The Wainscott Tree Society will hold this year’s Arbor Day tree planting Friday at 1 p.m. at the Wainscott Post Office. A London plane tree donated by members of the society and provided at a discount by Whitmores Tree Farm will be planted.
The London plane was selected with the help of Jill Hulke, sales supervisor at the tree farm. It is the first to be planted in the hamlet’s business district and represents one of the first steps in the implementation of its hamlet plan while also fulfilling the society’s mission of planting new street trees. It is one of four planned for the post office site, replacing damaged and now radically pruned street trees.
Kevin Cobb, project inspector for the East Hampton Town Highway Department, has obtained the necessary permissions from relevant utilities, removed a dying tree, and secured the town board’s support. He has also assisted with tree selection, irrigation, and deer protection.
The Wainscott Tree Society was formed following the winter of 2020-21, when 13 trees along Main Street and Beach Lane were removed. The impact to the visual landscape shocked residents, to the point that the hamlet’s citizens advisory committee formed a subcommittee to explore ways to respond. The tree society evolved from that subcommittee. It is affiliated with the Wainscott Sewing Society, a not-for-profit organization established in 1869.
Since the tree society’s formation, 11 trees have been planted thanks to donations from members of the community, all provided at a discount by Whitmores. The initial goal is to restore the tree canopy along Main Street, with additional areas of focus to include Beach Lane, Wainscott Hollow Road, and the business district.
The tree planting program, including care of new trees, is funded by individual donations, which the society is soliciting to complete its project at the post office and for the planting of trees elsewhere in Wainscott.
