Expert Arborists Volunteer To Attempt Salvaging SLO Repertory Theatre’s Old Oak Tree
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - A major collaboration is underway to salvage an historic oak tree in San Luis Obispo.
This effort started quickly after a city council decision last month.
In the wake of that decision, Matt Ritter -- professor and director of Cal Poly’s Plant Conservatory -- gathered a team of expert volunteers to begin work on transplanting the tree.
“Lots of community interest, absolutely,” says Bob Hill, City of SLO’s Sustainability And Natural Resources Official. “We're excited today that we may have an opportunity to achieve a lot of different city goals, to have a thriving downtown cultural arts district.”
Ritter says other trees of comparable size and age have been successfully transplanted before.
“I wanted to try it because I think that we had the possibility of doing it,” says Ritter. “And the other option is the tree just is guaranteed to be cut down and killed and die. So we might as well make an attempt.”
The team began work this week, giving the tree thousands of gallons of water to help fortify it.
“It was so dry when we initially got to it,” Ritter says. “We had to—we put 2000 gallons of water on it. And then we set up an irrigation system, a drip thing, and let that go overnight, put a lot of water on it.”
Thursday morning, the group began digging a trench and pruning the tree’s root system.
“What we don't want to see is just severing massive roots,” says Ritter. “And we didn't see that today. So I'm encouraged by what we saw.”
While there's no full guarantee the tree will survive the transplant, the expert arborists volunteering their time here say there are several favorable signs and conditions at this early stage of the effort.
“What we didn't know til today is, is how big are the roots outside of there,” says Ritter. “And it has been a totally successful event because we severed maybe 5 or 6 roots that were this big, and everything else was smaller than that.”
If the tree survives, the team will be transplanting it to a spot just a few blocks away at mission plaza.
“We're hopeful and we're optimistic,” says Hill. “And folks that know a lot more about trees than I do are telling me that this can be possible and it can work.”
The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On OurMobile Apps. Keep Up With The Latest Articles by Signing Up for theNews Channel 3-12 Newsletter.
