Cindy and Steve Eccher stake a new maple tree near RiverWalk by the Farmers’ Market in Waterville. Contributed photo

In May, Waterville was awarded a grant under the Project Canopy Assistance Program administered by the Maine Forest Service. The week of Nov. 8, workers from Parks and Recreation planted 10 sugar and red maple trees in Moor and Grove Street playgrounds in the south end, Purnell Wrigley Ball Field on Matthews Avenue, and downtown at RiverWalk.

Waterville has a history of beautiful tree-lined spaces, especially before Dutch elm disease killed off hundreds of stately elms planted in the mid-19th century. Those plantings gave Waterville the nickname the “Elm City.”

People today can still see two large surviving elm trees, one in Castonguay Square and the other near Thayer Unit of MaineGeneral Health on North Street. Waterville still has a number of street and yard trees, many of which lit up the city with vibrant fall colors these past weeks. In the autumn, sugar maples show brilliant yellow and gold and red maples turn crimson.

Trees cool the city in summer. They shelter and feed wildlife, especially birds. As they grow, their wood stores carbon that they take from the warming atmosphere. They reduce rapid water runoff and create pleasant shady public spaces. Maples are long-lived trees that may still be gracing the city a hundred years from now.

Residents hope to bring together a group of people from Waterville to promote more tree planting and care in the city. The group would work together both in committee and on the ground to “Get Waterville Growing.”

Anyone interested in joining this effort is invited to email cindy.j.eccher@gmail.com.

The folks who have helped to “Get Waterville Growing” include Matthew Skehan, director of Parks and Recreation; Stephen Daly, city manager; Ann Beverage, city planner; the Waterville City Council; Jennifer Kierstead Consulting Inc., grant writer; Dr. Justin Becknell, Colby College; Mark Reiland, Valley Arbor Care; Steve Jones, Fieldstone Gardens; Jan Santerre, Maine Forest Service; the Waterville Community Land Trust; Julie Letourneau and the Waterville High School Green Team; Anna Holdener, South End Neighborhood Association; and private donors who pledged their support.