Help Us Save Our Local Trees!

 

 

Pictorial Of Trees That Can Still Be Saved

Pictorial Of The Massacre At Lantern Hill

I live in New Providence, NJ and have been working in the tree business for 40+ years. Over the years, I have witnessed hundreds… maybe even thousands… of beautiful trees undergo unnecessary damage and ultimate demise, mostly as the result of careless construction efforts.

I have dedicated countless hours and money towards trying to stop the destruction and save these trees. I have met with town officials, newspapers, contractors and even homeowners – spreading awareness and education about the protection of trees during construction, as well as emphasizing the projects in violation of town laws. Sadly, many trees have died despite my warnings and efforts.

The Lantern Hill construction project in New Providence, NJ is one example. It has always been against the law to willfully destroy a tree. In the town of New Providence, ordinance 2011-1 prohibits any grading of soil around trees or destruction of their roots. Dozens of trees have been killed at this project. Some of them not initially slated for removal, but later dying due to harm suffered during construction… All of them in violation of this ordinance. Read more about this project at our page, “The Massacre at Lantern Hill.”

As a town resident, I am saddened by the sight of this. As an advocate for the trees and a business owner who is required to follow town ordinances and the permit process, I am in disbelief.

My purpose here is to spread awareness about the local and global impacts of destroying Mother Nature’s “oldest residents.” And to ask your help. The trees in our neighborhood not only provide us with shade and beauty, but they filter our air and water. They will do this for generations to come if we work together to protect them. There are still trees left at Lantern Hill, and many in our local area, that can be saved with your urgent help.

Sign my petition at change.org and ask town officials to finally step up and #DefendOurTrees.  Ask them why do we have ordinances in place to protect the trees if we are not going to follow them?

Check out Rooting Out Problems by Nicholas Mook, an excellent, informative article about the damage that trees can suffer during construction projects and what landscapers, contractors and homeowners can do about it.

Visit my instagram @defendourtreesNJ for more information on dead and dying trees in our area.

I encourage everyone to recognize and report any damage being done to trees. I do believe that with a combined effort we can save some of the beautiful old trees in our neighborhoods.

I hope that you find my site educational. I look forward to working with you to “defend our trees.”

Roots of this tree have been destroyed by heavy machinery and disregard.
These roots have been destroyed by heavy machinery and plain disregard.

 

Experts warn of foot traffic, during construction. Here you can see the bulldozer tracks, actually hit this tree!
Experts warn of foot traffic during construction. Here you can see just how unnecessarily close this bulldozer came to these trees – actually hitting them and causing large gashes! Regardless of whether these trees had or didn’t have their large roots visible to us on the surface of the soil, the roots are STILL there and STILL affected by ANY compaction or stress from above.

 

  • Browse our site
    • The “Massacre” of trees at the Lantern Hill Project
    • Locations – local projects where trees are being damaged and MAY BE SAVED with proper care and your urgent help
    • Why does it matter? – facts and information about the importance of protecting our “oldest residents,” our trees