Davey Tree Flipbooks

14 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | March/April 2023 BEEHIVE DISCOVERED AT GILFILLAN FARM During the removal of a sugar maple tree at Gilfillan Farm, employees from the South Pittsburgh office discovered a large beehive in the tree's trunk. A beekeeper who cares for beehives on the property came to the rescue and said to leave the bees undisturbed for the winter, and he would tend to them in the springtime. Located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gilfillan Farm is named after one of the Pittsburgh area's founding families, the Gilfillans. A National Historic Place, the farm- stead was established in 1849 by farmer and politician John Gilfillan. John's grandchild, Margaret Gilfillan, left the 15-acre farm to the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair upon her death in 2001. Margaret did so with the intention of providing the public with an historic, cultural, and educational resource about what life is like on a working farm. The farm is used by Horses with Hope, a nonprofit organiza- tion offering therapeutic riding and Equine Assisted learning sessions for those with special needs, ages 2 years or older. Dick Till, assistant district manager, South Pittsburgh office, has worked on the property for 39 years. "Alexander Gilfillan, Margaret's brother, would sit on the front porch on a rocking chair, talk and tell stories, and would offer you a dozen brown eggs," Till recalls. Today, the farm is enjoyed by the public. "There are a lot of people walking through, taking tours, and it is also used as a wedding and graduation venue. So they want to keep the grounds a safe place for everyone to enjoy," Till said. South Pittsburgh office employees Jason Alrutz, foreman, Rick Bates, trimmer, Paul Dziak, landscape foreman, Ralph Schreffler, trimmer, and Terrell Hainesworth, trimmer, found a beehive in this large sugar maple. STEWARDSHIP TREE PROTECTION, RELOCATION AT SEED CAMPUS Some of the most picturesque trees dotting the landscape of the Davey Science, Employee Education and Development (SEED) Campus have been protected so that construction can continue on the property. About 150 total mature trees, some standing together in groves and others as individual specimen trees, have been encircled with either wooden or construction mesh fencing to protect the trees from the heavy construction that will progress throughout the 175-plus acre property over the next two years. Geoff Blind, account manager, Cleveland East Commercial Landscape Services territory, said his crews erected the fencing for the trees just beyond their drip line to ensure critical root zones are protected from compaction and other potential con- struction-related concerns. "I wouldn't say all the trees are specimens, but a lot of them are," Blind said. "There are a bunch of just specimen, 75-to-100-year-old oak trees that we protected. Some trees are 30 inches to 36 inches in diameter and 100 feet tall, easily." The Davey Nursery relocated this Norway maple tree on the SEED Campus to make way for construction of the building pad for the campus' main building.

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