Village of Ballston Spa Park and Tree Board

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Village of Ballston Spa Park and Tree Board

Village of Ballston Spa Park and Tree board Board Members:
Ed Hersh
Kristopher Williams
Ray Otten
Judy Esposito
Caitlin Parwana

The scope and purpose of this board of village residents includes but is not solely limited to:

-Researching optimum strategies and plans for correct planting and maintenance of trees and shrubs on village property, including parks. Upon approval facilitating implementation of such things.

-Advising the Village trustees and Mayor regarding parks and trees in the village-including tree and shrub

planting and removal, and public safety regarding trees on public property.

-Providing a means where village residents can present questions, seek advise and resolution of problems as it relates to trees, sidewalks, and matters where trees impact the safety and enjoyment of one's property in the Village.

-Ensuring the Village is fulfilling the requirements of the Arbor Day Foundation Tree City Program through oversight of the program.

-Overseeing and advising the Village to mange the work of outside consultants funded by the Village grand funding.

05/26/2026

It’s time for our second annual B Spa in bloom!

B'Spa in Bloom is an initiative sponsored by the Village Park & Tree Board, a community wide event aimed at brightening our Village business district while building a sense of community through friendly competition! Be creative to enhance our village!

Who can participate? Any business, volunteer groups, village buildings, schools, & employees or individuals who want to be creative & provide colorful flowers to their area.

What are the rules? It’s easy! Provide a way of brightening your area of the Village OR partner with a business to provide containers, flower box plantings or flowers in areas around trees or business door fronts. Ideas are unlimited! Provide upkeep throughout the season & be a part of the judging on August 15. *Must use annuals around trees. Must comply with ADA rules for sidewalks.

How to participate: Fill out a registration form & submit to: Google docs at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ouTtN-sg8gLvd0DCWdDXnFZ8ALZc88s3G_5W18nUakM/viewform?edit_requested=true

Benefits: Increased local economy through visitation, increased sense of pride & reduction of antisocial behavior, a place to live that contributes to the environment by attraction pollinators & providing air purification.

Please spread the word and consider participating!

04/25/2026

A quick note to thank everyone who came out today for our annual Arbor Day tree planting! We learned about proper tree planting to help ensure the survival of trees planted, as well as knowledge about pruning and training trees.

We will share more highlights soon, but we wanted to share how thankful we are for everyone who joined us today and helped us add another tree to our community that will be enjoyed for generations

04/22/2026

Allow us to introduce this beautiful Swamp White Oak that we’ll be planting this coming Saturday April 25 at 10am at our annual Village of Ballston Spa Park and Tree Board Arbor Day tree planting! We are excited to continue this tradition in our 6th year as a Tree City USA as designted by the Arbor Day foundation.

The Village of Ballston Spa Park and Tree Board would love to have you join us at this family-friendly event. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty there may be opportunities to help out, or you can choose to just observe and learn about proper tree planting and pruning.

We want to thank the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County Master Forest Owner Program for sponsoring the evening and donating the tree. Kristopher Williams of the Capital Region Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management will demonstrate proper tree planting, pruning, and maintenance techniques. The importance of street trees will also be discussed.

Some info about the tree: The Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor), as suggested by its name, is often found growing in swampy areas, like moist bottomlands and river banks, which make it ideal for Kelley Park. With a medium growth rate the Swamp White Oak will grow to have both a height and spread of 50 to 60 feet, and have a round crown shape. I has dark green leaves in the warmer months that turn shades of yellow, bronze and reddish-purple in the fall. Although it does love wet areas, it can also tolerate drought, poor drainage, compacted soil, and has some salt tolerance, so is also suitable to be a street tree. The tree attracts many birds, and can live up to 300 years, so you can be sure it will benefit the community for many generations.

04/16/2026

The Village of Ballston Spa Park and Tree Board is celebrating its sixth year as a Tree City USA as designated by the Arbor Day Foundation. Join us for this year's Arbor Day celebration with a tree planting demonstration, Saturday April 25th, 2026 at 10:00 AM located at Kelley Park in Ballston Spa, NY 12020.

This event is sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County Master Forest Owner Program. Kristopher Williams of the Capital Region Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management will demonstrate proper tree planting, pruning, and maintenance techniques. The importance of street trees will also be discussed.

This year we will be planting a Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor). As suggested by its name, this tree is often found growing in swampy areas, like moist bottomlands and river banks, which make it ideal for Kelley Park. With a medium growth rate the Swamp White Oak will grow to have both a height and spread of 50 to 60 feet, and have a round crown shape. It has dark green leaves in the warmer months that turn shades of yellow, bronze and reddish-purple in the fall. Although it does love wet areas, it can also tolerate drought, poor drainage, compacted soil, and has some salt tolerance, so is also suitable to be a street tree. The tree attracts many birds, and can live up to 300 years, so you can be sure it will benefit the community for many generations.

This year we are dedicating the tree to Jimmy James Yoakum. Jimmy is the son of one of our Park and Tree Board members, and as our hearts ached for her and her son, we thought that a memorial tree would be a tribute and a place to visit and spend time and think of fond memories. Jimmy was a creative soul, a naturally talented self-taught musician, who could pick up any instrument and bring it to life. He was also very talented in culinary arts. He was kind and generous. His friends and family are welcome to join us at the tree planting and are encouraged to visit the tree often.

09/22/2025

Announcing the winners of our first annual B Spa in Bloom:

Best in Show: Next Door Kitchen & Bar/Front St Deli

Best Pollinator garden/most consistent blooms: Ballston Spa House and Garden Club at the Library

Best Use of Standing Planters: Golden Hour Beauty

Most Creative Display: Play Hollow

Best display that didn’t sign up to participate: Nourish Design Studo

We want to thank everyone who participated in our event, as well as everyone who didnt sign up but did help make our Village a little more beautiful and in bloom this past summer se

06/19/2025

Things are happening!

06/13/2025

We are SO excited to share that Wiswall Park is open to the public, and that it’s ready for tomorrow’s first farmers market of the season.

Yes, there is still some more work to be done, both short and long term. The addition of a new pavilion is expected next week. And the cones you see throughout the park are the locations of future lampposts. There is also a plan to add some native flowering shrubs.

Go check it out and let us know what you think! Thanks everyone for your patience during this process thus far. And a big thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!

05/25/2025

We wanted to get some color in the park and start some flowers so that, by the time it opens, Wiswall will be in full welcoming bloom. Our Park and Tree Board members Janelle Coffey and Caitlin Parwana spent their Saturday morning playing in the dirt and planting flowers in containers throughout the park. We hope you enjoy these blooms throughout the summer season.

05/23/2025

Although we aren’t super thrilled with all this rain, we know that the beautiful new sod in Wiswall Park was very happy with the wet weather today.

Updated walkway ✔️
Pavilion base ✔️
Flowering trees along Walnut St ✔️
New Fountain & location for Sans Souci ✔️
Lush green sod ✔️

To ensure that the sod has time to set properly, the park will remain closed for the next two weeks. We thank everyone for their patience, and we are SO excited for everyone to enjoy the new and improved Wiswall Park during its upcoming busy summer season!

05/19/2025

The historic Sans Souci Spring officially has a new beautiful fountain, a more prominent location, and the water is flowing!

We are so thankful for the talented Jay White Creations for making us this custom fountain that will be enjoyed for so many years to come.

we also want to thank our DPW for working with Jay, helping to make sure the spring line was moved and ready for the fountain, and helping with the installation.

We hope everyone has a chance to go check it out!

Address

66 Front Street
Ballston Spa, NY
12020

Website

https://www.villageofballstonspa.org/park-tree-board

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