Lenox Park tree planting adds 25 trees to Brookhaven’s tree canopy

Volunteers plant 25 new trees including oaks, pines, hickories, magnolias, and maples at a Lenox Park tree planting event Jan. 16 as part of a MLK Day community service effort.

Project coordinated by Trees Atlanta, Lenox Park Owners Association

Brookhaven, GA, Jan. 19, 2021 -- On January 16, a cold and blustery Saturday morning, nearly 30 volunteers gathered in the Central Park area of Lenox Park to participate in a MLK Day community service-related tree planting coordinated by the Lenox Park Owners Association (LPOA) and Trees Atlanta. The determined group may have been bundled, gloved and shivering in the 40-degree weather, but they were all ready to roll up their sleeves and make an impact on improving Brookhaven’s vibrant tree canopy.

Before the morning was over, 25 young trees in containers dotting a small hillside had become permanent additions to a small portion of the park, just off Lenox Park Blvd. near North Druid Hills Road. The trees were a mixture of native southeastern species, including oaks, pines, hickories, magnolias and maples, which Trees Atlanta selected based on the characteristics of the site in Lenox Park that needed to be reforested.

“We are planting during winter to give the dormant trees more time to establish their root systems in their new home before they ‘leaf out’ in spring,” said James Moy, Trees Atlanta NeighborWoods Project Coordinator. “The coming growth in the spring requires lots of nutrients and water. Even while trees are leafless above ground, they are still growing new roots below.”

Before the planting began, Moy conducted a socially-distant briefing where he talked about the objectives of the planting and demonstrated proper planting practices for the volunteers.

“Lenox Park is a neighborhood of single family and multifamily homes and commercial buildings, located primarily in the city of Brookhaven and just east of the northern border of Atlanta's Buckhead district,” noted Florence Barbour, Property Manager for the LPOA and Area Property Manager for Bridge Commercial Real Estate, the company that manages commercial properties in the park. “It is a unique, mixed-use community developed on 164 wooded acres. The community blends a prestigious business environment with a variety of residential options in a tranquil, park-like setting.”

LPOA is an umbrella organization over the commercial and residential owners in the park who all partnered together to coordinate and help fund the Trees Atlanta planting. The LPOA manages all of the common areas including the park where the planting was being held. “The tree planting event was a beautification project to plant trees in this common area enjoyed by residents, tenants and the public as a whole,” Barbour added.

“Each residential community has their own HOA where they own and manage their own communities.  The LPOA and AT&T are sponsoring today’s Trees Atlanta event.”

Surrounding the park area are a number of high-end home/apartment/condo communities such as Villa de Vista, The Bluffs, The Arbors, and Fairway Estates in addition to commercial offices of businesses such as AT&T, the Residence Inn and the American College of Rheumatology. Central Park is the keystone of Lenox Park and contains 22 acres, a portion of which is the "Great Lawn," a large open space for outdoor recreation that now hosts the new trees.

From Baby Boomers to grade school students, those planting the trees ranged from local Brookhaven residents to those who just wanted to come help on a Trees Atlanta project. Shawn and Addison Moore, from the Poncey-Highland Midtown area, just moved back to the Atlanta area from Seattle. “We had been wanting to do volunteer projects like this, but the pandemic had made that difficult to do,” said Addison Moore.  “We love being able to help Trees Atlanta do beautification projects like this that let us give back to the community, whether we live here or not.”

Also on hand was Karstin Bodell, president of the HOA at The Arbors and active in the Brookhaven Tree Conservancy and the current Brookhaven tree ordinance rewrite project. She was joined in planting one of the trees by Sheryl Cook, a former board member of The Arbors HOA who has lived there seven years. “I helped on a previous Trees Atlanta tree planting along the Fulton County side of Lenox Park Blvd. and all along the Roxboro median,” said Cook.  “I realized we needed help here and with Florence (Barbour), Trees Atlanta, and involvement by AT&T, we have been meeting for about the past 18 months to put the plan together. We look forward to doing more great things like this working together with Bridge Commercial Real Estate and the City of Brookhaven.”

“It was a wonderful day of service for MLK weekend at the Lenox Park tree planting event with Trees Atlanta,” said Brookhaven Councilwoman Madeleine Simmons, whose district includes Lenox Park. ‘I am so thankful to the neighbors and the Lenox Park Owners Association for organizing an effort that will benefit Brookhaven’s cherished tree canopy for years to come.”

Many of those at the event were familiar with other Brookhaven reforestation efforts. In addition to the Tree Ordinance Rewrite currently underway, the City has a number of ongoing tree preservation initiatives. The City currently participates in Tree City USA through the Arbor Foundation, the One Million Trees Initiative, and the Trees Atlanta Front Yard Program.

Brookhaven also manages a tree nursery, tree rescue program, tree plantings, memorial tree program, and a tree fund.

Now, as of Jan. 16, that number of trees has grown just a little bit more.