Photo of Norman Rockwell Museum, Fall 2015

Stockbridge, MA, November 2, 2015—Berkshire Botanical Garden (BBG) will celebrate its 12th annual Arborists Day through a day of outdoor service at Norman Rockwell Museum on Wednesday, November 4. A group of 23 area arborists and related staff from BBG will help to preserve several of the trees in need of repair on the Museum’s 36-acre campus.

Arborist Day started in 2004 when a group of arborists from Southern Berkshires began collaborating with Berkshire Botanical Garden to maintain the trees at its Stockbridge campus. The annual event is modeled on similar days of service throughout the country. After three seasons, the team moved its outreach to other local venues, including The Mount, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Hebert Arboretum, The Bidwell House, and Construct’s Pine Woods condominiums.

“Arborists’ Day is a way for area arborists to form a stronger bond with their peers and to give something back to the larger community,” notes Tom Ingersoll, Massachusetts Certified Arborist, who has been involved with the area project from the beginning. “Through the event, Berkshire Botanical Garden hopes to form a closer community both with the arborists and neighboring non-profit organizations.”

Organizations taking part in this year’s Arborist Day include: Brush Hill Tree Service; Ingersoll Land Care; John W. Field Tree Service; Marconica, Inc.; Race Mountain Tree Service, Inc.; Sweet Tree Service; Treecology; and Whalen Nursery, Inc., who will be donating a tree to the Museum’s campus.

Several unaffiliated arborists, including Kevin Brown, Joe Burkhardt and Melissa LeVangie, will also participate. For this educational program for arborists, New England Climbing Champion and International Society of Arboriculture New England Chapter President, Bear LeVangie will demonstrate aerial rescue training onsite.

In addition to this day of service, Berkshire Botanical Gardens has been working with Norman Rockwell Museum on identifying the many varieties of trees on its campus, with several labels already on display.

Visitors are welcome to observe the work on Arborist Day from a safe distance on the Museum’s campus.

For more information on Berkshire Botanical Garden, visit: berkshirebotanical.org