8-year-old fights to save town's trees from removal with heartfelt signs

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — One Sullivan’s Island 8-year-old hopes to save the town’s trees with his homemade signs.

After five years, Dominion Energy crews are back and preparing for another round of palmetto removal. With 523 trees slated to be cut down, the Town of Sullivan’s Island is considering new options to minimize that loss for the next cycle.

People may have noticed white circles painted on trees or signs placed on them reading “Don’t cut them down.” That’s the work of Keegan Novak.

“We've marked a reasonable number to make sure that people know of what's going to get cut down,” Novak said, a second grader at Sullivan’s Island Elementary School.

The safety project happens every five years when the trees grow too close to overhead power lines. Dominion says removal is the safest option, but Novak hopes to save even just one tree.

Novak and his dad said they want to bring awareness to how many trees the town will lose.

“There were hundreds of copies made and Keegan and our family went around and, and put them out, and other people encountered us and stopped and said, ‘Hey, can we also help?’” said Justin Novak, Keegan’s father. “And so, it kind of grew from there.”

Now seen across the two-and-a-half-mile-long island, the signs have caught the attention of town leaders.

They’re considering the option to bury the town’s power lines underground and are looking into relocating younger palmettos away from problem areas. Both are expensive solutions.

“As far as looking forward, it's kind of incredible. Maybe the Town of Sullivan’s Island doesn't have a lot of authority right now in this five-year cycle of tree removal. However, looking forward, I think there's a real positive message here that each affected resident can make a big difference now for the future,” said Rebecca Fanning, the town’s director of resilience and natural resource management.

Fanning said she’s been walking around the island checking what trees have been marked to make sure only the necessary ones are cut down.

Dominion Energy sent the following statement to News 4 Monday:

Dominion Energy continues to work collaboratively with the town as they review each tree scheduled for removal to determine eligibility for relocation. Palmetto trees cannot be reduced in height or directionally pruned like other trees, and side trimming is not recommended as these trees quickly replace pruned fronds and seed stalks, which can extend several feet and contact energized lines. Trees identified for removal are typically not candidates for relocation due to their proximity to overhead energized lines. For these trees, removal is the safest option.

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