By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

March 3, 2026: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Chinese Proverb

I am hoping that you are aware that the Village of Bronxville is introducing its new Right-of-Way (ROW) Tree Planting Program, galvanizing residents to help restore the Village’s tree canopy by requesting a new tree in the Village-owned right-of-way adjacent to your property through a cost-share model. 

A limited “soft launch” began this fall, with the full program rolling out in spring 2026. Thanks to a $75,000 matching contribution from the Bronxville Historical Conservancy, paired with Village funds, the program offers a sustainable way for residents to contribute to canopy renewal across the community.

Through this initiative, residents can apply under two options: a Subsidy Option, covering up to 50% of the total tree and installation cost, or a Self-Funded Option for those who wish to contribute the full cost. All applications are reviewed by Village staff to ensure proper siting and species selection and trees are professionally installed by approved vendors. 

For more information, click here to visit the Village's ROW Tree Planting Program page.

As we all know, nothing has more lasting value to a community than its tree stock as the benefits of trees are so multifaceted: aesthetic appeal, cooling properties, improvement of air quality, reduction of energy use and atmospheric carbon dioxide, habitat for wildlife, reduction of soil erosion and excess runoff, water absorption, barrier to noise, a natural screener, food source and a source of lumber and pulp.

Trees also serve to mask concrete walls, driveways, parking lots and unattractive views while absorbing dust and reducing glare.

Of great importance is the role they play on school property and playgrounds as trees reduce UV exposure by 50% providing protection to children playing outdoors.

Other benefits that might not be so obvious on first blush include:

Just three trees strategically placed around a single-family home can cut summer air conditioning needs by 50%.

Trees placed in commercial areas can lower temperatures in a parking lot and break up the blacktop, “heat islands.”

Trees on private property also produce great monetary benefit as studies have demonstrated that 10 to 23% of the value of a residence is based on its tree stock.

An efficient carbon dioxide absorber and oxygen provider, the removal of just one canopy tree takes away the daily oxygen supply for four people.

Less tangible, but equally important are the studies that have shown that being around trees can have a calming effect, actually relaxing brain waves and reducing heart rate while offering our eyes visions of beauty.

In the same vein, trees have great value in marking the seasons, calming a stark landscape, acting as neighborhood landmarks and points of identity. They also serve as symbolic links to the past when other connections have long since disappeared. One cannot help but notice the enormous value our predecessors placed on our tree canopy just by the names of so many of our streets – Red Oak, Elm Rock, Chestnut, Sycamore, and Pine just to name a few.

Originally a native woodland village with our homes built under a canopy of deciduous trees, not only have many of these trees been lost due to the ravages of storms, disease and age, but they have been replaced with ornamental trees, which are not native and do not restore the canopy, hence the need for a new initiative.

It is a particular concern because of the Village’s one square mile or 640 acres, only 70 acres can be considered park land.

The village government must lead by example ensuring that what native trees we have are healthy by keeping them trimmed and fertilized as well as doing additional planting, hopefully in partnership with you.

We ask you to help us preserve our most precious natural resource by taking the time this spring to check the health of your trees as well as joining our tree program and/or planting more native species on your own property. If you have trees on property borders, it is also so beneficial to work with your neighbors to trim, fertilize and do periodic borings for “health checks” as opposed to removal.

As Marilyn Wood Hill  so eloquently penned  in the introduction to the Historical Conservancy’s publication, Defining the Landscapes of Bronxville, which was  meticulously researched  and compiled by former Mayor Nancy Hand, “It is the close interrelationship of natural and man-made environments that has given identity to the special place of Bronxville, and we need to exercise a greater stewardship in preserving the whole, so that what we leave for future generations will not only be a place to live, but also a place to love.“