For nearly twenty years, Concord Public Works (CPW) and the Public Works Commission (PWC) have partnered with homeowners and property owners  to plant trees on private property within the twenty foot setback area adjacent to the Town’s right-of-way. These trees are planted at no direct cost to the resident other than a commitment by the property owner to take responsibility for watering and maintaining the tree.  Throughout the years, this has proven to be an effective way to promote environmental stewardship and increase climate resiliency by improving the Town’s urban forest; something that is also an important part of Concord’s mature landscape and historic character.  By utilizing the setback area, CPW is able to plant the right tree in the right place further ensuring that the tree has a greater chance of surviving the planting and that it will thrive in the future. 

Recently, we’ve been working diligently to streamline the management and processing of requests for this increasingly popular program while utilizing the information collected during the recent town wide tree inventory project. Click Here to view TreeKeeper, the Town's Tree Inventory software, where you will find information about each tree in the Town’s right-of-way which has been assessed and inventoried, including a photo of each tree. 

Please contact Concord Public Works at 978-318-3220 for more information on this program.  Each season, a list is assembled of trees available for planting for that season.  The list is organized by small, medium, and large size trees.  When selecting a tree, residents should take into consideration the size the tree will grow to when it matures, the proximity to buildings, and if there are any overhead or underground utilities that will interfere with the tree.

Please note, the tree selection list may change by season and by year.  We do this to help increase species diversity throughout the Town of Concord.