Chris Rosa wins “Tree Warden of the Year” award for Malden!

Special to The Advocate

Malden’s Cemetery Director, Chris Rosa, who also serves as Malden’s Tree Warden, was honored at the 2024 Massachusetts Tree Wardens and Foresters Association annual conference – winning the Massachusetts Tree Warden of the Year award! Chris, who for many years owned a landscaping business, started at the Malden Department of Public Works as Assistant Director in 2018 and became Tree Warden in 2022. Chris is responsible for planting and managing the City of Malden’s tree inventory, which consists of all public shade trees, including at schools, parks and public buildings.

Since becoming Tree Warden, Chris has received more than $135,000 in planting grant monies. He was the first to discover and manage the emerald ash borer in the city as well as to sign a vegetation management plan with utility companies. In addition to maintaining Malden’s Tree City USA status, he created Malden’s first ever tree planting and protection guideline book. The City is grateful to Chris for continually striving to create a diverse and sustainable urban forest for Malden.

The Massachusetts Tree Wardens and Foresters Association is the nation’s oldest urban and community tree protection organization – founded in 1913 for the protection and preservation of trees. The position of tree warden is a municipal one, mandated under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 87, with the charge to protect public shade trees within the 351 cities and towns of the Commonwealth. The Tree Warden of the Year award was created in 2002 to honor the late Seth H. Swift, a longtime tree warden for West Springfield and an active member of the association.

The Association plans to hold a commemorative tree planting in the City of Malden in honor of Chris Rosa’s award. Details will be posted on www.masstreewardens.org.