DPW Tree Warden
Who is our Medway Tree Warden?
Town of Medway's Tree Warden has been Steven Carew since the end of 2018.
What Is a Tree Warden?
A tree warden is a person in charge of shade trees on public town lands. The word “warden” was a common title for natural resource officials in the late 1800s. Being a warden signified a unique legal responsibility: to guard public resources against destructive forces that might include persons, insects, or diseases.
On a day-to-day basis, a tree warden must plan, organize, control, and be accountable for all authorized activities in the public community forest, including
- Pruning of trees for safety and health
- Removal of trees that are dead or dying (from storms, insects, disease, or old age)
- Identification of appropriate planting sites
- Planting new trees
- Creation or updating of a tree inventory, often on computer
- Assessment of trees for potential hazards to public safety
- Oversight of utility arboricultural operations
- Preparation of budget presentations
- Supervision of town tree workers
- Creation of bid proposals for contract tree work
- Inspection of contracted tree work
- Conduct of public meetings and tree hearings
- Writing grant proposals