Officials on Friday finished taking down the estimated 200-year-old dead white oak tree near the pond at Waveny, setting up a months-long project whereby its wood will be used to create a range of sellable items to help support the park.
The Waveny Park Conservancy believes the tree was the very oldest in the whole park, according to Charles Crookenden, a member of the nonprofit organization’s board.
“Unfortunately it had reached the end of its life,” Crookenden told NewCanaanite.com. “We are replacing it with another white oak.” (The replacement tree will be 20 to 30 feet tall, officials say.)
In the meantime, the Conservancy—thanks to an idea from board member Chris Schipper—plans to have the tree’s wood dried and milled in order to create several heirloom and novelty products, as well as backless benches to be placed in Waveny and oak boards for future projects, with all remaining wood to be chipped or chopped up for firewood.
According to Crookenden, the new products will include a Jenga set, bread board, tray and cellphone holder, all bearing the Waveny Park Conservancy logo and priced at $39 to $99. Tom Throop, a furniture designer maker who owns Black Creek Designs on Grove Street, is among the craftsmen who will be employed to help work with the newly cut wood.
Proceeds from sales of the products, together with sponsorships of the planned new benches, will go toward the Conservancy’s mission to “ensure that Waveny Park thrives in perpetuity and continues to inspire and serve the people of New Canaan forever.”
The wood products themselves will take six to nine months to materialize, as the wood must undergo a dehumidifying process before milling (the WPC website will take pre-orders).
The project itself also could help bring more visibility to the Waveny Park Conservancy, a nonprofit organization created in the summer of 2015 that works with the town to preserve and improve the park. In addition to many trail and signage improvements, major projects include the restoration of the pond at the foot of the sledding hill (renamed “Anderson Pond”) and the ongoing creation of the “Jeniam Meadow” where the dredging material from Mill and Mead Ponds used to be stored, an area formerly known as “the cornfields” in Waveny’s southeastern corner.
“I will tell you candidly that the Waveny Park Conservancy—people don’t know it,” Crookenden said. “It’s a relatively new organization. The idea came from Kevin Moynihan. They’ve done a damn good job over last five, six years of their existence, but nobody in town is aware of it.”
The Parks & Recreation Commission at its July meeting discussed possible future uses for the dead oak tree, though the Conservancy already had formed its plan.