Letter: Donate to Help Prune a Historic Elm on Comm Ave.

Dear Neighbor,

We are sure you will agree that everything possible should be done to save the magnificent, historic elm trees that grace your front yard, the .  For over ten years  the , under the aegis of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee, a joint Committee of the Friends of the Public Garden and the , has been giving special care to these irreplaceable trees. The trees are regularly injected against Dutch elm disease and the Elm Leaf Beetle, fertilized, and pruned for dead wood.  

The good news is that there are 103 large old elms left on the Mall.  The bad new is that at this point in their long lives 60 of them are in need of structural pruning to rejuvenate their growth habits and make them safer for park users. Structural pruning is a very specialized kind of pruning.  Some people are shocked by the large limbs that are sometimes cut when this is done, but it is for the long-term health of the tree.  By reducing the size of the crown, the nourishment needs on the aging root systems are reduced and new growth quickly reappears. This kind of pruning also helps to redistribute the weight of the large crowns, making them more stable in times of storms or high winds.  If you look, you will notice many of the old trees go straight into the ground which can make them off balance if the crown is not correctly pruned.

This kind of work is expensive.  This project is estimated to cost over $120,000. The Friends, with the help of arborists Henry Davis and Bruce Fernald, has identified 60 of the old elms that are in need of immediate structural pruning. We need your help.  We know you love this park and understand well its importance to our neighborhood. We have already begun this work and will finish half of the trees in February.  

Please help us by using the enclosed reply form to contribute to this project. You can sponsor the average pruning cost of one tree with a gift of $2,500. A gift of $18,000 will support the care of a entire block of trees. You can also make a contribution of any size to support this project. As a contributor at any level you will be considered a Member of the Friends and be invited to future programs and events.   

We need to do everything we possibly can to ensure that these historic trees survive.  When one is lost, it can never be replaced. For further information, please contact me at mpok384@verizon.net.  Many thanks for your support.

Thank you,

Margaret Pokorny                   
Chair, Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee