Town officials are discussing what should come of a large dead or dying tree near the pond in Waveny.
Parks & Recreation Commissioner Francesca Segalas said this month that the tree, an oak, appears to be the “oldest tree” in the park.
The tree in question is on the right side of this photo. Credit: Michael Dinan
“Is there a way that we can figure out to turn that into a sculpture instead of just cutting it down?” Segalas said during the Commission’s regular meeting, held July 13 at Lapham Community Center.
“There is sculpture that could be made that as it deteriorates, it’s part of the sculpture,” she added. “And I would rather see the tree turned into something than ‘Here’s benches made from it.’ ”
The tree in question is located toward the foot of the sledding hill, west of the pond.
Segalas’s comments came during Parks & Recreation Director John Howe’s general update to the Commission.
He said the tree “probably is going to have to be cut down” though officials have talked about taking its wood to create benches like those in the walled garden.
“Right now they’re reproduced in plastic recycled wood, which is great, but is not quite the same,” Howe said. “It would be great if they were sawn oak. So maybe use some for that and make other pieces available for sculptures, but probably not to do one right there where it is.”
He added, “Once the tree is dead like that, it looks great for a very short period of time. So if you made a different sculpture for it and put it on a proper base some place else, it would be able to hold up.”
Decisions regarding the tree itself fall to Tree Warden Bob Horan, Howe said.
Commissioner Keith Richey said he saw a photo that Segalas brought in of a tree that appeared to be carved by chainsaw into the shape of a hand “and it’s neat.”
Segalas said she and Richey would meet with Horan to discuss the matter. No public notice of their meeting has been posted yet.
How about putting tiny white lights on it – use a timer and have them come on at a certain time each day. We could have a fund for the lights like we do on Elm for holidays.
White oak or red oak? White oak is resilient outdoors. Not so much with red oak. Benches would be great in quarter sawn white oak.
A chainsaw sculpture is a good possibility.
I bet seen it done by a professional. It turned out to be two eagles, one in flight & one standing with a raccoon at the base. The artist I believe lives in Maine. It turned out beautifully. You might be able to locate him on google.
Are soil tests being done on all the town owned fields? From what I’ve seen the acidic trends in lawns and fields is marked in southern New England. High magnesium lime would do a lot to correct soil imbalances and acidity which is negatively impacting tree life, etc.. 50#/1000 square feet would be highly beneficial for town fields. The Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, state owned, does soil tests at nominal fees and makes recommendations.
There is an heirloom apple tree near the central parking lot at Waveny that bears apples once every seven or so years which is common for those.