Celebrating Arbor Day with the Wilton Tree Committee

Celebrating Arbor Day and our Wilton Tree Stewards for 2020 and 2021!

The Wilton Conservation Commission and its subcommittee Tree Committee are pleased to invite all residents to join in celebrating Arbor Day on Wednesday, 20 October at 3:00 p.m. in Merwin Meadows. 

While most communities recognize Arbor Day earlier in the year, the Conservation Commission and its Tree Committee opted to move this attention to the Autumn season for Wilton.  Trees planted in this season are more likely to grow well because they are readying to become dormant for the Winter; they require less light, warmth, water, and nutrients as they go quiescent, and they are healthier when they start growing again in early Spring because they have not been stressed.  For these reasons, the Commission is planting all donated trees in Autumn each year.

As part of Wilton’s annual American Tree City status, each year on Arbor Day the Commission names an individual as Tree Steward.  This is someone who has brought a wealth of knowledge about conservation and an abundance of her/his personal effort to projects supporting conservation in our Town over the past years.  Because of the pandemic, last year’s Tree Steward was named, but not acknowledged.  Therefore, this year is special: the Town will celebrate our 2020 Tree Steward, Elizabeth Craig and our 2021 Tree Steward, Nicholas Lee.  

For Liz Craig, a white oak, Quercus alba, planted at Merwin Meadows outside the children’s playground, will remind residents of the various continuing commitments Liz provides Wilton as former Chair and member of the Inland Wetlands Commission, founding member of the Pollinator Pathway, Board member of the Norwalk River Watershed Association and former Co-Chair of the Wilton Garden Club’s Conservation Commission.  An advanced Master Gardener and an Arborist, Liz designed and led the project to replace invasive species with native plantings at the corner of the NRVT at Autumn Ridge and Sharp Hill, and she teaches classes on native plantings at Norwalk Community College.  

In Nick’s honor, a Nyssa sylvatica (Black Tupelo) was planted in the area between the Bank of America and Wilton Library parking areas.  This tree will remind our townspeople of Nick’s dedication to Inland Wetlands, where he currently serves as Chair, and where he also served as a member for ten years in the past, as well as his former decade-long tenures on both the Conservation Commission and the Tree Committee.  Nick generously provided the labor of his landscape business for many years to ensure the planting and tending of donated trees in the community would be accomplished properly and at cost.  In addition to all these other indicators of his extraordinary service to Wilton, Nick is currently one of Wilton’s two Tree Wardens.