the trees on this public land. Our goal is to assist in the development of the tree canopy by removing invasive species and planting as many native species (especially native shade trees) as possible. There are 6 specific areas of Fair Haven where we see room for opportunity to improve the tree canopy:
Third Street Trail (9 acres)
Bird Sanctuary (5 acres)
Fair Haven Fields Perimeter (4 acres)
McCarter Park (3 acres)
Community Playground (2 acres)
Sportsman's Field (1 acre)
As the ancient Chinese saying goes, "The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today".
As of May 2024, we have planted 115 trees
16 trees: 5-25-22 (Zoe's Eagle Scout Project)
35 trees: 11-23-22 (Kevin's Eagle Scout Project)
23 trees: 4-28-23 (Arbor Day '23 Planting Project)
62 trees: 4-26-24 (Arbor Day '24 Planting Project)
Trees in general provide a large number of ecosystem services, or environmental benefits that directly impact us by having trees planted in Fair Haven. The benefits of a tree canopy include:
Removal of pollutants from the air, soil and water
Release of water vapor into the atmosphere which cools the surrounding areas, mitigating the urban heat island effect
Interception of rainfall and reduction of storm water runoff (and thus, reducing the costs related to infrastructure required to manage it)
Energy savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions due to shade provided
Carbon sequestration
Increased property values
In addition to the contribution of these ecosystem services, trees provide other health, social, economic, and aesthetic benefits as well.
The magnitude of a tree canopy ecosystem are tied to the age, size and condition of the trees in an area. Mature trees with larger crowns that are in good condition will provide more services than younger, smaller trees. As a result, a town with greater tree canopy cover (a larger network of trees) will experience more ecosystem services than a town with a lower canopy coverage.
Ideally, an urban forest is comprised of trees of varied ages, which includes trees in their prime of ecosystem services, as well as trees that will get there in the future. In the urban environment where trees face challenges such as poor soils, inadequate growing space, development, or conflicts in landscape management and other stressors, action must be taken to ensure that canopy cover is maintained over the long term.
With the help of lots of volunteers, Scouts (Fair Haven, Little Silver, and Rumson Troops), Department of Public Works, FH Boro Council, Mayor Halpern, Shade Tree Committee, Rec Committee, Fair Haven Natural Area Committee, and lots of families dedicating time and money, we are making progress....slowly.
Unfortunately, a tree canopy takes a while to build...we should have started removing invasive species and planting native shade trees 20 years ago. Instead, we are starting today.