Steve Lavatori, Tree Warden

Steve Lavatori, a hometown boy who never left town, has served as our part time tree warden for two years now.   Taking over the position from Joe Pinchbeck, Steve was a perfect match for the job as he had majored in biology and botany at the University of Connecticut, was the manager of a large nursery, and had his own successful landscape and tree business for many years.  

According to Steve, since he has been in his position, he has had four to five hundred trees taken down.  It seems that the trees in town are now older, and storms are more frequent due to climate change. An example of increased tree damage in town is the downing of over 54 ash trees along the Recreation Center trails after one storm alone.  Ash seems to be the trees that are most susceptible to damage during storms.

Steve’s job entails authorizing the town to take down dead or damaged trees, deciding whether the trees are on state property, town property or on private land, and advising the public on how best to handle a tree related situation.  He also has people call him about beaver dams and their protection as well as trees that seem bear clawed but are really destroyed by woodpeckers. 

The Town tree warden cannot work in isolation.   He must work with Eversource, the electrical company, Rudy Marconi, the first selectman, and the highway department.   Since the blueprints for a roadway may not be exactly the way the road was built due to rocks and terrain of the land, Steve must regularly justify the true ownership of each tree and work regularly with people at the town hall. 

If someone would like to see the most beautiful trees in town, Steve suggests they go to Ballard Park.  The Bigelow/Ballard family who once owned the park had European trees like Japanese scholar trees planted as well as indigenous trees and beautiful elm, beech, red oaks, hemlock and sugar maple trees. The family was looking for diversity when it came to their gardens. A magnificent beech tree near the parking lot is one of the park’s most beautiful trees and is around 150 years old. 

At one time Ridgefield fought to save certain elms in town, however, it was useless. Since the 1800’s, elms have been getting Dutch elm disease and chestnut trees have had blights as well. There is not much that can be done when a tree has acquired a disease. In some cases, chemicals may be added to the soil.

Also, many years ago, a dead tree came down on a passenger car and paralyzed the young woman inside.  After this tragic accident, the town allocated more funding for removal of trees in order that such a situation would not reoccur.

When Steve was growing up in Ridgefield, he was a lover of nature and the out of doors.  He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, skiing, boating, and hiking.   In high school he also played baseball and football.  Today he likes to play golf.  While in school Steve and his brother, Dave, also worked in Nina’s their family’s restaurant.   The restaurant was across from Texaco Joe’s on the corner of Main and N. Salem Rd.   Nina’s was a favorite of the locals in town.