Even when it’s full of cars, the senior lot is a little emptier these days.

On Saturday April 20, Williston hired K & J Tree Service from Southampton to clear the trees throughout, in, and surrounding the parking lot around the science center.

It came as a shock for many. Arriving back on campus after long weekend, Mrs. Motyka said, “When I arrived at school on [April] 23, I was surprised to see the trees down, and did not realize how they blocked the view of the campus buildings.”

Sydney Joyce ’19 said she was surprised to see the empty-looking lot with several trees removed.

One of these trees, a huge white pine, uprooted in a recent wind storm and fell though some windows in the science center, Joe Zewinski, Manager of Grounds, explained. There were two maple trees that were taken down because they were dying and losing a lot of dead branches, which in turn were hitting cars, he added.

Zewinski said it was his initial idea, for safety concerns, to remove the trees. “The white pines are very weak and break easily. Having these weak trees around parking lots, buildings and sidewalks is not a good idea,” he told The Willistonian.

Zewinski’s initial plan was to replace these spaces with new trees, but he said there is now talk about redesigning the area to accommodate more parking. Nothing official has been decided yet.