Tree Replacement at Earl Hall Update

March 26, 2008

Update:

Facilities will plant two new, beautiful accolade elm trees in the same location where the previous trees stood in front of Earl Hall on Thursday, March 27, 2008. The elms will arrive on campus via crane, and the project is scheduled to be completed by Thursday evening.
As you know, trees are a treasured part of our campus and Facilities will always work hard to ensure that they remain healthy and beautiful for our community. The accolade elms selected for replacement are from Halka Nursery, which is known for growing large, high quality trees and is located in New Jersey. To learn more about planting, nurturing and celebrating trees, visit http://www.arborday.org

Background:

On March 5, 2008, at approximately 5:00 am, a storm severely damaged two Elm trees in front of Earl Hall. Upon further inspection by our campus operations team and a New York Botanical Garden arborist we work with, it was determined that the combination of damage from the storm and old age put both trees at a high risk of falling during inclement weather. As a result, both of these trees are being removed from campus for the safety and security of the University community.
These trees are roughly 100 years old, which is an excellent life-span for a tree in an urban setting. Despite their age, we worked closely with our tree care experts over the years to ensure that the trees remain in good health, including extra tree feeding and the utilization of cables to support the heavy limbs. That being said, we were troubled to have to remove the trees and know that there may be other expressions of disappointment.

If you have any questions or concerns about this project or its impact on your campus experience, please contact the Columbia University Facilities Services Center at (212) 854-2222, 24 hours a day, seven days a week