Riverhead Honored With 9/11 'Survivor Tree' As Symbol Of Hope

RIVERHEAD, NY — Nineteen years after the world changed forever on 9/11, symbols of hope live on.

On Friday, September 11 at 10 a.m., Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. and John Feal of the FealGood Foundation will host a 9/11 Survivor Tree planting ceremony at the sheriff’s office, located at 100 Center Drive in Riverhead, honoring lives lost in the attacks.

A callery pear tree became known as the “Survivor Tree” after enduring the September 11, 2001 terror attacks at the World Trade Center, Toulon said.

Very few trees survived the collapse of the Twin Towers at Ground Zero. A handful of them were found under the rubble during clean up, removed, and relocated by the US Forest Service. The mother trees, and their offspring, have since come to be known as "survivor trees" or "witness trees".

Each year, the 9/11 Memorial gives seedlings from the "Survivor Tree" to three communities so they can nurture them for future generations as a symbol of survival and the triumph over tragedy, Toulon said.

"The Suffolk County sheriff's office is honored to be selected to plant a 'Survivor Tree' seedling," a release said.

Current and retired members of the Suffolk County sheriff’s office who responded to the recovery effort after 9/11 will be present for the ceremony, along with elected officials, and other dignitaries. The ceremony will streamed on Facebook Live.