WOODBRIDGE PARK ASSOCIATION INC.

Founded in 1928

Trustee: THE ALICE NEWTON STREET MEMORIAL PARK

Entrance from Meetinghouse Lane

P.O. Box 3883, Woodbridge, CT 06525

www.woodbridgeparks.org

PRESS RELEASE

 

Woodbridge Notable Tree Identification

A Joint Project of

the Woodbridge Garden Club and the Woodbridge Park Association

-by Woodbridge residents Richard Forselius and Leslie Martino

 

"Trees are the oldest and largest living things on earth and they are a good measure of the health and quality of our environment.  Trees are the original multi-taskers.  Trees provide social, ecological, and economic benefits.  Their beauty inspires writers and artists, while their leaves and roots clean the air we breathe and the water we drink.”  (www.americanforests.org)

 

The Woodbridge Garden Club and the Woodbridge Park Association announce a joint project to identify and catalog notable trees within the town of Woodbridge.  The purpose of this project is threefold.  Primarily, it is a way for the Woodbridge Garden Club and the Woodbridge Park Association, both concerned with maintaining the beauty of our natural environment, to work together and with other interested members of the community to document notable trees of Woodbridge, on both public and private property.  Secondly, it is a terrific way to celebrate the Park Association’s 75th anniversary, and the Garden Club’s 70th, highlighting the work of both organizations as well as the interest and concern for one of Woodbridge’s greatest historical assets and natural resources.   A third benefit of this project is to register Woodbridge grand and unique species with the Connecticut Notable Trees Project, which automatically enters identified town trees in the National Registry of big trees.

 

The idea about bringing this project to Woodbridge was proposed by resident Leslie Martino, a Board Member of both the Woodbridge Garden Club and the Woodbridge Park Association.  She attended a flower show in West Hartford in the summer of 2003, and saw a display of the work undertaken to identify notable trees in West Hartford. 

 

Leslie presented Woodbridge Garden Club President Betty Fearon and the Woodbridge Park Association President Richard Forselius the idea of a joint tree identification project in Woodbridge.  Both were excited about the proposal and gained approval and support from their respective directors. 

 

The West Hartford tree identification project compilation was submitted to the Notable Trees Project of Connecticut, which is a state registry of native and naturalized trees and can be found at the Connecticut College Notable Trees Website: http://notabletrees.conncoll.edu/.  On this website is a map of Connecticut indicating all participating towns.  Woodbridge has not submitted any formal documentation of the outstanding/notable/unique trees in town to this point.  Historical maps of Amity and Woodbridge refer to trees as landmarks, but no one has previously taken the time to document our trees.

 

The Connecticut Registry feeds into the National Register of Big Trees located at http://www.americanforests.org/resources/bigtrees/.  This provides a listing of America’s champion native trees.  There is no particular concern to document “the biggest” of any species; the interest is primarily to create documentation of Woodbridge trees for historical and conservation purposes. 

 

This initiative will feed into both the Connecticut Registry and the National Registry.  Additionally, Richard hopes to expand the Woodbridge Park Association website at www.woodbridgeparks.org as an appropriate venue for townspeople to access the catalog of notable Woodbridge trees.

 

First Selectman Amey Marrella, a member of the Garden Club, and ex-officio member of the Woodbridge Park Association Board of Directors, and Adam Parsons, from the town of Woodbridge are supportive of the project.  Additionally, Woodbridge Boy Scout Troops and other Woodbridge organizations are cordially invited to participate.   There are many opportunities for projects as a part of this initiative.  We hope to host some guest speakers to discuss the importance of trees to our environment, and provide training on identifying notable and unusual species.  We also expect to create an extensive map of Woodbridge with markings to indicate the locations of all identified trees.  Copies will be made available to anyone interested.

 

Woodbridge residents will be asked to identify the location of potentially notable trees by completing the nomination form.  The town will be broken down into smaller sections, with identification teams identified to cover particular areas.  These small teams will then be sent to the location to confirm the species (common name or scientific name) and properly catalog the tree according to criteria (circumference, height, crown spread & condition), take a digital photo of it, and record the GPS position coordinates.

 

Most folks have favorite trees that they enjoy taking note of as they walk, hike, or drive by throughout Woodbridge.  In the winter months, one can identify significant deciduous trees by their grand structure and form, visible only when they are bare of leaves.  There is no rush to catalog trees immediately, particular times of the year, such as spring blossoms or autumn color brilliance, may create more interesting photographs.  The conifers in Woodbridge speak clearly such as the Copper Beach on Amity Road or the Weeping Cherry on Westward Road.  All trees in Woodbridge are eligible, trees may be on public property or Woodbridge Park Association or Woodbridge Land Trust property, or lands held by the utilities, such as the South Central Regional Water Authority.  For access to some locations, homeowner or landowner permission must be granted to verification teams.

