Browse Items (146 total)

After much debate, the town Parks and Recreation board voted 4-1 to not raze the Norse Tower. The Rogers-Kennedy memorial would have to find a new home. The tower was now to be inspected, restructured, and reopened to the public before the end of the…

After voting to keep the Norse tower, the Parks and Recreation Commission began the process of repairing the tower. This meant meticulously taking down most of the stones and refitting them with stronger materials. Materials that would be better at…

The photograph in the article shows the wrecking ball team destroying the tower. The town wasn’t able to grab the same attention as it had gotten in 1929 and therefore, the tower was finally ordered destroyed. As the tower came down, the town’s…

An image depicting the tree damage caused by a F4 class tornado which touched down in Worcester on June 9th, 1953.

Dutch elm disease originated from Europe in 1928, and has killed tens of millions of elm trees since then. Worcester has been preparing for the complete loss of Elm trees.

One of the newest threats to the local environment, the Asian Longhorned Beetle is an invasive species from China that is severely damaging for many of the local trees, especially hardwoods such as maples. It was first identified on August 7th,…

In 1921, Worcester experienced one of the worst ice storms in recent history. The storm itself delivered millions of tons of ice and paralyzed infrastructure throughout the city. As for the trees, a third of Worcester’s 40,000 shade trees were…

The Hurricane of 1938 was a storm that ravaged New England, and the strongest in its history. In Worcester, the storm downed about 4000 trees in the streets, and about 11,000 in the parks and playgrounds. The full repair from the damage caused by…

A recent threat to trees in Worcester is the Emerald ash borer. As the name suggests, the beetle most severely affect ash trees. In contrast to the eradication movement for the Asian Longhorned Beetle, the strategy for this new species is one of…

Fortunately, there are forces at work attempting to undo the damage done to the urban forests of Worcester. Worcester Tree Initiative, now a part of Tower Hill Botanic Garden, that was formed in January, 2009 with the ambitious plan to plant 30,000…