Tree Stories: Grandma’s tree

by Erin Santacroce, for the Quincy Tree Alliance. Also published in The Quincy Sun in late 2023

In December of 2020, I lost my grandmother to Covid. She was 103 years old. One may think her time was probably up, but this woman was still in great health, dressing to the nines, walking with a snazzy walker, texting with emojis, writing on my Facebook wall, and enjoying life to its fullest. 

My beautiful grandma, Colette Santacroce

She was an artist, a mother of three, a college graduate at the age of 76, and had a beautifully feisty and fun presence. She was the life of the party, a storyteller, a wonderful cook, and loved her family. She was an inspiration to everyone around her. 

When the opportunity came to plant a tree in her honor, it seemed like the perfect way to unite my love for nature and my love for her in one enduring tribute. 

In October 2021, the 4C Tree Quincy group organized a tree planting at Passanageset Park at Broad Meadows Marsh (150 trees), and Monroe Park (50 trees). The city of Quincy provided the trees, some tools, and some very brief “instructions” for planting: dig hole, remove tree from pot, plant. 

On top of the sparse instructions, it felt like the selected planting locations might have been chosen in error; we had to trudge through mud and thick phragmites to get to our designated planting areas. Stakes represented the areas in which "a tree” was to be planted, but there was no direction as to which trees should be planted where. There was no soil provided for planting, nor any water (although it was already very muddy). 

Undeterred, a group of about 30 of us spent backbreaking hours planting over a hundred trees, memorializing loved ones by placing painted rocks at the base of the trees, bearing a sentiment or name of a family member. 

The author, Erin Santacroce, with her grandma’s memorial tree

I planted a black gum tree. I was so proud of it. It stood high at the top of the hill. I imagined my family coming to see it, sitting under its shade, memorializing my grandma. I visited the site frequently, sending my family updates a few times. 

But all the while, I started to notice the trees weren’t doing well. I addressed this with the city and with the 4C Tree Quincy group. Despite multiple inquiries as to who was responsible for maintaining these saplings, the trees didn't get the basic maintenance needed to get through their first critical years. 

On average, newly planted saplings have an 18 percent chance of dying during the first year. They need gallons of supplemental watering per week, even in a typical year, and the summer of 2022 was one of the driest in a generation. 

The tree in February 2023

Now, unfortunately, about half of those trees have met their demise. Two separate inventories performed on the trees in February 2023 (one by an arborist, one by myself) found that between 48 and 51 percent of the Covid memorial trees planted at both Passanageset and Monroe Parks have died. 

In June, I could barely get through the chest-high weeds to the top of the hill, where my grandmother’s tree was planted. My heart broke once more. Her tree has died, along with many more that represented the lives of loved ones lost to Covid. 

The tree had died by June 2023

It didn’t have to be that way — with better planning, better planting instruction, better communication, and better watering and maintenance, the outcome could have been different. Working together, I hope we can make sure this doesn’t happen again. 

I appreciate that the city permitted us to put trees on public property — but regret that their commitment seemed to end there. Planting trees isn't just a one-day photo op or public relations stunt. It's an infrastructure investment, one that will cool and clean our city's air, reduce storm runoff and erosion, and improve our residents' health. The city needs to do all it can to ensure its new trees live to be grand old ones — so that, like my grandma, they can inspire future generations, even at 103 years old. 

Is there a special tree in Quincy that means a lot to you? Submit your 600-word Tree Story to quincytreealliance@gmail.com.

Plant trees to honor COVID victims

Join us on Oct. 9 and 10 to commemorate the lives lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic by planting trees here in Quincy. The memorial project, called 4C Trees (Capture Carbon Commemorate COVID), began in Newton and was brought to Quincy by a passionate local college student.

Saturday, Oct. 9, 11 am - 2 pm: Passaganesset Park, next to the Quincy Youth Hockey Area

Sunday, Oct. 10, 11 am - 2 pm: Monroe Park, next to Pond Street

Hope to see you there!