Greenvale resident Erin Mullen, a senior supervisor of Customer Outreach and Education for PSEG Long Island, celebrated the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day on April 29 by educating customers and helping to beautify Eisenhower Park in East Meadow.
Mullen was part of a team of PSEG Long Island community ambassadors who spent the day planting shade trees native to Long Island and the East Coast, including swamp white oak, red maple, blackgum and eastern white pine.
Another team of PSEG Long Island employees gathered outside the Lt. Michael Murphy Museum in West Sayville, planting flowering fruit trees in a historic orchard area to support local wildlife.
In addition, PSEG Long Island and the PSEG Foundation partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to give away energy-saving trees to the first 100 customers who visited the teams in Eisenhower Park and West Sayville to learn about where to plant trees so they do not interfere with power lines, how to save money through energy efficiency, and what financial assistance programs are available. When planted properly, these energy saving trees can provide shade and wind protections that can reduce heating and cooling costs.
“Supporting the environment is an important way of improving life in the communities we serve,” said Peggy Keane, interim president and COO of PSEG Long Island. “We are thrilled to show our spirit of community service by planting trees in Eisenhower Park and West Sayville, honoring a 150-year-old American tradition and ensuring nature continues to inspire for generations to come. As Long Island’s own Walt Whitman so eloquently wrote, ‘The solid forests give fluid utterances, they do as well as most speaking, writing, poetry, sermons — or rather they do a great deal better.’”
“In Nassau County, we are known for the prevalence of trees, and we take pride in maintaining our suburban quality of life, and the environmental benefits these trees provide,” Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello said. “Thank you, PSEG Long Island, for helping us plant new trees in Eisenhower Park. Not only do they provide health and energy benefits, but they literally keep us alive, providing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide.”