Arborist 3, Dorian 0
Horse chestnut tree in Cheverie saved following damage from raging storm
Falmouth arborist Stan Kochanoff has a deep understanding of what trees require in order to survive and thrive.
Following post-tropical storm Dorian on Sept. 8, which caused significant damage as it swept through Nova Scotia, Kochanoff had his work cut out for him as he tried to save some downed trees.
Unlike many commercial arborist’s and utility firms whose preoccupation was with the removal of trees and debris following the storm, Kochanoff said Maritime Landscape Services Ltd. concentrated its efforts towards the reinstatement of up-rooted trees in both private and public areas.
MAJOR RESTORATION ACHIEVED
Kochanoff said the company completed “a formidable challenge” in reinstating a 100-yearold horse chestnut tree that measured about 55 inches in diameter.
The 15-tonne tree, which had been blown over by Dorian, is located in Cheverie, Hants County, on property owned by former Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison.
Kochanoff said Brison wanted to preserve the historical tree.
The reinstatement feat was four days in the making. It included the thinning and structural pruning of the tree while it was on the ground, using two excavators — 12 and five tonnes in size — from Andy Macdonald’s firm ARC Excavating, and AW Leil’s 100-tonne crane along with the MLS crew of Darrel Brown, Earl Smith Wile and Kochanoff as the consulting arborist, to get the tree upright and stabilized.
Kochanoff said it was the biggest tree reinstatement project that Maritime Landscape Services Ltd. had ever tackled.
An after-care program of watering and fertilizing was implemented to ensure the tree survives as well as further thinning of the canopy and bracing for the multi-stem trunk.
Two other tree reinstatements were also conducted following the storm. One of which was the straightening of a tipped Linden in Victoria Park in Windsor, while the other was saving an American ash in New Minas that was leaning against Ettje and Johan Booysen’s residence. Assisting with those reinstatements was ARC Excavating for the Victoria Park project, and Howard Little Excavating, of Coldbrook, for the Valley job.