By Tiffany Razzano
But when Joe Aebly needed to make room for an extension on his Island Park home, he couldn't bear to see the 65-year-old, 30-foot Blue Spruce in his family's yard meet that fate. He'd grown attached to the tree over the nine years he had been living in the house. So instead of destroying it, he decided to donate it.
A couple of months ago, Aebly had been driving down Ocean Avenue when he saw a huge sign on the corner of Ocean and Lakeview Avenue advertising Tanglewood Preserve's Plant-a-Pine program. So far, people had donated the $150 it costs to buy a smaller pine from a nursery, but no one had donated an actual tree of any size. That very same day Aebly called Joe Ferrara, the community relations coordinator at the Center for Science Teaching and Learning (CSTL) at Tanglewood in Rockville Centre, to find out how he could donate his Blue Spruce.
"Just one phone call [to Joe Ferrara] got the ball rolling," Aebly said. From there, Ferrara and Aebly did research online to figure out how to make the potential donation of this spruce a reality.
Ferrara came across Oak Grove Tree Spade and Nursery in Huntington, which specializes in moving full-sized trees. The group agreed to volunteer their services, transporting and replanting the tree for free, using its truck-mounted tree spade.
"These machines are incredible," said Marc Weinstein, the owner of Oak Grove. "They allow us to pick up trees and transplant them hundreds of miles away without posing any danger to the tree's health."
The movement of Aebly's tree was certainly a fortuitous event. Ferrara said that it was the right time and place for this to happen, as Aebly, Ferrara and Weinstein all just happened to be available on June 12 to move the tree. Also, the 30-foot tree, which had a branch spread of 20 feet, was the largest possible tree Weinstein could move with his truck.
"Every tree that can be saved is better for the environment," Aebly said. "Every tree makes a difference. We found that such a project was possible. We hope others learn they can [move trees] instead of knocking them down."
The move was an all-day affair, with Weinstein and other Oak Grove workers arriving at Aebly's house at 9:20 in the morning. They finished planting the tree at Tanglewood around 5 p.m. Oceanside Cub Pack 230 and Scout Troop 332 were represented at the planting. The scouts had previously helped out at Tanglewood on Earth Day.
Ferrara, who was excited about the large donation, said the tree adds character to the building on the property, which was built in the 1870s. He also said that CSTL has found a company to donate a sprinkler system for the tree.
Aebly was glad he was able to find such a good home for his beloved tree. He had seen a neighbor recently tear down a tree in their yard and he "couldn't picture [his tree] going through the same torture."
"The majority of people don't know you can just move a tree and they should do it for the sake of the environment," he said. "If you don't want to cut it down, but you have no alternative, donate it to a park or move it [to another part of] your property."
