Today is International Day of Forests and loblolly pine are a big species in forestry. There are 18 lob-lolly pines guarding the Field of Empty Chairs. Today, Mark Bays, an Urban Forester with state of Oklahoma Department of Food, Forestry & Agriculture and long-time adviser to the Memorial along with Zack Mitchell with Professional Tree Care service came out to work with our facilities crew on enhancing the soil around one of the trees using a specialized tool called an air spade. The soil was carefully excavated around the root system using high pressure air and then replaced with a rich garden blend. This will give the tree that is showing some distress relief from compacted soil and provide additional nutrients it needs. A growth regulator was added near the base of the tree around the root flair and should result in increased root density and development with the hopes of improving its overall health and condition.

“We are grateful to Mark and Zack for working with our team to ensure we maintain the grounds, which are open 24/7/365, to the standard in which they were built,” Kari Watkins, Executive Director said.