Niskayuna council schedules May 30 community planting of Liberty elms, asks for volunteers

The Niskayuna Tree Council on Monday finalized plans for a community tree-planting day on May 30, when volunteers will plant roughly 18–19 Liberty elms at four town sites, including the Senior Center, Aqueduct Park, Blatnik/Blatnick and River Road Park. Organizers asked volunteers to meet at 9 a.m. at the Senior Center and said the work should take about two hours.

The council said the trees are approximately 6-foot, bare‑root Liberty elms that the town purchased to replace trees lost to Dutch elm disease. The highway department will deliver trees, bags of mulch and a limited quantity of compost; organizers plan one bag of mulch per tree and to “heel in” larger trees at the highway yard if staging is required.

Members mapped plantings and decided to stake locations in advance so the highway crew (Ray) can approve placements and, if needed, file required 811/dig‑safe notifications. Stakes must be set within the time window for 811 clearances, members said, because the clearance expires after a week.

Volunteers and town staff discussed practical needs: extra shovels, gloves and a simple watering plan for newly planted trees during the first one to two years while roots establish. A portable water tank or volunteer teams carrying buckets were suggested; volunteers were also encouraged to bring buckets and water jugs. The council noted that watering has been primarily volunteer-driven in previous plantings and identified that sustaining a watering schedule is a key challenge.

Outreach is underway to recruit more volunteers from community partners, including the Niskayuna Community Foundation, local Lions groups, high‑school clubs and environmental organizations. Organizers planned three planting teams (Senior Center, Aqueduct and Blatnik, with River Road as an additional site) and asked interested volunteers to RSVP to a council contact to help with team assignments.

Council members also reviewed logistics: Nick (town staff) will coordinate deliveries and keep the trees watered while they are staged; one bag of mulch per tree will be provided; volunteers will stake and plant the trees and the highway crew will handle digging where feasible. The council emphasized safety steps, advance staking and the need to coordinate timing so deliveries coincide with volunteer presence.

The group said it will photograph the event for social media and local press. Organizers asked volunteers to bring shovels, gloves and water; those who cannot dig were invited to help water. The tree-planting day is intended as a short, community-driven effort to reestablish street and park canopy and to connect volunteers with town tree-care needs.

Next steps: stake identified locations before the planting day, confirm final delivery time with highway staff and finalize volunteer RSVP lists so teams and tools can be assigned.