18
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
|
March/April 2021
ANCIENT OBSESSION
WITH PHENOLOGY
Dan Herms, vice president of research and development,
Davey Institute, presented at the Chadwick Arboretum's
virtual Winter Solstice event on phenology, the study of
reoccurring biological events – considered the foundational
science of human existence.
"I talked about the ancient obsession humans have had
with phenology, since their very existence was built on
being able to accurately track the seasons," he said.
Herms discussed the Discovery Pavilion designed by
himself and a colleague at the Secrest Arboretum and
its ties to phenology. The inspiration of the pavilion was
the Serpent Mound and Fort Ancient Native American
earthworks in southern Ohio that have a celestial significance
in their design tied to the winter and summer solstices.
Picture taken at the Secrest Arboretum Discovery Pavilion at sunset
on Dec 21, 2019. The four entrances to the pavilion align with dawn
and dusk on the winter and summer solstices.
A tornado tore through the canopy
of Pendleton, Indiana, damaging
some trees and destroying others.
Fortunately, the town had been the
subject of a tree inventory conducted
by Davey Resource Group (DRG) prior
to the storm, so city leaders were
equipped with a path to recovery.
Aren Flint, urban forestry team lead,
DRG, said they were able to take
the inventory from 2017 and do a
recovery inventory and update after
the tornado.
"Using TreeKeeper, we helped site
plantings on private property and
within the park systems," Flint said.
INVENTORY HELPS CANOPY RECOVER AFTER TORNADO
"DRG and Indiana Department of
Natural Resources asked for private
land owners within the town who
would like trees planted to help the
canopy recover."
The work culminated in a volunteer
planting day, during which 150
volunteers planted 200 trees on
residential properties and another
100 trees at a city park.
STEWARDSHIP
DRG employees Aren Flint and James Rocke
helped coordinate a volunteer tree planting in
the fall so the canopy of Pendleton, Indiana,
could recover after a tornado. The effort to
plant 300 trees was supported by the
Community Tree Recovery Program through
the Arbor Day Foundation.
