It is often touted as popular wisdom that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. Maturity and years of growth are needed for a tree to provide adequate shade after all. In Woodland Heights’ Historic Lafayette Park it has become all too apparent that no one was thinking about planting trees 20 years ago – or at least, no one anticipated a future where mature trees would disappear so quickly. Through a series of misfortunes over the last few years, the city’s oldest park has been bereft of trees. Some were lost to storms. Some to disease. With last summer’s heat, lack of adequate shade was noted by neighborhood residents.
Woodland Heights was faced with the realization that the park was just one heavy storm or calamity away from losing what was left of its tree population. For a neighborhood like Woodland Heights, this was terrifying. Historic Lafayette Park has been the heart of the Woodland Heights neighborhood for well over a century. It is a community hub where friends and family have gathered to enjoy each other’s company for generations. The park is in constant use for neighborhood-sponsored events. Without a healthy tree population, the future of Historic Lafayette Park could well be a little too bright and sunny for comfort.
Neighborhood residents began making inquiries to the Springfield-Greene County Park Board. Luckily for Woodland Heights, the Park Board listened and understood the needs of our community. We are proud to announce that on Jan. 29 approximately 20 new trees were planted in Lafayette Park.
Among the biodiverse assortment are maple, oak, pecan, ginkgo, and tulip trees. Neighborhood residents are thrilled with the new plantings, and we in Woodland Heights are eternally grateful to the Park Board for listening to our concerns and proving themselves good stewards of our communal green spaces.
We would like to thank the Park Board for their continued love and support. Our legacy north side parks and neighborhoods can only properly thrive with partnerships like this. We look forward to continuing to work together to make Historic Lafayette Park, the jewel of the Woodland Heights Neighborhood, shine.