Tree Splits Near Student Center

There’s a little less shade in the middle of campus where one of Georgia Tech’s oldest trees stood for more than a century.

A large willow oak located outside the Student Center Commons split suddenly Tuesday morning, splintering off and covering the rest of the area with its branches. The tree had a 69-inch caliper as of 2016 and was in fair condition, according to Georgia Tech’s tree inventory. It stood 81 feet high, with a crown width of 87 feet at its widest point.

With the pieces being a hazard in the immediate area and the tree’s integrity now compromised, Landscape Services notified a tree removal company, whose workers began the process of removing the fallen branches yesterday. Work will continue throughout the week to remove the remainder of the tree.

Media

Willow Oak Split

Willow Oak in pieces

Summary

There’s a little less shade in the middle of campus where one of Georgia Tech’s oldest trees stood for more than a century.

Details

Contact: Kristen Bailey Institute Communications

Sidebar Content

Campus Tree Cycling Program

The standard operating procedure for managing felled wood on campus is to consider the wood for use in a Tree Cycling program, which evaluates and then prepares wood for usability in campus construction projects.

If the wood is deemed healthy enough to use as construction or aesthetic material, it will be sent to a local wood mill to be processed and then stored for future use. This program is managed by Facilities Management's Landscape Services team, with advisement from Capital Planning and Space Management and the Institute Architect.

Tree Information

Tree Number: 2084
Common Name: Willow oak
Botanical Name: Quercus phellos
DBH: 69 in.
Grid ID: F-09
Species: QUPH
Tree Condition: Fair
Height: 81 ft.
Crown Width (N-S): 87 ft.
Crown Width (E-W): 81 ft.

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Status

Workflow status: Published
Created by: Kristen Bailey
Created: 09/19/2018
Modified By: Kristen Bailey
Modified: 09/19/2018

Mercury (Hg)