I am especially pleased with the school because my children have all attended and my daughter is currently in the 4th grade class. We began our classes with an overview of how trees work beginning with Photosynthesis at the leaves and working our way down to how roots and soil associates like earthworms and fungus all work together to make the tree grow. We discussed the many different ways trees are important, such as animal habitat, food, shade, cleaning the air, producing oxygen, and for their beauty. The students learned that roots grow a long way from the tree (up to 2-5 times the canopy width from the trunk). They learned how some fungus is helpful to trees (mycorhizae), by assisting them in absorption of water and nutrients. We also discussed trees in the landscape and their interaction with houses, roads and electrical lines. In the end all, including Mrs. Leonard, had learned some interesting facts about trees. In addition they were able to review some of the things they had learned earlier in the year. Finally I learned that we have some very capable teachers and the world's best students. These students were witty, friendly, courteous, and intelligent. They had good answers to questions and well thought out questions about our subject. We are truly blessed in this country to have dedicated people such as Mrs. Leonard who love their students and the work they do. My hat is off to the whole staff of RES and to Principal Bob Bateman for a job well done. We can all look forward to a bright future when we see the caliber of students in our Elementary schools. I challenge all of us to spend some time with these students - whether elementary, middle, or high school - and encourage them. Let's get behind these students and their teachers and all do our part to make their education the best it can be.To Riverhead's Elementary School 4th grade science classes, I say, "Thank you" for a wonderful day. I look forward to teaching at your school again. Finally to Mrs. Leonard, thank you for your dedication and for the opportunity to spend a day in your class.
Mature Tree Care
By: Sten Cempe
Kappa Alpha National Headquarters-Lexington,VA.The process of photosynthesis in the leaves and nutrient uptake from the roots. The maintenance task, therefore, is to provide the tree with the optimum set of conditions to promote these processes.As an Arborist, or as a land owner, we have a few tools and procedures at our disposal to assist the mature tree not only compete in the environment but also thrive. Trees naturally shed parts as they grow, sloughing off portions which no longer provide for the common good of the tree. Pruning is a useful process in assisting the tree in removing these unwanted parts. Trees require elements and nutrients which they obtain from the soil. These materials are transported from the soil to the tree through the root system. This process works well if the soil has the proper amount of elements, organic material, air space and water. Trees naturally grow in a wooded environment where the shed leaves and limbs are recycled for nutrients. Beneficial organisms live in the soil and the soil is kept loose and open. Unfortunately most landscape trees deal with compact soil which has had all the organic material removed and replaced with turf grass which aggressively competes for the available nutrients and water. These adverse soil conditions are the greatest contributor to the decline of mature trees. For the manager of these trees it is important to identify the soil conditions and prescribe remediation procedures. Among the most useful procedures are: soil analysis, removal of turf grass around the base of the tree, soil amendments, soil aeration using an air spade and applying an organic mulch. Soil analysis is useful to determine the fertility of the soil and the need, if any, of applying soil amendments such as lime,sulfur or other fertilizers. Removing turf grass from around the tree removes the competition of the aggressive grass from the trees roots. Aeration loosens the compacted soil to provide for a better environment for root growth and for soil organisms such as worms, beneficial fungi and bacteria and soil insects. The air spade is an instrument which uses forced air to loosen the soil while not damaging the roots. Finally adding mulch recreates the natural environment by adding organic material which helps to feed the soil microbes which add nutrients to the soil for the trees. In addition, mulch helps to maintain soil moisture and reduces fluctuations in soil temperature. Mulch also assists in keeping the soil loose and free from competing plants such as grass.Big "O" Tree and Lawn Service provides these services as a part of a long term process to maintain mature trees. These mature trees are a valuable asset to any property, which with proper care can perform well for many years. Mature trees which are not properly maintained begin to decline, become an eye sore and a hazard and eventually reduce the value of your property.
Maplewood Cemetery White Oak
By: Sten CempeThe History of the Maplewood Cemetery was written in the growth rings of a mighty White Oak which once shaded the graves of many of Charlottesville’s past residents. This tree began its life as an acorn sprout near the time the land grant was given to the Meriwether Family in 1735. As this tree grew, the ideas of a new country “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal” began to grow. The tree was already casting a shadow when Thomas Jefferson was formulating and writing the Declaration of Independence.
Charlottesville as a town was growing; Maplewood was established as the town’s first public cemetery in 1827. The oldest stone in the cemetery is that of Lettitia Shelby, the wife of Kentucky’s governor who was visiting family in Charlottesville when she died in 1777. She was originally buried in a cemetery off Park St. but her remains and the remains of several others were moved to Maplewood when it was opened. In 1819 Thomas Jefferson founded UVA on land just outside the town, and the Maplewood Oak was nearing 100 years old.
During the civil war Charlottesville was largely spared damage, although the town did participate in the war by housing a large hospital. Maplewood Cemetery contains as many as 100 unmarked Confederate graves as well as marked graves of soldiers who served from other Southern states and died in town.
The Maplewood Oak was witness to and lived through many historic events. The tree saw the turn of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, the Civil War, two World Wars, the assassination of President Kennedy and September 11, 2001 among other events. However, as with all living things, time takes its toll and the tree suffered damage and began to decline. The arborists of Big “O” Tree and Lawn Service performed maintenance on the tree in February 2006. Unfortunately the tree lost the battle during the drought of 2008 and died that fall.
Big “O” Tree and Lawn Service was called in to remove the tree in December 2009. A crew of six spent four days with a crane from Staunton Machine Works to safely remove the tree. All of the historic stones and masonry work was preserved during the removal process. The final numbers for the tree were as follows: 275 years old, 95 feet tall, 160 feet of canopy spread, trunk circumference of 17 feet, the last eight feet of trunk weighed in at 15,000 pounds.
This was certainly a Mighty Oak whose life encompassed the birth and growth of our nation as it kept its vigil over Charlottesville’s first public cemetery. We at Big “O” Tree and Lawn Service have been honored to have worked on this beautiful, majestic tree in this hallowed setting.
