30 new trees to be planted at Norwalks Calf Pasture Beach – Thehour.com

NORWALK After the coronavirus pandemic and the summer drought pushed the plans back a year, 30 maple trees are set to be planted at Calf Pasture Beach come spring, according to Superintendent of Parks and Public Property Ken Hughes.

Initially, the trees were set to be planted in spring 2020, but the pandemic disrupted the plans and the dryness of subsequent summer forced them to be moved to 2021.

Hughes, a licensed arborist, has worked with the city of Norwalk for 10 years and is the sole arborist employed by the city, he said.

About 75 percent of the young maples will be planted in the parking lot island and the remainder will be scattered throughout the beach, Hughes said.

Theyll be planted first thing in the spring when the weather allows, middle to end of April hopefully, Hughes said. But the weather has been so wacky who knows.

Maples were chosen as the species fares best in the conditions, he noted.

The conditions down at the beach are not the best conditions to grow trees, Hughes said. You have salt spray, the public climbing trees.

The parks department has an annual allotment of $50,000 to be spend on trees. Each new maple to be planted cost $1,800, for a total of $54,000, Hughes said.

About four years ago, an additional 35 trees were planted along the beach, Hughes said, adding as older or damaged trees require removal, the city is quick to replace them.

The only time we remove a tree is if theres an imminent risk to the public, he said. If the tree is on a consistent decline, any large limbs need to be removed. We dont go around randomly removing trees.

One particular trees removal recently caught the publics attention, however, resulting in Norwalk residents taking to social media to share their favorite pictures of it and question if the removal was necessary.

During the rain storm which hit the area last month on Christmas Eve, the well-known tree growing in the middle of the beach was severely damaged and removed.

Ill be honest, that tree was growing in the most unfriendly conditions, Hughes wrote in response to a Facebook post. Im not sure a new tree would survive long in that location. Storm tides are getting higher and higher and reach the root system (contributed to demise).

Resident Jurgen Pichler, 60, said he is unhappy with the mainenance of the citys beaches, particularly upkeep conducted on the trees.

Additionally, Pichler said he is concerned about the citys efforts to drive away the Canadian geese that congregate on the shore.

The Canadian geese are great, Pichler said. They fertilize the grass, it grows nice and lush, yet the recreation thinks its OK to spend money to pay somebody to chase the geese away.

However, the Canadian geese and the amount of feces on the has become a health concern, Hughes said.

We take pride in the maintenance at the beach, but we are limited by budget and manpower, Hughes said. Thats the reality of things. I want to go plant and prune every tree, but its not realistic.

abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com

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30 new trees to be planted at Norwalks Calf Pasture Beach - Thehour.com