Camperdown Elm, Amherst College Pratt Field
Friends, neighbors, Amherst College faculty, Amherst Public Shade Tree Committee members and a couple of long-time columnists for the Daily Hampshire Gazette gathered round the historic Camperdown Elm on Pratt Field Amherst College yesterday and raised a glass of champagne to celebrate a reversal of the pernicious plan to kill the Camperdown.
Instead, Amherst College will pay -- or I should say an "anonymous benefactor" will cover -- the $100,000 relocation cost to move the iconic beauty out of harm's way: the $12.5 million major renovation of 122 year old Pratt Field.
A realignment of the track directly intersected with the plot of earth the stately tree has occupied, probably since Pratt Field was founded in 1891, and if not for the great concern of arbor aficionados the Camperdown was destined to become kindling.
Since this photo was taken in late July, Amherst College has enclosed the Camperdown with fencing to protect its roots, trimmed it, and is being extra careful with watering and fertilizer
3 comments:
As much as the trees you love so much represent "old Amherst" Larry, so do you.
If only they had a voice.
Yeah, my roots run pretty deep.
Oddly enough, firmly intertwined with Amherst College.
It's a lovely tree -- but, $100,000?? What would Austin Dickinson have said?
Post a Comment