Lindsay and Eric Vest’s European beech tree is the largest in the state of New Jersey.
This past July, Lindsay and Eric Vest were surprised when a knock at the door unexpectedly had someone from New Jersey Forest Services asking if he could measure the tree in the front yard of their Haddonfield home. The man took some measurements and went away. Some time thereafter, the Vests received an email informing them they had the largest European beech tree in the state at 95 feet high.
Eric said neither he or his wife had contacted anyone, and to his best guess, a tree lover in town must have reached out to to forestry services. As a result of the visit, the Vests now have a spot on the New Jersey Forest Services’ 2017 Champion Big Tree Register, and in celebration of the accomplishment, the Vests invited Jennifer Gallogly’s group of Central Elementary School first graders to take part in a Champion Tree Ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 10 in their front yard.
Lindsay said Gallogly teaches one of her children and has taught two previously. She said for her two eldest, the highlight of their year in Gallogly’s class was studying trees.
Every year, Gallogly has her first graders create a tree journal where each student “adopts” a tree and studies it throughout the year. She said some of the journaling is science based, with students estimating the size of the tree or taking a magnifying glass home to look at the bark while the other component of the journaling is more reflective. She said she encourages students to write about how the tree is preparing for winter or ask themselves how the tree might be feeling.
“I think for boys and girls, it’s important for them to see themselves as stewards of the natural world,” Gallogly said.
After chatting with the Vests, Gallogly said she used the their tree as a jumping off point for her class’ tree unit. She said she discussed the importance of trees to the environment, and she explained that if trees of a certain size are particularly special, they get classified by the state as “champion trees.”
Gallogly said taking a field trip to the Vests’ yard makes what they’re studying “more real.” Lindsay said her intention in reaching out was to provide the first graders with a hands-on learning experience.
“It’s just wonderful to have educators who are kind of willing to think outside the box,” Lindsay said.
After a discussion with Gallogly, Lindsay had a plaque made up denoting the tree’s champion status. She said the plaque seemed like something fun for the kids to watch go into the ground and will also serve to answer some of the questions passerby have about the tree.
At Tuesday’s ceremony, Eric told the first graders about the tree’s age and size before the first graders delightly rushed over to watch him plunge the plaque into the ground.
For Lindsay and Eric, the tree has always been something of an attraction. Lindsay said since moving into their home around 11 year ago, passersby wanting to stop and take a look at the European beech tree has become something of the norm.
Within the first few months of living in their Haddonfield home, the Vests hired an arborist to tend to trees on their property, who estimated the European beech to be between 250 and 300 years old. Eric said Ohio State University has a formula based on species and diameter of trunk that allows them to estimate the age of a tree, through which the Vests learned the tree is approximately 278 years old.
Eric said the tree represents a piece of history. When he looked it up, he discovered 278 years ago, George Washington was only 6 years old. He said in his eyes, the tree is like a bridge in time.
However, within the past few years, the tree has been suffering. Eric said an insect known as the two striped borer weakened the tree and made it susceptible to bleeding cankers. Since being infected by disease, the Vests have made a concerted effort to save it by working with an arborists and making sure it’s treated with the proper insecticides.
“The tree has shown itself to be really resilient,” Eric said.
Lindsay said the tree has taken on an important in the family’s lives every since they moved to Haddonfield. She said her kids climb on it, the family takes photos in front of it and they often use it as a landmark when describing their house to people. Lindsay saw the champion designation as an opportunity to show young children the importance of being stewards to nature.
She said in discussing the ceremony idea with Gallogly, she suggested inviting Mayor Neal Rochford who was in attendance at last Tuesday’s ceremony. Lindsay said on the walk over to her home, the students were abuzz talking about the mayor’s appearance.
“When you teach children at such a young age that these things are important, the more official the adult that buys in is, the more they think this is something that matters,” Lindsay said. “These are the things that stay with kids, and they’re more likely to be caretakers.”
