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The Preservation Process:
The
Orchard School hired Judson R. Scott and the Vine
& Branch staff to develop
and complete tree
preservation plans.
The Vine & Branch staff worked in
conjunction
with the contractors and used many
preservation techniques tailored to this project.
The following are some of the highlights.
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Fencing was erected to designate tree
preservation zones as well as to protect
students and faculty throughout the
construction.
-
Diana
Shellhaas, Outdoor Education Coordinator for
the Orchard School decided trees that required
removal to make way for the addition should be
used as educational materials.
Students learned to conserve our
natural resources with the following:
-
Logs
from the trunks were cut for outdoor
seating.
-
Other
logs were milled for lumber to be used in
school projects.
-
Scraps
from the lumber operation were kept for
art projects.
-
Wood
chips from the limbs were used on the five
miles of trails running throughout the
woodlands.
-
Instead
of being removed, apple trees in the location
of a planned new road were transplanted near
the log cabin in the outdoor recreation area
to create and ‘orchard.’
Twenty-two trees and 110 shrubs in the
area of the future performing arts center were
also transplanted.
These were moved to landscape and
naturalize the new addition on the east side.
-
The
construction of the Early Education Center
eliminated fire access to the rear of the
building.
Ratio Architects helped plan a new fire
trail through the woodlands.
Fencing was installed, impacted trees
were fertilized and roots were pruned to limit
the stress of the construction damage.
This new fire trail was used to install
all utility lines that needed to be routed to
the rear of the building.
It was also used for access to the
construction site.
The innovative design allowed for the
preservation of approximately 50 trees that
would have otherwise been removed.
-
Plans
were made to relocate a baseball diamond.
Unfortunately, the new outfield fell
within the critical root zone of a
150-year-old Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus). Early
discussion called for the removal of the tree.
However, Ratio Architects
, Shiel
Sexton, and The Orchard School all decided the
tree should be preserved, so a new baseball
field configuration was designed.
Ten feet were taken off the right
outfield boundary to limit the root
disturbance.
Judson R. Scott was brought in to
contract and oversee the entire grading
process to keep the root zone intact.
Results and Achievements:
Effort was
made throughout the entire project to protect the
trees as much as possible.
The extent
to which the contractor went to
preserve the trees has allowed for an expansion
to
the school that has kept the integrity of the
woodlands intact. The fire trail design, the
transplanting of the trees and shrubs, and the
baseball diamond design all help to naturalize
the
project so that the expansion looks like it has been part of the school forever.
The students, the school staff, and the
local community have all learned from the
educational procedures undertaken by the Vine
& Branch staff.
In
2001, Vine & Branch, Inc. was awarded the
National Arborist Association Excellence in
Arboriculture Award of Distinction for
Construction Site Tree Preservation for their work
with
The Orchard School Preservation Project.
In 2002, Vine & Branch was awarded
their second
national award this project, the
International Society of Arboriculture Golf Leaf
Award for
Outstanding Landscape Beautification
Activities.
Back to Awards & Recognition
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