Saratoga News

Saratoga Stereopticon

Willys Peck

Saratoga trustees-please spare those trees!

It must have been because the poem was one that we all had to learn along about the fifth grade; otherwise I can't imagine any reason for its sticking in memory: "Woodman, spare that tree!/Touch not a single bough!/In youth it sheltered me,/And I'll protect it now."/

If that were indeed the reason, then there is piquant relevance to events unfolding at my old alma mater, Saratoga Union Grammar School, where certain eucalyptus trees are targeted for the ax. Or chainsaw. Or whatever else is being used these days to eliminate very large, very stately trees.

Currently in the works is a needed building addition (it seems that enrollment isn't the same 170 or so that it was in my day), but the trees (which are the same as in my day) aren't in the way of any proposed structure. No, I'm told it's playground space that's at issue.

Well, it doesn't take someone of the old-codger persuasion to point out that Saratogans are right up there with the Druids when it comes to worshipping oak trees. That pretty much goes for any other trees above a certain size. One cuts down such trees on pain of, maybe not on pain of death but on pain of, well, a lot of pain.

The hook here is that the school district is its own enclave, and the city regulations regarding trees don't apply. The situation is analogous to Indian tribes being able to operate casinos on their reservations in states that don't allow heavy-duty gambling. A school district can do what it darn well pleases, tree-wise, subject only, I am told, to whatever restrictions the state might impose.

Locally, though, there are quite a few people who take an interest in these trees, including me. As one sheltered by their boughs in my youth, I feel entitled to weigh in with my argument for their preservation. First off, I think it's unfortunate that eucalyptus trees are at the heart of the issue. If the trees were oak, or redwood or Douglas fir, or even disease-vulnerable Monterey pine, I'd venture to say the outpouring of supportive sentiment would be widespread and spontaneous. But the eucalyptus, or blue gum, is an immigrant, a native of Australia and Tasmania that never made it in the United States as a timber source. Although such trees have performed useful service as windbreaks when planted in rows, and are eminently ornamental in park settings, they have also gotten a tainted reputation as spreaders of fire and hazards in high winds.

I understand it's this hazard factor, from falling limbs or whatever, that's behind the prevailing sentiment to go along with the architect's recommendation for removal.

I'm glad these same people weren't around when there were pipes mounted as horizontal bars between the trunks of these larger trees, and kids did gymnastics on them without benefit of tanbark or sandboxes underneath. I mean, we're talking hazard.

Potential liability aside, what are the positive arguments for keeping the trees? As resident mossback, I guess I could state simply, "Because they are there." That in itself isn't a very compelling reason, but when you consider the background of the Oak Street campus, it takes on significance. About 1970, the school board was faced with the choice of razing the old building and putting up a new one to meet earthquake-proof standards, or beefing up the 1923 Spanish-style structure. The board wisely chose the latter course, and Saratoga School today stands as an architectural symbol of the esteem in which a community holds the educational process. The eucalyptus trees, especially the large ones near the building, are part of that concept. They belong.

There are some other notable stands of eucalyptus around town. I'm thinking particularly of those behind the present Saratoga Inn Place condominiums, which partially framed the playing area of Dorothea Johnston's Theatre of the Glade behind the old Saratoga Inn, which flourished from 1934 to 1941.

As to the school, however, such reminiscences and high-flown sentiments still leave the nagging question of liability. What do the experts have to say about such a potential? Arborist Barrie D. Coate, who knows not only his trees but also his Saratoga, summarized a survey he made by saying, "As a professional who deals with questions of tree structure and health on a daily basis, I see no apparent reason why most of these trees cannot be made reasonably safe if they are properly pruned."

Trustees, spare those trees!

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]