Hunting for Treasure
in Oak Ridge
Trees
Perils of poison ivy, mosquitoes and falling persimmons outweighed by thrill of discovering magnificent trees by CHRIS BURRITT OAK RIDGE – “What a dream-climbing tree,” said Roy Nydorf, eyeing a Deodar cedar with drooping branches in Shelia Oliver’s yard on Linville Road. “You could build a village up there.” Nydorf took a field trip one late September morning, along with three other members of Oak Ridge’s Treasure Tree Committee. Their mission: judging trees based on their height, crown spread, trunk diameter and overall appearance. “Our primary goal is to establish a registry of notable trees in Oak Ridge,” said Nancy Stoudemire, chair of the committee. “This registry will be kept at Town Hall, probably with a plaque of the most noteworthy trees.” Oliver nominated two trees on her property – the cedar in her side yard and an oak measuring 13.5 feet around. Treasure Tree Committee members also measured a persimmon tree, standing tall and straight and dropping mushy orange fruit on the ground – and the roof of committee member Mickey Aycock’s car. Searching for magnificent trees isn’t risk-free. Mosquitoes, poison ivy and falling fruit go with the territory, which for the committee encompasses property dotted with oaks, pecan, black walnut and a dozen other varieties of trees nominated by their owners and admirers. “We’re a well-oiled machine,” said
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Photos by Chris Burritt/NWO
Above, Jim Foreman (left) and Roy Nydorf measure the circumference of a Deodar cedar in Shelia Oliver’s yard in Oak Ridge. At right, Treasure Tree Committee members (L-R) Nancy Stoudemire and Mickey Aycock talk to Oak Ridge homeowner Shelia Oliver, examining a cone from her tree.
Nydorf, holding one end of a tape measure while Jim Foreman held the other. They wrapped the tape around trees and called out the measurements for Aycock to jot down on a clipboard.
Standing in the distance, Stoudemire held a device called a clinometer to her eye to measure the height of trees. The committee expects to wrap up its field trips by the end of October, Stoudemire said. As of early last week, it had measured 16 trees at six locations. Several of the nominations were already recognized or registered with the state of North Carolina, she said. The Town of Oak Ridge is part of Tree City USA, a program of the Arbor Day Foundation aimed at managing
Fall 2019
and planting trees in public spaces.
“Becoming a Tree City shows our desire to keep our rural character, as well as the fact that we value open space,” Oak Ridge Mayor Spencer Sullivan said when the Town’s Tree City designation was announced at a council meeting in March 2017. “And, after all, it seems an important and appropriate designation to have for a town named after a tree.” Oak Ridge is required to perform a project every year to maintain its status in the program. This year’s project was the Treasure Trees inventory.
Win or lose, Oliver said she welcomed the committee’s efforts. “I really appreciate trees,” she said.
For more information on Oak Ridge’s Tree City USA designation or about serving on the Tree Committee, contact Sandra Smith at ssmith@oakridgenc.com or (336) 644-7009.
