Mary Johnson Photo
Want to plant a commemorative native tree in Branford?
The Community Forest Commission has a new program that enables a native tree to be planted in memory of a person, or to honor a person, an animal or an event that occurred recently or in the past.
The Branford Commemorative Tree Program, which gets underway this spring, will benefit the town as well. The commission approved the new program last fall.
Mary Johnson Photo
Shirley McCarthy, the chair of the Community Forest Commission, said, “The Branford Commemorative Tree Program enables a tree (or trees) to be planted in memory of a person or as a tribute to someone (or an organization).
It is also be a nice way to replace a tree or trees that went down during hurricanes Sandy and Irene.
Sugar Maple
The Community Forest Commission and the public works department will acquire and plant the donated tree. Here is a sugar maple.
All the donor need do is select the tree, pay for it and, if desired, write an inscription on a plaque. To start the process, click here for an application.
Where will the tree be planted?
It will be placed in a town-approved spot, typically on public property.
Officials at the Tree Commission say only native trees or species native to Connecticut will be planted in order promote local bird life, animal life and other species. For example, a mature Oak can support hundreds of different species, including flying squirrels, chipmunks and owls.
A tree close to the shoreline must be salt tolerant.
The Community Forest Commission began in 2009. Since then it has established Branford as a tree city designation. Becoming a tree city designation “sends a message to people who invest in your town or may want to move here, that we value trees as part of our community. It makes the town desirable — it is an added value,” Lindsay Mathews, a licensed arborist, said in a prior interview.
To reach the tree city goal, “we had to form a commission, which we did and have a formal ordinance, which we received,” she said.
Here is a sampling of native tree price ranges, depending on size:
• White Pine — $139 to $199
• Sugar Maple — $329 to $599
• Red Bud — $64 to $259
• Flowering Crab — $129 to $149
White Pines
Here are white pines.
Other native trees will be considered, Louise LaMontagne, a member of the commission, said in an interview.
Peggy Carpenter, a member of the commission, said “a tree is a living commemorative symbol that changes and grows and provides a way for families to honor the deceased in a specific way when they might not know what else to do.”
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