GALVESTON — The lush canopy of trees shading Galveston’s Victorian homes is gone, claimed by the saltwater storm surge of Hurricane Ike. But in the three years since the storm, the barrier island’s citizens have led a grass-roots effort to preserve the memory of the trees by carving more than 35 sculptures from the remaining stumps, which stand among thousands of replanted saplings.

More than 35,000 of Galveston’s trees — many planted after the devastating 1900 hurricane — were cut down after Ike. The tree sculptures, carved from stumps still rooted in the ground, have become a whimsical yet reverent way to remember the past in the face of this loss. Three sculptors have been at work since late 2009, grinding away with chainsaws and chisels to transform the stumps into dolphins and angels and birds. Their work has become one of the island’s most-popular tourist attractions.

“Everybody loves the lemons-to-lemonade story associated with the loss of those trees,” said Jimmy Phillips, one of the sculptors.

This seaside town’s art project was set in motion by Donna Leibbert, who was inspired by the sculptures carved from trees killed by Hurricane Katrina in the Biloxi, Miss., area. Ms. Leibbert proposed the idea to the City Council because she wanted the large, dead oak tree in her front yard to be carved, but she needed permission because it stood beyond her sidewalk in the city right of way. (Residents are allowed to carve what they want on private property.) So in spring 2009, Ms. Leibbert showed up at a Council meeting with a tiny reproduction of one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s garden sprites to show that yard art could be visually appealing.