A Controversial Tree by photosynthesis
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Description
While walking through Bandon on Ocean Drive, I saw this magnificent Monterey Cypress tree & took this photo. For some reason, I had a hunch that there was something significant about this tree & did some google searches when I got home. I found several news articles about it (it's known as the Baldwin Cypress) & found out the following:
It was planted in 1896 by Henry Baldwin, an Irishman by birth who emigrated to the U.S. in 1846. He & a schoolmate named George Bennett were among the first settlers in the area & named the town after Bennett's home town in Ireland - Bandon. The tree has survived several severe storms & a fire in 1936 that destroyed Baldwin's original house.
In 2005, the city of Bandon decided that the tree needed to be trimmed for public safety, but there was concern among residents that they could damage the tree if the trimming was not done properly. There were public meetings & a lot of heated discussion about it. I couldn't find out what the ultimate resolution was, but obviously the tree is still standing & seems to be doing fine & concern for the this tree helped generate interest that led to Bandon adopting a tree ordinance that gives special protection to cypress trees.
Bandon also became a Tree City USA in 2010. What is that? According to arborday.org:
"The Tree City USA program is a national program that provides the framework for community forestry management for cities and towns across America.
Communities achieve Tree City USA status by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day.
Participating communities have demonstrated a commitment to caring for and managing their public trees. Together the more than 3,400 Tree City USA communities serve as home to more than 135 million Americans."
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Comments (17)
jayfar
A lovely tree and great info.
ronmolina
Excellent shot!
Cyve
Marvelous capture... Fantastically done !
bebopdlx
A very cool tree, .
prutzworks
wind shaped like the saturated colors
Faemike55
Very cool tree and great story
Rob2753
It's a good looking tree and reminded me of a song by Van Morrison :) well taken
MrsRatbag
It is a beauty; seems like it would be happier on a cliff overlooking the sea than next to a road, though! Lovely shot!
pimanjc
It resembles a MEGA Bonsiai Tree. Beautiful.
roguetographer
I've admired this cypress tree for years, having visited Bandon scores of times since moving to Oregon in 1976. I know I've taken photos of this tree a few times over the years, so I'll have to search for them. Thanks for sharing your excellent picture and for the good memories of Bandon it brought to my mind.
abreojos
Beautiful trees and a beautiful area to boot.!
goodoleboy
Cypress trees display such latent activity in their growth patterns, and you have captured this one, and its environs, most beautifully.
UVDan
The secret tree hugger in me is happy to read and see this!
whaleman
That is an outstanding sight!
etoiledumatin
Une belle harmonie de couleurs, en particulier la couleur du toit de la maison et de la voiture qui donne du relief à l'ensemble de la photo.La preuve qu'avec un sujet courant on peut sortir quelque chose de magnifique.
auntietk
That's an incredible tree, and a gorgeous photograph. You make me feel like I'm right there ... only better! :)
danapommet
It is a beautiful tree - lots of character. In south Florida, we have to trim our trees to Palm Beach Counties "hurricane" standards. The centers of our trees have to be trimmed to allow hurricane winds to blow through without uprooting the trees!