Salem Planting Goal Progress:

Last Updated: January 19, 2023
Am I In The Zone?
Meet Your Local Foresters:

Dave Bresnahan
Education: B.S. Natural Resources Management focus on Forestry, Umass Amherst 2005.
Experience: Dave is an ISA certified arborist and has been with the GGCP since 2014, for 11 planting seasons, and was the planting program’s first Forestry Assistant! He has supervised parks and trails maintenance crews, and urban tree planting crews for 10+ years in cities & county parks, and Gateway Cities and has worked on coastal restoration projects.
Interests: Travel, Live music and tree-tography.
Favorite Tree & Reason: Japanese Pagodatree (Styphnolobium japoinicum) for their majestic form and wide spreading canopy.

Mike Griffin
Education: Bachelor’s in Natural Resource Conservation with a concentration in Forest Management, UMASS 2014
Experience: Started working with DCR in Amherst assisting various management and service forestry projects, then worked one season as a Laborer on the Chelsea tree planting crew. Worked for two years as the Forestry Assistant at the Asian Longhorned Beetle Reforestation program. In 2017, became a Forester for the GGCP in Lynn and have been here since, totaling 11 planting seasons.
Interests: Backcountry snowboarding, mountain biking, rock climbing, and anything else to take me up mountains and get me out into the wilderness.
Favorite Tree: Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) It is a long lived tree that will leave an impact when open grown. It is also rather urban tolerant and can leave a lasting impression for years after it is planted.
Salem Partners:


Salem Sound Coastwatch
Salem Sound Coastwatch is a coastal watershed non-profit that promotes environmental awareness and stewardship through partnerships with residents, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and other NGOs. Salem Sound Coastwatch is excited to be working the City of Salem, DCR and the Greening Gateway City Program. Leading the way to a healthier sea and shore for over 30 years, Salem Sound Coastwatch mobilizes volunteer efforts that engage people with their environment to make local change happen. Here are some of the ways this is accomplished: • Promoting environmentally friendly landscaping practices that reduce stormwater runoff while conserving water and reducing chemicals • Focusing efforts on greening urban spaces and increasing urban tree canopy by promoting more trees and better tree maintenance • Connecting youth, educators and community members to their local watershed, coastal and ocean ecosystems through hands-on, place-based learning to build greater engagement with nature and science • Working to increase community resilience to climate change through education, adaptive planning and local actions.