SOUTHBURY HISTORICAL TREE RESTORATION COMMITTEE
1996-2009

Appointed by the Southbury Board of Selectmen in 1996, the Southbury Historical Tree Restoration Committee is charged with preserving and maintaining Southbury's Tree Heritage. The Committee's initial goal was to reforest Main Street North. Since that goal was attained, reforestation has progressed with several hundred trees of diverse species added to Southbury's roadsides and within its parks. Schielke Park was designated in 1997 by the Board of Selectmen as a site for the Tree Committee to establish a tree nursery. Schielke Park Town Tree Nursery came into being with volunteers from the community assisting the Tree Committee in planting several hundred seedlings. These trees were planted as a resource for the Town of Southbury to be used as replacement trees and for sites in need of new trees. The Nursery was formally dedicated in April of 2002 in memory of Sean Schielke, a Southbury native, who was lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City.

The Committee recommended that the official tree of Southbury be designated as the Settlement White Oak. This was approved at a Town meeting on May 18th, 1998. A restoration White Oak Tree was planted on October 2nd 1998 at the area now known as Settler's Park, initiating Southbury's 325th Anniversary Celebration at the White Oak Encampment Site of the First Settlers in Southbury.

The Southbury Historical Tree Restoration Committee works with the Town of Southbury Public Works Department and the Connecticut Light and Power Company in promoting public safety by identifying hazardous trees and branches for removal, and advising contractors in their planning for appropriate trees for new sites in Town. The Committee researched and wrote a Tree Ordinance to protect Southbury's public trees. This was approved by the Board of Selectmen on May 21, 1998. The Committee prepares and implements an annual tree plan, continues to work with other Town officials in facilitating the Town Tree Ordinance, and utilizes community member's donations in purchasing new trees for the Town. An annual Arbor Day Celebration is planned and presented with cooperation of Gainfield Elementary School officials and students. An "ADOPT-A-SPOT" Program began in 2003 with Southbury businesses volunteering to maintain areas planned and planted by the Committee with assistance from the Public Works Department. In 2009, the Committee extends appreciation to Southbury Tree Service, Kelly Lenahan Landscape Design, VIZADA, Inc., and H.L.Bennett Jr. Inc. for maintaining these 10 spots. Adopt-A-Spot signs indicating their contributions are on display at these sites.

During our thirteen years of service to the community, the Tree Committee has applied for and been awarded Six "America the Beautiful" matching grants for purchasing new trees and maintaining areas in need of pruning. Southburians have also contributed generously toward the purchase of trees for our Town over these past years. Tree Committee members have been honored by the Connecticut Urban Forestry Council's 1998 Volunteer of the Year Award. This award was followed by the International Arboricultural Society Award presented to the Committee in Newport, Rhode Island. In the spring of 2009, the TREE CITY USA Award from the National Arbor Day Foundation was presented to the Town of Southbury for the eleventh consecutive year.

The support of the citizens of Southbury, the administration and staff at Southbury's Public Works Department and Southbury Town Hall, the foresters of Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection, and the arborists of Connecticut Light and Power all have contributed to the Tree Committee's mission of preservation and maintenance of Southbury's Tree Heritage.

Catherine A. Palmer, Chairman
Southbury Historical Tree Restoration Committee
June 2009