If you have lived in the Champaign-Urbana area for a considerable amount of time then you may have noticed that the City of Urbana loves its trees. With over 120,000 trees (approximately 2.6 trees per resident), Urbana averages 120 trees per linear mile of street, which ranks second in the nation behind Boston as the most densely planted city in the U.S. Originally settled in an area known as “Big Grove”, Urbana has a long history of nurturing and celebrating their trees. In 1976 the city became one of the charter members of “Tree City USA”, a program created by the Arbor Day Foundation.
More recently, in April of 2013, the Urbana City Council passed an ordinance establishing the Legacy Tree Program, in order to “celebrate, recognize and protect Urbana’s most significant trees”. The first tree to be honored was the famed Sim Hackberry which stood at nearly 100 feet tall near the corner of Coler St. and High St. for an estimated 200 years until a city inspection in 2014 recommended that the tree be removed for safety reasons. This tree is currently being processed by Autumn Mill in Argenta, IL and you can track the progress through a series of videos on the city’s website. Two more trees were accepted into the program soon after -more information about these trees can be found here.
It has come to my attention that three more trees have been approved for inclusion in the city’s Legacy Tree Program. Earlier this week I was able to check out these trees and snap a few pictures.
This European Ash stands at about 50 feet tall near the corner of Cottage Grove Ave. and Scovill St. near the SW entrance to Larson Park. This single leaved ash has recently been treated for prevention of the Emerald ash borer. The European Ash is extremely rare in this area and this is the only one of its kind that resides on a city parkway.
Although this Ardis Tuliptree is not quite as imposing as some of the other trees on the legacy tree list, it makes up for it with its rarity and unique charm. It stands on Nevada St. near the corner of Busey Ave. and was planted by J.C. McDaniels, a long-time professor of Horticulture at U of I.
This Chestnut Oak stands at 70 feet tall on Busey Ave. near Main St. and it is both large as well as rare. More commonly found in the Eastern US, this species is just one of the over 150 species of trees that contribute to the incredible diversity of Urbana’s vibrant urban forest.
The City of Urbana is currently accepting nominations for the Legacy Tree Program so if you have a favorite tree that you think deserves Legacy status you can find more information here.