The tornado, and the storm that spawned it, left broken power lines and damaged homes, but thankfully only minor injuries. Heavy rains over the previous several weeks, combined with the high winds, resulted in numerous uprooted trees. Many of them were on the town green and in the Wolcott Hill area.
"I think we lost close to 100 on town land, in the parks, on the streets, at the schools," said Tree Warden Phil Smithwyck. "Not all of them fell right away. They're still being taken down even now."
"When it first happened, I went by the green and I thought 'it's never going to look the same' but it doesn't look too bad now, he said. The town did a good job of filling in the holes in the grass, he added.
Within a year or two, the town will eventually replace all those that were on town land, as long as they were in a good location, not under power lines, he said, adding it won't look the same, they'll be 20 feet all instead of 100.
As for how many were lost on private property, "just a wild guess, I'd say at least as many" as on town land, Smithwyck said. "Church Street, Wolcott Hill, that area looks wide open now."
That's where the WVIA can help residents. Robert Garrey, association president, said the group started on its 375 goal last spring and managed to get over 50 trees planted on private property so far. "We're always working with the town to plant trees. The tornado definitely increased interest in this," he said.
The WVIA can get residents trees at a significant discount from Millane Nurseries in Cromwell. The association's web site has a list of the trees available, including dogwoods, red oaks, smooth leaf elms, various maples, and more. Prices range from $80 for three different varieties of flowering cherry to $225 for a Katsura tree. Residents will also receive planting and maintenance guidance.
The web site advises interested resident to find a location for a new tree on your property. "If the location is on the snow shelf, approval will have to be received from the Town of Wethersfield's Tree Commission, to ensure proper location, size and species of tree. This is a great opportunity to buy high quality nursery trees at a discounted price. In addition to beautifying the community, this may also be a great opportunity for a memorial tree," according to a statement from the web site.
The WVIA will also provide a four foot high green fiberboard cutout tree to planting subscribers who sign up to be placed in the yard for a period of time. The signs are numbered to show the progress in reaching the 375-tree goal.
"Traditionally, our streets have been lined with sizable shade trees. Placed at regular intervals, they gave a sense of place to avenues, boulevards and greens," says Garrey, on the web site. "This past year alone, some 135 significant street trees were cut down. Unless we reverse the trend, Wethersfield streets will lose their definition. Over the past 20 years, hundreds of trees have been removed, for various reasons. During this same period, utilities have been installing increased amounts of fixtures, cables, boxes, wires, and pulleys, etc. This is all adding to visual pollution. The WVIA is excited about reversing this trend."
The WVIA usually meets on the third Tuesday of every month, September to May, at the Old Academy, 150 Main St., in Old Wethersfield. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. New members are welcome and there are no membership dues.
The Web site is www.wviact.org. Residents can contact Garrey for more information, or to make donations to help with the tree-planting project, at robertgarrey@att.com.