MONROE, CT — A Kubota Skid Steer operator lifted a Norway Spruce from the back of one of Eastern Land Management’s trailers parked on Green Street, and drove along a path of boards to a hole a crew dug on historic Stepney Green Friday afternoon.
“We took down the old Colorado Spruce, which was damaged, diseased and dying, and are replacing it with a Norway Spruce,” said Andrew Britell, senior area manager of Eastern Land Management (ELM), a landscaping company at 154 Enterprise Drive.
“We repositioned it a little better to align it with the gazebo and flagpoles,” Britell said.
First Selectman Terry Rooney said TLC Nursery, 742 Main St., donated the 10-12 foot tall Norway Spruce, hydrangeas and azalea plants.
ELM donated a colorful assortment of mums, mulch, soil, grass seeds and labor for the project, which began last Thursday and was completed Friday.
“We aerated the entire green and over-seeded the grass, then we cleaned around the base of the trees, re-edged and mulched,” Britell said.
ELM’s crew removed invasive plants from the gazebo area and planted the hydrangeas, azaleas and chrysanthemums.
Rooney said he had received a phone call from Dave Kuban, a town resident, who told him Britell, who also lives in Monroe, became a new manager of ELM and wanted to do a project for the town.
“I immediately thought of Stepney Green and Save Our Stepney suggested the green, which had been let go,” Rooney said.
“I ran it to DPW and we had to get the insurance, everyone helped without hesitation,” Rooney said of the donation.
He said the town’s tree warden, Jake Pollak, inspected the old Colorado Spruce on the green and determined it was damaged and diseased, before the decision was made to remove it.
Joel Leneker, a founding member of the Save Our Stepney Task Force, observed the work with other SOS members Friday.
“It’s the most beautiful the green has ever looked,” Leneker said. “This is an unbelievable effort by ELM and their team. SOS appreciates all their efforts with plant selection, installation and attention to detail.”
“Monroe is a Tree City USA town,” Leneker said, adding the new Norway Spruce adds to the diversity of trees in Monroe.
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