https://www.wellenparkjournal.com/articles February 17, 2021
BY ROBIN F. DEMATTIA, Wellen Park Journal Correspondent
“Twenty-six heritage oak trees, including the one above, are being relocated to areas of Downtown Wellen Park.”Future Downtown Wellen will feel well established thanks to an investment by developer Wellen Park, LLLP.
“The developer is making the investment to relocate 26 heritage trees along the boulevard entrance and throughout the mixed-use development to give Downtown Wellen a sense of maturity.”
“This was the right thing to do both from a conservation point of view as well as creating a sense of place,” says Christine Masney, vice president of marketing for Wellen Park. “These trees are beautiful and worth saving, plus they will allow us to create a truly special environment at the entrance to Downtown Wellen and throughout the mixed-use project.”
The 26 live oak trees vary in size from 14 inches in diameter to one with a trunk that is 96 inches. Some of the younger trees are about 15 years old, and one is close to 90. Most are 60 to 80 years old.
They are growing on the old Taylor Ranch property, which means they need to be moved anywhere from a quarter-mile to almost a mile.
Most of the trees in the relocation program are 60-80 years old, and one is close to 90. STEVE LINEBERRY / WELLEN PARK JOURNALEleven will be showcased at the Wellen Park entrance from U.S. 41 and along Preto Boulevard. The others will bring shade and provide color around the stores, restaurants and businesses around Downtown Wellen.
The project, which Ms. Masney calls “a labor of love,” cost $1 million, which was paid for solely by the developer.
Almost two years ago, Wellen Park engaged the services of Environmental Design, a national leader in tree transplantation, and Kimley- Horn, a nationwide planning, engineering and design firm, to help select the trees.
“It was determined by the team that a major investment in the relocation of mature oaks and trees into the new downtown was something that would really help set Downtown Wellen apart from other new master-planned communities by utilizing the existing vegetation and natural resources on the property,” says Chris Cianfaglione, a landscape architect with Kimley-Horn. “The design of the downtown is organized around those relocated trees as the predominant feature. Every important space is anchored by the relocated trees.”
Wellen Park is bearing the entire cost of about $1 million for moving the trees to their new homes.
Once the trees were identified, preparation for their eventual move began.
Staff from Environmental Design dug a trench around each tree, pruned each tree’s root ball to encourage new root growth and then backfilled the trench. The staff have monitored and watered the trees daily to ensure a successful transfer. “Oak trees can live for hundreds of years,” says Paul Cox, a certified arborist and eastern division vice president for Environmental Design. “Root pruning has a rejuvenating effect on older trees, giving them additional lifespan. The trees will be there way after all of us and our grandchildren aren’t.”
Environmental Design has a patented process for the actual relocation process.
Each root ball will be wrapped with burlap and wire fencing to make it stable. Pipes will be pushed under the root ball in a grid-like fashion, and those platforms will be tied together with proprietary hardware.
The company’s ArborLift system uses a series of inflated pneumaticbladders with extremely low ground-bearing pressure that roll around each other for minimal disturbance to the trees.
“The beauty of this method,” Mr. Cox says, “is that in the past, you had to use gigantic and expensive cranes. It was labor intensive and dangerous to the people involved. This method takes root ball deflection out of the equation, is low to the ground, safer and more cost efficient.”
It’s a slow process, rolling about 100 feet per hour. It takes 10 hours to move 1,000 feet.
Mr. Cox expects to start moving Wellen Park’s trees in March. The effort should take up to 16 weeks.
Wellen Park residents will be able to see photos and a time-lapse video of the tree relocation at http://www.wellenpark.com and on social media @WellenParkFL.
Mr. Cox says Environmental Design has a 98% success rate in moving trees. His firm will conduct post-transplant maintenance for a year, paying particular attention to soil moisture management.
“Because of the soil condition and forgiving nature of the environment, I suspect that once the irrigation is fine-tuned, we will be on autopilot with oversight,” he says.
The relocated trees will do more than provide beauty and shade for Wellen Park residents.
Mr. Cianfaglione says the mature trees will minimize runoff of rainwater and remove thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide from the air annually.
The trees are part the sustainability strategy that Wellen Park is creating around the grand lake, which serves as a stormwater basin and focal point for the downtown.
“We trying to create a more urban setting and be more efficient in the use of the land,” Mr. Cianfaglione says.
Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate
REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964
19503 S West Villages Pkwy
