Norwalk introduces arborist as part of tree efforts

As a part of the City’s plans to plant and maintain more trees, Norwalk has added Sarah Cruz as a new member to the Recreation and Parks department.

“Sarah comes to us [with] a pretty good background particularly with urban forests,” Recreation and Parks Director Robert Stowers told the Tree Advisory Committee on Tuesday. 

Stowers highlighted Cruz’s background as an arborist and horticulturist, which he said will help them not only with tree efforts but also with plants and vegetation in the city’s parks. The position came to be through American Rescue Plan Act funds. 

Chief of Operations and Public Works Vanessa Valadares said that the plan is for her role to help continue the collaboration of tree planting efforts from different parts of the Public Works Department. 

Cruz will be responsible for working on the tree master plan and a tree inventory that were required by the city’s updated tree ordinance as well as working on grant applications. She’s already working with the U.S. Forestry $1 million grant the City received to “revise the scope for that grant” for how it will be implemented. 

One of the first grants she said she’s working on is through Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection which is running an Urban Forest Equity Grant Program. The program will “support urban forestry projects that will increase equitable access to trees and the benefits they provide in disadvantaged communities throughout Connecticut,” which Cruz said includes South Norwalk and parts of East Norwalk. 

“Always good to have another arborist in our midst,” said Richard Whitehead, Vice Chair of the Committee. 

Senior Civil Engineer Paul Sotnik, who has led much of the City’s work around trees, said that the master plan work, the addition of Cruz, and additional funding show that many of the efforts started by Whitehead and other members of the Committee, like Peter Viteretto, are coming to fruition. 

“The fruits of our labor are starting to pay off,” he said.

Viteretto said that he was excited to hear about Cruz’s plans for the CT DEEP grant that would fund seasonal positions around tree planting and maintenance. 

“We’d recruit from the community,” Cruz said. “We’d train them on the job in tree stewardship, tree planting, help them enter the green workforce in the future.” 

“That’s a component we don’t have,” Viteretto added about a “green workforce.” 

In addition to the grant funding that Cruz is working on, Sotnik reported that the City has more than $300,000 from American Rescue Plan Act and the MLK corridor funding. 

“Some of that work has to be done in South Norwalk and the MLK corridor, which is mapped,” Sotnik said. “That ARPA money has to be spent by December 2024 which should not be a problem with how we’re planting trees.” 

Sotnik reported that between the City and the Norwalk Tree Alliance planted 598 trees. 

Kelly Prinz, formerly Kelly Kultys, is the founder of Coastal Connecticut Times.