The grant, $758,735 from the NJDEP Natural Climate Solutions program, also covers about 300 trees in Burnham Park. Shade Tree Commission chair Kristin Ace described the Second Ward as an underserved part of town. The planting work will be outsourced through the bidding process state law requires, with the Burnham Park Association and the Whippany River Watershed Action Committee helping on the volunteer side. For homeowners, it means new young trees along the curb and a good reason to think about how your own yard trees fit around them.
Those new street trees belong to the town, and in Morristown the town's tree crew is responsible for them. A homeowner cannot prune them or have a private company work on them. A private crew comes in on the yard side: an old backyard maple reaching over the street, a dead tree beside a garage, or a stump left from earlier work. If your job is next to a fresh street planting, ask the contractor to keep trucks and log piles off the young tree's roots and away from its trunk and stake.
Space is tight across much of Morristown, where only about a quarter of housing units are detached single family homes, so most removals are done by climbing and lowering rather than felling. Stumps deserve thought too. When the Shade Tree Commission chair discussed replacing a downed street tree, she said replanting in the same spot would wait about a year because of what the removed stump leaves in the soil. If you plan to replace a yard tree, ask the contractor about grinding depth and timing.
Worth knowing in Second Ward
In 2026 Morristown received a $758,735 NJDEP Natural Climate Solutions grant to plant about 180 street trees in the Second Ward, filling every vacant planting location there, plus about 300 trees in Burnham Park.
morristowngreen.comAs of 2011, Morristown had never completed a census of its street trees, and an intern under its Urban Forestry Initiative was recording them.
morristowngreen.comTown trees in the right of way are maintained by the designated Morristown tree crew.
townofmorristown.org
Questions from Second Ward homeowners
Will a new street tree be planted in front of my house?
The grant is meant to fill every vacant planting location in the Second Ward, but exact placement is a town and Shade Tree Commission decision. Send questions to [email protected].
A town tree drops limbs on my car. Can I hire someone to trim it?
No. Morristown says town trees must be handled by its own tree crew. Report it through the town's report a concern page or call the Department of Public Works at 973-292-6670.