 

This project will take some time to complete; Richard Forselius estimates at least one year or so.  In fact, it may become a multiyear project.  He said, “This has to be a fun and rewarding project.   I hope to send out Boy Scout teams with leaders.  The scouts will work toward their forestry merit badge by learning to identify tree species, and also orienteering, as they will learn to use the GPS and measure the heights of large objects.  This also qualifies as service to the community.”

 

Notable trees will be cataloged according to a form that requires a measurement of the trunk circumference at 4 ½ feet above ground level in inches.  The vertical height of the tree is measured in feet, and is measured using an Abney hand level, a hypsometer, with the help of a protractor, or a transit.  The average crown spread is also measured by a recommended technique encompassing two directions.

 

Some resources will be required to complete this project, to bring in guest lecture arborists, the development of an on-line index and equipment for the tree identification teams (digital camera, GPS).  We also hope to develop an educational component to this project.  We would like to present lectures about this project and eventually a slideshow once trees in Woodbridge are cataloged.  Glenn Dreyer of Connecticut College, Connecticut’s Big Tree Coordinator, has been contacted, and is available to provide a presentation to any interested townspeople about this project.  You will hear more about these.

According to the Connecticut College Notable Trees Website, “Established in 1985, the Notable Trees Project collects and distributes information about Connecticut's largest and most historic trees, both native and introduced. By educating our fellow citizens about the importance of our state's natural heritage we work to preserve it.  It is a volunteer enterprise sponsored by the Connecticut Botanical Society, The Connecticut College Arboretum, and the Connecticut Urban Forest Council.”

Glenn Dreyer wrote a book titled "Connecticut's Notable Trees," published by the Connecticut Botanical Society and the Covered Bridge Press in 1989, 1990 and 1998. This included the Champion Tree Lists. Most libraries in the state have copies of the book, which is currently out of print.

A computer database is maintained at the Connecticut College Arboretum that includes records of over 2,600 individual trees (as of Jan 1, 2004) in the state. Information for each tree includes size, location, ownership, and condition. The champion tree list is derived from this database.

The exact locations of some trees may not be published due to not having permission from some owners of trees on private property to publish the location.   The full listing will include locations of trees growing on land open to the public and those for which permission has been granted.

Woodbridge residents who have agreed to be a part of the Steering Committee include Amey Marrella, Adam Parsons, Michael Burt, Betty Fearon, Deb Forselius, Richard Forselius, Bob Fries, Karen Hluchan, Win Hubbard, Roberta Egnasczyk, Phyllis Liu, Leslie Martino, Joan Murphy, Geoffrey Smith, Val Traumer, Michael Walter and Cathy Wick.  More volunteers are needed!  Advisors are needed! Anyone with expertise with any particular facet of this project is welcome.

This project will officially be launched on Arbor Day, April 30th.  We hope that people will start with Arbor Day to look at their own trees and the trees on trails in Woodbridge, and stop to appreciate nature just a little more than they might have otherwise.  

It will also be discussed at the 75th anniversary celebration of the Woodbridge Park Association on Sunday, May 16th at 3:00 PM at the entrance to Alice Newton Street Park in Woodbridge center.  All are invited to this event.  Also, the Woodbridge Garden Club will provide progress on this project and have an announcement of a tree planting at its June 1st annual luncheon.

 

Additional information will be posted at Woodbridge Park Association website www.woodbridgeparks.org.  Park Association President Richard Forselius may be contacted at president@woodbridgeparks.org if you have a tree to nominate, if you have any questions, can provide support, or would like to be a member of either the Notable Tree Identification Steering Committee or a tree identification field team. 

 

If you have a tree you would like to nominate, please fill out as completely as possible, the Woodbridge Notable Tree Nomination Form and submit it to the Woodbridge Park Association, P.O. Box 3883, Woodbridge, CT  06525.  Someone from the project will contact you to arrange for identification.

 

 

Attachments:

1. Woodbridge Notable Tree Nomination Form.

2. Photograph of the first tree being nominated for the Woodbridge Garden Club and the Woodbridge Park Association joint project to identify and catalog notable trees within the town of Woodbridge.  Located on the town green in front of the First Church of Christ, this Norway Spruce has a circumference of 108 inches!  Shown in the photo are Woodbridge Park Director Adam Parsons, Woodbridge First Selectman Amey Marrella, Garden Club Board Member Cathy Wick, Park Association Director Geoffrey Smith, Garden Club President Betty Fearon, and Park Association President Richard Forselius.  Photo credit: Dennis Martens.