Expert arborists have partnered with the city of San Luis Obispo and SLO Repertory Theatre to attempt salvaging their historic oak tree. The SLO City Council voted to allow the theatre to remove the 100-year-old oak tree and proceed with construction of their new theater building in the Cultural Arts District.
Salvage Efforts
A team of expert volunteers, led by professor and director of Cal Poly’s Plant Conservatory Matt Ritter, has begun work on transplanting the tree. The team started by giving the tree hundreds of gallons of water to help fortify it, and then began digging a trench and pruning the tree’s root system.
While there’s no full guarantee the tree will survive the transplant, the expert arborists volunteering their time say there are several favorable signs and conditions at this early stage of the effort. If the tree survives, the team will be transplanting it to a designated place a couple blocks away at Mission Plaza.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
