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Landmark live oak becomes the learning tree - San Antonio
Landmark live oak becomes the learning tree - San Antonio
A live oak estimated to be at least 200 years old was uprooted to make room for a home-improvement center at Interstate 10 and Callaghan.
San Antonio Express-News
December 9, 2000
An ancient live oak tree cut down early this month for a new home-improvement store on the Northwest Side may never completely die if a University of Texas at San Antonio researcher has his way.
UTSA anthropology Professor Steve Tomka believes the tree has important secrets to tell the city about its climate over the last few hundred years and can be used to set up an anthropological exhibit at the university that will fuel the imagination of school children for generations to come.
To that end, Tomka this week contacted City Councilwoman Bonnie Conner's office, which put him in contact with officials of Lowe's Companies Inc., developers of the new store off Callaghan Road near Interstate 10, where the tree had stood. Store officials agreed to let the professor take an eight-foot section of the tree for his initiatives.
At first saddened by the loss of a giant tree that some San Antonio residents considered a landmark, Tomka said he is excited about its educational future.
"We can't wait to start the research on it," he said.
Tomka had hoped to get the section he requested Friday. Ironically, Lowe's officials who had agreed to do the cutting could not find a saw large enough. They hope to be back at the site Monday so a piece of the trunk can be sectioned into two-foot chunks and those chunks hauled to a San Antonio mill, where they would be sliced into thinner sections.
Dominick Dina, chief of staff in Conner's council office, said Conner was pleased to set up the exchange between Tomka and Lowe's so something positive could result from an otherwise unsettling situation.
"The good news is some good will come from it in the form of scientific research," Dina said.
Tomka said the tree sections would be studied in two ways. First, researchers will study the tree's rings to establish how old the oak is. Uncertain at first whether live oaks produce rings annually, Tomka said he has since learned they do, so researchers should be able to establish an age range.
The downed live oak is somewhat larger than another oak tree from the area that was nearly 200 years old, Tomka said. That's why he believes the Lowe's tree is more than 200 years old. How close it was to 300 years old should be established by research, Tomka said.
He said research done under the direction of a UTSA biology professor or a tree specialist from the University of Arkansas also could establish a master sequence of rings from the tree that would be used like a map in dating and evaluating the lifespans of other old trees.
In addition, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen isotopes will be extracted from the tree and examined to learn about weather conditions from the time the tree was a sapling.
While that data cannot be used to establish a precise record of temperatures or rainfall amounts, it can show that a certain year was wetter or cooler than the previous year and establish meteorological trends that were not known before.
"If the tree is 300 years old, we can learn about temperatures and precipitation in the 1700s, which we do not have other than in bits and pieces," Tomka said.
While he sees considerable research opportunities, Tomka also believes the tree will be an important educational tool for young students.
A slice of the tree will be placed on permanent display in one of the rooms reserved for exhibits at UTSA's Center for Archaeological Research, Tomka said. Timelines will be included in the exhibit, tying rings in the tree to events in Texas or United States history.
"It's such a strong visual (element) to bring history to life," Tomka said.
He said research on the tree sections should begin in a few weeks.
Conner, meanwhile, is interested in seeing that the city's tree ordinance includes appropriate wording to guarantee that every possible step is taken to preserve the city's oldest "heritage trees," Dina said.
The tree ordinance, which has been the focus of considerable criticism, is expected to be examined with the city's other development regulations in the coming months.
The tree UTSA will study was removed so Lowe's could build a 135,000-square-foot home-improvement center at Callaghan and Horizon Hill.
City officials said the firm did not violate city ordinances in cutting down the tree, but critics contend they should have done more to save it.
Copyright 2000 San Antonio Express-News
A live oak estimated to be at least 200 years old was uprooted to make room for a home-improvement center at Interstate 10 and Callaghan.
San Antonio Express-News
December 9, 2000
An ancient live oak tree cut down early this month for a new home-improvement store on the Northwest Side may never completely die if a University of Texas at San Antonio researcher has his way.
UTSA anthropology Professor Steve Tomka believes the tree has important secrets to tell the city about its climate over the last few hundred years and can be used to set up an anthropological exhibit at the university that will fuel the imagination of school children for generations to come.
To that end, Tomka this week contacted City Councilwoman Bonnie Conner's office, which put him in contact with officials of Lowe's Companies Inc., developers of the new store off Callaghan Road near Interstate 10, where the tree had stood. Store officials agreed to let the professor take an eight-foot section of the tree for his initiatives.
At first saddened by the loss of a giant tree that some San Antonio residents considered a landmark, Tomka said he is excited about its educational future.
"We can't wait to start the research on it," he said.
Tomka had hoped to get the section he requested Friday. Ironically, Lowe's officials who had agreed to do the cutting could not find a saw large enough. They hope to be back at the site Monday so a piece of the trunk can be sectioned into two-foot chunks and those chunks hauled to a San Antonio mill, where they would be sliced into thinner sections.
Dominick Dina, chief of staff in Conner's council office, said Conner was pleased to set up the exchange between Tomka and Lowe's so something positive could result from an otherwise unsettling situation.
"The good news is some good will come from it in the form of scientific research," Dina said.
Tomka said the tree sections would be studied in two ways. First, researchers will study the tree's rings to establish how old the oak is. Uncertain at first whether live oaks produce rings annually, Tomka said he has since learned they do, so researchers should be able to establish an age range.
The downed live oak is somewhat larger than another oak tree from the area that was nearly 200 years old, Tomka said. That's why he believes the Lowe's tree is more than 200 years old. How close it was to 300 years old should be established by research, Tomka said.
He said research done under the direction of a UTSA biology professor or a tree specialist from the University of Arkansas also could establish a master sequence of rings from the tree that would be used like a map in dating and evaluating the lifespans of other old trees.
In addition, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen isotopes will be extracted from the tree and examined to learn about weather conditions from the time the tree was a sapling.
While that data cannot be used to establish a precise record of temperatures or rainfall amounts, it can show that a certain year was wetter or cooler than the previous year and establish meteorological trends that were not known before.
"If the tree is 300 years old, we can learn about temperatures and precipitation in the 1700s, which we do not have other than in bits and pieces," Tomka said.
While he sees considerable research opportunities, Tomka also believes the tree will be an important educational tool for young students.
A slice of the tree will be placed on permanent display in one of the rooms reserved for exhibits at UTSA's Center for Archaeological Research, Tomka said. Timelines will be included in the exhibit, tying rings in the tree to events in Texas or United States history.
"It's such a strong visual (element) to bring history to life," Tomka said.
He said research on the tree sections should begin in a few weeks.
Conner, meanwhile, is interested in seeing that the city's tree ordinance includes appropriate wording to guarantee that every possible step is taken to preserve the city's oldest "heritage trees," Dina said.
The tree ordinance, which has been the focus of considerable criticism, is expected to be examined with the city's other development regulations in the coming months.
The tree UTSA will study was removed so Lowe's could build a 135,000-square-foot home-improvement center at Callaghan and Horizon Hill.
City officials said the firm did not violate city ordinances in cutting down the tree, but critics contend they should have done more to save it.
Copyright 2000 San Antonio Express-News
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