Northbrook Park District Receives $29,000 Tree Gift

The holiday spirit is upon Northbrook's parks. Clavey Nursery in Harvard donated $29,000 worth of trees to the Northbrook Park District on Nov. 15 and 16.

The gift came in the form of 99 Crabapple, Maple, Serviceberry, and two types each of Oak and Spruce trees. They have already been planted in four parks. 

“We just finished planting them yesterday,” Northbrook Park District grounds manager, Mike Brouillard, said last Thursday. “[The nursery] had them left over. The nursery didn’t want to see them go to waste.” 

Techny Park and Prairie received 15 of the trees. Meadowhill Park received 36, 46 trees went to Wood Oaks Green Park and the last two trees were planted at Sportsman’s Country Club. 

Teams of Park District staff used a large mechanical borer to dig holes for the trees. A large tractor was used to nudge the new tree into place. Trees were hauled to their new homes, several at a time, on trailers pulled by park district trucks. Brouillard said the mild autumn weather provided ideal conditions for getting trees into the ground.

The trees will come in handy, said Brouillard, because in addition to the usual number of trees that die of natural causes or storm damage, the village lost dozens of Ash trees over the last few years due to damage caused by the voracious Emerald Ash Borer.  

Had the ground been frozen, which the Grounds Manager said at this time of year is a distinct possibility, getting the new trees planted would have been remote at best. Brouillard said the park district has never planted trees when the ground is frozen. 

It's common for the park district to plant trees throughout the year that have been donated by area residents, community groups and businesses.

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