RECENT COMMENTS
Trees coming down at Chimborazo Elementary
Sent in by a reader:
The principal of Chimborazo has requested the 100+ year old trees in front of the school be removed and they are coming down! They have already taken one down and I am trying to save the rest. I believe this to be an emergency situation. I have contacted Cynthia Newbille, Donald Coleman, the principal (Ms. Burton), the city arborist, and Karen Jones of the CHA. I just hoping to have a “stay of execution” until this matter can be throughly reviewed.
P.S. – the trees were not requested to be removed through the city public works dept, and thus no “this tree is scheduled to be removed” notices were posted. There are about 5 trees – it is a part of landscaping project requested through the Richmond Public Schools by Ms. Burton with NO community input. They are all huge and beautiful and healthy.
PHOTO from 2007
Yikes!That is terrible! They are beautiful healthy trees. I would bet they are no more than 50 years old (probably same age as school).
What was the reasoning for removal and why exactly was there no discussion? I would imagine this also relates to historical preservation…unless of course the Redskins will be coming to the school, then its ok.
The Principal’s name is Mrs. Burke, not Mrs. Burton. From my experience with Mrs. Burke, she can be very domineering and does not listen to others. This is not a surprise.
The city arborist came out and it looks like no more trees have been removed. Whew.
I just went and talked to the crew that is doing the work. Only one tree is being removed as it had a bad case of root rot. The remaining trees are having branches trimmed.
They told me it was rotten too, but I don’t believe it. The procedure is to contact public works and have the tree evaluated by the arborist. Its not the crews fault, they were just doing as told. But public works was NOT consulted, it was taken down as part of a landscaping request through the schools.
Hold on folks, there is a good explanation. I’m a Church Hill Richmond Tree Steward and got a call this morning from a neighbor. I immediately responded and parked just behind Mike Mather, City Arborist for this part of town. Mike was called and surprised by this activity too. We both investigated and here is the story:
1 – trees on school property are not under the control of Urban Forestry so our Arborist was caught unaware.
2 – only 1 tree was removed due to a rotting root system which we verified and agreed on (although the tree could probably have stood safe for another year or two in my opinion)
3 – other large oaks were being trimmed of unsafe limbs which could fall on the kids on school grounds or users of the sidewalk.
4- True Timber was the company and their workers were only doing what was asked of them by someone in the school system (I don’t believe it was Ms Burke who is really a wonderful educator and administrator and loves her schools garden and trees). By the way, the workers said they were doing this work pro bono (free).
5- Mike and I discussed with them the extent of the rest of their work and yes, more limbs were coming down only because they were dead or showed signs of trouble.
6 – These trees have reached maturity and will start to have problems – I’m sure a new tree will be put in the space left by the dying tree.
7 – Mike is going to work with the school system to ask them to put up notification of removal signs – like those used on street trees – so this is not such a shock.
I hope this explains the situation. Those who called to alert others of this situation did the right think cause we all know sometimes the wrong limb gets operated on – thats why surgeons mark the place they are going to work on and why the city puts the big red X on trees that are coming down.
Jan,
Thanks for getting (and publishing) the whole story. Anna and I have been working so hard to beautify the exterior with the garden and ornamental plant beds. Some of the branches did need trimmed because they hung over the playground and the soon to be “outdoor garden classroom” that we’re constructing just in front of the garden. Thanks again for doing the legwork to find out the details.
Thanks for the info, Jan.
I know Mrs. Burke, Anna, and the volunteers who have tirelessly worked on beautifying the school property. I know first hand how much the Chimborazo community takes pride in the school grounds and as we can see this was just a big misunderstanding. I feel very blessed to live close to such a beautiful school.
Jan, many thanks.
Speaking of trees that might need to come down…At the corner of the alley directly across 29th St. from the school playground there is a large tree that is apparently infected with Dutch Elm disease (thereby putting other neighborhood elms at risk).
@wonkeye- what tree are you talking about???
I just have to say that Anna has done an amazing job. The school looks so amazing. I noticed they put topsoil down. Are they going to try to grow grass around the trees?
Yes they are going to grow grass in the area that was formally gravel, hard-pan clay, etc. My company donated all of the seed, soil conditioner and fertilizer and Capital One donated the labor. This will make a softer, safer playing area for the kids and improve the look of the property. Now we just need rain!
Thank you BK, for all your efforts. It’s really appreciated!
No More Trees Coming Down at Chimborazo
http://www.wric.com/story/23613378/no-more-trees-coming-down-at-chimborazo
It’s in the alley directly across from the playground. I spoke to the city arborists and they said they couldn’t legally remove it, but it will potentially infect a lot of other trees. Sad.
404 n 29th??