Government

‘Gateway’ to New Canaan Getting Spruce-Up

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New Canaan plans to remove (and replace with new trees) four pines leaning near the edge of South Avenue at the Center School lot (just across Maple from the library) and to grind down tree stumps along the state road between the downtown and Farm Road. The pine trees will be replaced by two dogwoods and a magnolia, Tree Warden Bruce Pauley said during the Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday. “And I believe the junipers have been removed, so it’s going to be a much nicer gateway to town,” Pauley said at the meeting, held in the Douglas Room at Lapham Community Center. The selectmen approved an $18,915 contract with Almstead Tree and Shrub Care Co for tree pruning and removal at various spots in town. Together with the tree replacement by the former site of Center School’s kindergarten, Pauley said New Canaan will see 12 to 15 tree stumps on both sides of South Avenue ground down.

Around Town

Iconic Maple Tree at Waveny Is Dying, Volunteers Plan for a Successor

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A prominent and well-loved tree at Waveny appears to be dying, and members of a volunteer group that oversees the park’s popular Fourth of July celebration are preparing to contribute toward a new tree when the time comes. The big maple just off of Waveny House’s sprawling patio has provided shade to thousands of park-goers through summers and long has formed an important part of the iconic view from the fields at what many would call New Canaan’s most treasured amenity. The New Canaan Family Fourth Committee (the $30 passes to the event are being sold now to town residents; a limited number of $60 nonresident passes also will be sold) wants to make sure there’s a tree there for people to enjoy, said Tom Stadler, administrative officer in the first selectman’s office. “It won’t come down until it’s dead, but sometimes you can plant a new one under it or nearby,” Stadler, who helps oversee special events for New Canaan, said after a meeting of the Family Fourth Committee, held at Waveny House (which itself is the object of preservation efforts). “We just want to be ready to contribute a new tree,” he added.

Around Town

God’s Acre Gets a New Evergreen Tree for Christmas Caroling

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New Canaan resident Scott Gress lost 14 of the 80-foot pine trees on his property when Superstorm Sandy struck two years ago. Shortly after, it occurred to Gress while driving past God’s Acre that if the iconic fir tree there came down, there’d be no centerpiece for one defining community event for New Canaanites: Christmas Eve caroling. Gress said he identifies New Canaan strongly with the annual Dec. 24 gathering on the sloping green in front of the Congregational Church. “There’s no question about it.