From towering beeches and sap-producing sugar maples to dogwoods with edible berries, Brookline boasts a wide diversity of trees. To help distinguish and learn about them, Brookline’s GreenSpace Alliance, Department of Public Works and Tree Warden Jack Schliefler partnered to lead the Winter Tree Identification Walk at Longwood Station on Sunday, Jan. 11, from 10-11:30 a.m.

Over 30 community members learned how to identify local trees during winter. After the walk, participants were invited to warm up together with cocoa, cider and cookies at a nearby home.

President of Brookline GreenSpace Alliance Sean Lynn-Jones said that the nature walks have been a tradition for many decades. Lynn-Jones said the alliance organized the walks to help people better understand the trees they deeply care about.

“These walks help people to understand the importance of the trees we have in Brookline, why we plant those trees, how they differ and how they contribute to the community in both the natural environment and the man-made environment,” Lynn-Jones said.

Brookline’s Urban Forestry Manager and Tree Warden, Jack Schliefler, explained key characteristics to look out for when identifying trees in winter, including bark, bud and stemming features. The key part of the walk was to identify trees without their leaves, so participants jotted down helpful notes to remember tree characteristics. Schliefler said he had guided other nature walks before, but this was his first identification walk in Brookline.

“It’s so important to jump on any opportunity to keep connecting as people to our spaces and our trees,” Schliefler said. “I really love that I, in my own life, have gotten so much fulfillment from knowing my trees and looking at all these patterns. I want to be able to share that with people.”

Long-time Brookline resident Donna Viola participated in the walk last year. Viola said she was interested in this year’s walk because she had a positive experience with a prior tour guide and enjoys learning about nature in her community.

“The fact that in Brookline they’re really interested in keeping the wonderful canopy of trees is wonderful. In many places, you never see things like this,” Viola said. “It’s really a prize for us that [Brookline] spends money to do it and that they have people who are so well trained and interested.”

The guided walk focused on trees planted on public property, beside sidewalks and on the Longwood Mall. According to Schleifler, the town invests a great deal of effort in planting trees and ensuring that they will thrive in the urban environment. He hopes to plant hundreds more trees in the future.

“I want to have more educational events like this to connect people to everything,” Schleifler said. “I’m really excited to continue to invest and see how we can get extra funding and make sure we’re taking care of all those trees.”