A much nicer tree story

Last week on this blog, we wrote about a heartbreaking tree-related story (Check it out here). Now, we relay one that's much more positive. South suburban Chicago paper Southtown Star recently wrote about Jim Tresouthick, a landscape maintenance supervisor for the village of Homewood, Ill., who's taking a stand against the emerald ash borer and planting an urban forest to last generations.

Nearly 2,600 of the town's ash trees were impacted by the emerald ash borer. Now, Tresouthick is busy planting a "forest of the future" in the village. His goal, he tells the paper, is to plant between 42 and 80 tree species that are able to thrive in an urban environment—"something that will be here for generations."

It's nice to read about someone who's taking action and really making a difference. Read the full article and learn more of Tresouthick's efforts, here.

--Beth Geraci

Beware the angry football fan

Here's a picture of one of two famed oak trees that stand at Toomer's Corner, the gateway to the Auburn University campus. For 130 years, the two trees provided a stately welcome on the campus to students and visitors alike.

The oaks symbolized the university's school spirit, and it was a longstanding tradition at Auburn to drape them heavily in toilet paper after every football victory (see image at bottom).

But two years ago, an angry University of Alabama football fan poisoned the trees with herbicide, upset that Auburn beat Alabama in their face-off a week prior. Now, both trees look like this. Pretty heartbreaking.

On April 20, the City of Auburn and the university are hosting an event called "Celebrate the Tradition." Held after the annual A-Day spring football game, it will give fans one last chance to roll the trees in toilet paper and bid them adieu before they're chopped down completely.

The school also will unveil its future landscaping plans for the site that day, as the community boldly moves forward. It will be interesting to see what those plans are. 

It's true that with every end comes a new beginning, but I can't help but feel it's a needless end these trees have come to.

--BG

What the trees looked like before, courtesy mnn.com user 11739