https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Shade-treesto-put-downroots-on-island-11619298.php
Shade treesto put downroots on island?
Jean Falbo-Sosnovich, Register Correspondent
Published 12:00 am EDT, Tuesday, August 3, 2010
DERBY -- The transformation of O'Sullivan's Island into a thriving recreational area got another boost this week from the state.
Thanks to a $3,735 America the Beautiful grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection, O'Sullivan's Island will be the recipient of shade trees.
The trees will be planted around the perimeter of the island, which is actually a peninsula where the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers meet.
"This is part of an ongoing revitalization effort for O'Sullivan's Island," said Mayor Anthony Staffieri. "I have a vision for O'Sullivan's Island, which includes a transformation into a beautiful recreational site. With this grant and others, we are truly on our way to realizing that vision."
Aldermanic President Ken Hughes, a certified arborist, helped the city select the type of trees for the area. Sheila O'Malley, the director of economic and community development, said Hughes helped the city save some $500 in consulting fees.
Staffieri said the trees will be planted to outline the island, and will "help prevent soil saturation with the overflow from the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers."
The island offers only limited shade. In addition, the trees, when the leaves turn colors in the fall, will add to the island's beauty, according to Staffieri.
"My goal is to make O'Sullivan's Island a recreational site that's the envy of the state of Connecticut," Staffieri said. In June, Lowe's home improvement store donated four picnic tables to the project.
Staffieri said the restoration work is a shining example of returning a former off-limits brownfields into a recreational space for the Valley.
City officials said future plans include building a pedestrian bridge from a pathway adjacent to the island. The Valley Council of Governments previously got a $325,000 grant to build a handicapped-accessible fishing pier there, and to improve the boat launch and install non-invasive plants.