By Michael Mahowish
Workers from The Olmsted Parks Conservancy are in charge of taking care of the many trees located in the Olmsted Parks and the clean up of a surprise mid-October storm.
Jeff Brett, a certified arborist, moved from Niagara Falls to Buffalo’s West Side when he was offered the tree-care supervisor position at The Olmsted Parks. Brett explained that he and his full-time crew of four workers go out into the Olmsted Parks and take care of:
“It’s a necessity,” said Brett, when asked about why the parks need tree care workers. “In the Olmsted Parks there are 12,000 trees, 5,000 in Delaware Park alone. Trees die and you have hazardous branches hanging over pathway and roads. People use the parks heavily, so the trees have to be maintained and kept safe.”
Joanne Marzullo, receptionist for the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, said that an estimated 62,000 people visited the Olmsted Parks during the first nine months of 2006.
Destruction in Delaware Park
Brett was responsible for conducting the initial inspections of Delaware Park shortly after the Friday the 13th storm devastated the city. He found trees and branches littering the turf of the park.
“It’s pretty wild,” said Brett, as he inspected the destruction wrought by the storm. “We’re going to have months of clean up. The park is radically different from what you would normally see. Normally we would be looking at tree trunks and grass. Now it looks like we’re standing in the middle of the woods.”
Brett went on to explain that the storm damage would definitely change the landscapes of the parks for years to come.
“Certain areas got hit harder than others,” said Brett. “In those areas there’s definitely going to be a visual impact where a lot of the mature trees have to be removed.”
Brett said that some of the trees that were seriously damaged will remain in the park. If those trees don’t leaf out next spring, then they will have to be removed. The Conversancy will plant new trees in place of any trees that have to be removed.
Brett made it clear that without the services of The Olmsted Park Conservancy, the vision of Frederick Law Olmsted would cease to be a reality.
For more Information contact Michael Mahowish at S67kurt94S@hotmail.com, or visit The Olmsted Parks Conservancy
|
