Davey Tree Flipbooks

Above: Several residents of Royal Falmouth are Boston Red Sox fans and recreated their own Fairy House versions of Fenway Park. Right: Royal Falmouth resident Cal used the wood base to create a monument to his military service in the Marines. Photo credit: Nancy Newman, Royal Falmouth Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Newman had also grabbed the leaf-bare remains of a rhododendron while at the Davey yard, and residents turned the woody bush into a Christmas-style tree decorated for fall with, of course, fairies. Initially Royal Falmouth displayed the close to 30 houses in its lobby, but the popularity of the creations with residents, staff and visitors alike led to a month-long display at Falmouth Public Library. After that, the houses spent another month on display at the nearby Cotuit Library. "There was a ton of enjoyment that came from the project shared among families and residents alike," Newman said. Booth said Davey's Cape Cod office was proud to support the retirement community with a unique way to recycle wood. "We were happy to do it," she said. "This kind of a donation may not dispose of bulk wood chips, but it's certainly one of the most heartfelt recycling methods we've ever done." 'FAIRY HOUSE' DONATIONS BRIGHTEN SENIOR LIVING FACILITY It's not uncommon for tree care firms to donate wood chips for mulch beds, compost or play area surfaces. But a donation to help build fairy houses? When Carol Booth, client experience coordinator for Davey's Cape Cod office, got that call, she couldn't pass it up. "It's the first request like that we've gotten," Booth says. "It certainly was creative." Nancy Newman, activity director for Royal Falmouth Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts, contacted Booth looking for wood slabs to use as a base for an arts activity for her residents. "I had called and left messages with four different tree companies, and Davey was the only company that ever responded," Newman says. Davey employees donated a few hours to saw up a tree removed from a job into more than two dozen thin, round slabs. "We cut them within a day of her call," Booth says. Newman took the new wood pieces back to Royal Falmouth and sparked her residents' creativity with the fairy houses project. "My idea was to make a PowerPoint presentation and teach the residents what fairy houses are, but I didn't have enough time," she says. "And I'm glad I didn't. They had no idea what a fairy house was, and so all these creations came about from each resident's personal, lifetime experiences." Using the slabs, some driftwood, seashells and other beach-scavenged material— combined with the usual arts-and-crafts supplies—the residents created a plethora of personal dioramas. Lifelong Boston Red Sox fans recreated Fenway Park. A former resident of Martha's Vineyard duplicated the ferry boat from The Steamship Authority at Martha's Vineyard. A retired Marine created a monument to the corps. Residents crafted fairy occupants—complete with leaves for wings—to populate the houses. Addressing the Unexpected and Unusual Davey's Cape Cod R/C office received two unusual requests late last year. Read more below to find out how office personnel and crewmembers handled each unique call. 12 | January/February 2015

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