If a tree falls in CT, you’re probably going to hear it

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

In Connecticut, that may be a moot point.

We are the third smallest state in the union, and the fourth-most densely populated. Of the 3.6 million people living in such a small place, about 88 percent live in the urbansuburban mix of Fairfield, New Haven and Hartford counties.

But we also lead the nation in the percentage of urban communities that have tree cover — about 60 percent. (The state as a whole is about 60 percent forested as well.) So, if a tree falls, somebody is around to hear and see it and call City Hall about it

“If you look at the states that have the most trees in proximity to the most people, we have the most,” said Eric Hammerling, executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.

While there is a great, and needed effort to preserve big forest blocks that foster biodiversity, there’s increasing attention on caring for trees where the most people live.

“I think people are more interested in this than they have been in the past,” said Dr. Gregory Kramer, superintendent of Parks and Trees and Tree Warden for the town of Greenwich. “It’s a good thing.”

“People have been interested and they continue to be,” said Sharon Calitro, Danbury’s director of planning, about city residents’ desire to have something green and growing near their homes. “Both for environmental issues and aesthetic issues.”

In part, this is because of a growing understanding that cities have their own environments.

“Most people don’t put the word ‘urban’ and ‘ecology’ together,” said Stewart T.A. Pickett, an urban ecologist with the Cary Institute of Ecosystems Studies in Millbrook N.Y. “The first people who studied ecology tried to get as far away from cities as possible.”

But now, Pickett said, ecologists, city planners and landscape architects are paying increasing attention to the broader issues of a green infrastructure in cities — how plantings, green spaces and stormwater managements can make urban spaces more livable.

The advantages of city trees are many. They shade sidewalks and paved spaces, making places cooler. That means less money spent and less energy used on air conditioning. They absorb carbon and clean the air — something that’s needed in city settings.

Pickett has worked on urban ecosystems in the city of Baltimore. He said neighborhoods with more woody trees and plantings have lower crime rates.

“There is also the psychological benefit of seeing green things,” he said.

But Pickett acknowledged this can be a balancing act.

“When a neighborhood that isn’t green gets green, property values go up,” he said. “But that can mean rents go up and people get displaced.”

City trees need city maintenance.

Calitro, Danbury’s planning director, said the city is now removing and replacing aging trees downtown that have been around for 30 years or more and whose roots are now starting to crack sidewalks

In Greenwich and Norwalk, nonprofit groups support the greening of urban spaces — the Greenwich Tree Conservancy and the Norwalk Tree Alliance.

Jeff Scheer, president of the Norwalk Tree Alliance, said the nonprofit group has been active for about 20 years. The alliance raises money through grants and contributions to fund tree plantings on private property — church land, commercial spaces, and front lawns — that will benefit the city as a whole.

“The city plants on city property,” Scheer said. “We plant on private property.”

Scheer said, the alliance has increased the number of trees it’s been able to plant, going from a dozen or two to 87 in 2020. In collaboration with the city, that means about 150 new trees planted in Norwalk.

It also has a small tree farm at the historic Fodor Farm Community Garden, where it runs outdoor education programs for city schoolchildren. Visit its website at norwalktreealliance.com.

JoAnn Messina, executive director of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy said in the group’s 15-year history it has worked collaboratively with the town to plant about 5,000 trees along town streets and parks. Its website is at www.greenwichtreeconservancy.org

Messina said she’s seen an increased interest in city ecology.

“Partly, it’s because people are getting smarter about these things,” she said. “And the pandemic has brought so many people outside. They look around and want to know about these things.”