Trees Honoring Natick Teacher Cut Down On School Property: Police

NATICK, MA - Natick police are investigating after five trees that had been planted at an elementary school in honor of a teacher who died were cut down late last month.

According to a Boston 25 news report, a neighbor notified Meredith Hanson, who called the police about the removal of five young trees at the Bennett-Hemenway Elementary School. They had been planted in honor of fourth-grade teacher Catie O’Brien, who died of cancer in 2019.

Hanson speculated that the removal was "deliberate," noting that she found tools tossed near the school's shed.

“There were the loppers and the pruners on the floor,” Hanson said. “And the loppers were a substantial size that they could cut those trees down. And they still had bark in them.”

School superintendent Anna Nolin said the trees were part of a class gift in honor of the teacher, for which fourth-grade students raised money.

"They're upset, and why would anyone do this to our campus?" questioned Nolin. "They're really young people invested in their school, so they don't understand why someone would take this step.

"These are the kind of things you don't like to explain to young people who've worked so hard for this," she added.

Nolin said that she and others realized that the trees were cut down last week and decried what appears to be an act of vandalism. She suspected that whoever did this used the school's tools from the shed.

Parents noted that the person who removed the trees may not have known their significance to the Ben-Hem community.

Mary Rossini, a mother of two Bennett-Hemenway students, said she plans to talk to her kids about the incident.

“Talk about empathy toward people making wrong choices and why this is happening,” Rossini said. “It’s sad to think about the motivation behind the person [who] did it.”

"It's unfortunate," added parent Courtney McSweeney. "I'm guessing they probably didn't even know the impact and probably didn't realize it was planted in someone's honor. So hopefully if they had, it probably would've led them down a different path."

News reports confirmed that neighbors have offered to buy and replace the trees.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Natick police at 508-647-9500.