FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2019
Contact:
John Scott or Melissa Evans
Urban Foresters
Parks and Recreation Department
479.444.3470 or 479.444.3486
urbanforestry@fayetteville-ar.gov
Elm Tree at Washington Regional Medical Center Designated as “Amazing Tree”
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.—The community is invited to join the City of Fayetteville’s Urban Forestry staff, Urban Forestry Advisory Board, and Washington Regional Medical Center (WRMC) staff to celebrate the designation of an elm tree on the WRMC grounds as the second Amazing Tree of Fayetteville. Mayor Lioneld Jordan and Larry Shackelford, president and CEO of Washington Regional Medical Center, will speak and unveil a plaque. The ceremony will be held near the tree, which is located on the north side of the WRMC main building (3215 North Hills Blvd.), on Friday, November 22, at 11 a.m. The event will be followed by light refreshments in lobby of the nearby Women and Infants Center.
The Amazing Trees of Fayetteville program brings awareness to the importance of the urban forest by recognizing significant trees in our community. Each year, the City’s Urban Forestry Advisory Board and on-staff urban foresters choose a tree that exemplifies unique character by being large, uniquely shaped, or a rare species for our area. The elm on the WRMC campus displays the quality of being extraordinarily large and uniquely located on the medical campus to offer comfort for visitors.
The elm, Ulmus americana, is estimated to be 250-300 years old. It is 75 feet tall with a trunk circumference of 16 feet and 7 inches. The canopy of the tree shades approximately 9,500 square feet, or a little more than the equivalent of two basketball courts. “Witness tree” is a term used for trees that were present during key historical events. This elm has been a silent witness to many residents’ and visitors’ personal and monumental life events.
To learn more about the City’s Amazing Trees of Fayetteville project and the Urban Forestry Program, please visit this webpage.
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