New Wood-Carved Signs for Adopt an Island Help Beautify Braintree

More than two dozen Adopt an Island signs scattered throughout Braintree are being replaced with wooden, hand-painted versions whose appearance – including a Braintree blue background and the town's official seal – will be maintained annually.

The signs are part of a program that has been under the management of the Gardners Guild of Braintree for the past decade and a half. Many of the program's existing 27 metal signs were fading, said past guild president Kerri Eck, and she convinced Mayor Joseph Sullivan to help with their replacement.

"It's a way to beautify," Eck said.

Yankee Woodcarvers, on Washington Street in Braintree, has been hired to create the signs and store and maintain them each winter. The town will cover the $1,700 cost for new signs out of its capital budget, Sullivan said.

Wonder Days Pre-School co-owners Kathy Anzalone and Mary Pendergast joined Lucille Barton, Sullivan and Eck for a presentation of the new sign design on Monday.

The new signs will contribute to a wider beautification effort that in recent years has led to cleaner parks, more trees and improved municipal landscaping, Sullivan said. 

The guild encourages local business owners, groups or individuals to join the Adopt an Island program. Eck said that spots not listed with the Gardeners Guild can also be selected, so long as they are in a reasonable location. Visibility is important, as is avoiding places where planters and signs are easily lost to passing vehicles.

Each island costs its sponsor a $35 annual fee and whatever it takes to keep the land clean and planted during the warmer months.