On Sunday, October 19th, Greenlawn Cemetery & Arboretum hosted their occasional volunteer day.
By Janiela Quiñones & Mia Amaral
Greenlawn Cemetery and F. Carroll Sargent Arboretum’s History
Greenlawn Cemetery is currently Salem’s only active burial site and was founded in 1807, receiving a redesign in the 1880s. The land holds two ponds and trees from all over the world, accompanied by a beautiful 1894 High Victorian Gothic Chapel–everything taken with great care by its friendly staff. Within the cemetery you will find Salem’s largest and first accredited arboretum, the F. Carroll Sargent Arboretum.
Greenlawn is the first publicly owned cemetery to become an accredited arboretum in Massachusetts, while also being one of the most diverse ones. It is home to various threatened and endangered woody plants and trees, which are carefully selected and strategically planted throughout the cemetery. They are carefully maintained by the arboretum staff and in collaboration between the City of Salem, Salem State University, and the Friends of Greenlawn Cemetery. The staff and their collaboration in maintaining F. Carroll Sargent Arboretum helps protect Salem’s environment, promote biodiversity, contribute to improved air quality through carbon sequestration, and avoid erosion and flooding–all while providing a relaxing environment for families and nature to spend time in. For their incredible work, they have not only earned national recognition, but this project has earned official arboretum accreditation from the ArbNet organization.
A prominent figure in the arboretum’s maintenance is Dr. Lisa Delissio, who has dedicated much of her time to improving and maintaining the flora that lives there. Dr. Delissio is an experienced biologist who currently leads the scientific research on the arboretum and acts as a curator, which allows Greenlawn Cemetery to continue its important work. She is mentioned in the Boston Globe in her work in resurrecting and maintaining the arboretum.
She explains, “Major arboretum plantings took place in the 1930s and 1940s, but there are no known records of what was planted where. So, through the efforts of community volunteers, we’re creating the first modern inventory of the collection! So far, we are finding a high diversity of species, including some that are rare, from many other parts of the world.” In addition to her work with the cemetery, she is a tenured professor of biology at Salem State University.
The Volunteering Experience
With over 55 acres of land to hold such trees and plants, it’s important for Friends of Greenlawn to keep track of each one. This is where the volunteers come in: to help tag and track each of these trees, shrubs, and woody plants. With the help of volunteers, they are able to get through each zone of the arboretum quicker.
On an average volunteer venture, the initial group of volunteers is split into smaller groups to move even quicker right after a tutorial of tagging a tree. On this particular day, we had just the right amount to create two even groups. There was a diverse turn out ranging from students to Salem residents who appreciate the space Greenlawn offers to the community. The youngest of the group being a fourth grader eager to get hands-on experience. We were also accompanied by a Salem State student as part of a class helping to upload the data collected from tagging.
Once split, we would first take a measuring tape and, with two people, wrap it around the trunk of the tree to record its diameter–this is after of course identifying how many trunks the tree may or may not have. Afterwards, we would take a metal numbered tag, stick a nail through one of the holes, put a spring on the end of the nail, and hammer it into the tree. It was also important that we placed these tags to be facing north.
This simple procedure was repeated several times through different zones. In our case, we were able to get through three zones in a breeze–all while learning of each species of each tree we tagged.
Greenlawn Cemetery and the F. Carroll Sargent Arboretum provides not only a peaceful resting place but a beautiful green space for the community. Throughout our tagging adventure, we passed by many community members on their daily walks, some even passing through with their dogs, all of us connected by the appreciation of such an environment. All that was felt was peace and comfort.
Friends of Greenlawn encourage anyone and everyone from the community with appreciation for the arboretum to volunteer in their effort to tag all the varying trees and woody plants. I’m also here to encourage you to volunteer not only to help a great cause but to also take it as an opportunity to walk around and appreciate life in all its forms.
“Folks who like to participate in the inventory or plant identification work are encouraged to get in touch with the Friends of Greenlawn. Join us!”–Dr. Lisa Delissio
If interested, please contact greenlawnvolunteers@gmail.com.
Janiela Quiñones is SAFE’s Communications Intern.
Mia Amaral is SAFE’s Programs Intern.