Known for his love of the outdoors, as well as his environmental conscience, the legacy of Tim Wolting was on full display in the south end of Chatham on Saturday.
More than 80 volunteers came out to Mud Creek, as well as the Wedgewood Avenue area, to celebrate Earth Day and plant trees in memory of the special constable, who died of brain cancer in March.
His wife, Cheryl Wolting, was overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support.
“It’s really, really awesome,” she said, adding that entire families were coming out to help. “There’s people from our church. People from my daughter’s church. People from our neighborhood. Our friends.”
A total of 20 trees were planted, including native red maples, sugar maple and white oak. A total of $6,000 was also raised for the cause.
Wolting said her husband would often mulch trees in the park, even while undergoing cancer treatment.
Noting Tim was a “very humble guy,” she said he still would’ve enjoyed seeing the crowds on this special day.
“I’ve done a lot of different naturalization projects with schools as a teacher,” she said. “And he was always in there, helping me. All the time. This would be right up his alley.”
She said she told the municipality the story right from the beginning, adding that staff were receptive to the idea.
Saturday’s rain was no deterrent, as various groups of volunteers were planting trees, working the equipment, loading mulch, or handing out cookies to those who came out.
Jessica Sunderland, Wolting’s niece, was happy to take part and called it a great day for everyone involved.
“In the memory of my uncle, it’s awesome. He would’ve loved this,” she said. “Nature was his passion … Taking care of the earth was his passion.”
As for whether a similar event would be held in the future, Wolting called it a possibility.
“You never know, right?” she said. “This is the first Earth Day since COVID that we’ve been able to gather people together.”