The Labor Day storm of 1998 decimated Oakwood Cemetery, bringing down roughly one thousand trees, some as old as the cemetery itself. Work is underway to bring the forested cemetery and its unique population of trees back to its former glory.
How It Works
Oakwood is at the forefront of reintroducing the American Chestnut to the nation’s landscape that was decimated by blight in the early 1900s. ESF and Cornell Cooperative Extension have partnered with HOCPA to plant twenty American Chestnuts, with plans to add more in the spring.
We are also discussing a way to replace some of the roughly one thousand trees destroyed in the 1998 Labor Day Storm. Working with photos and documents, we want to bring the forested cemetery with its unique population of trees back to its former glory.
What Your Contribution Does
Our dream is to plant oaks of the following species: chinkapin (q. muehlenbergii), chestnut (q. montana), scarlet (q. coccinea) and shumard (q. shumarddii). They are native to New York and would grow to a height of 50-100 feet, producing acorns that are the preferred food for wild turkeys, grouse, white-tailed deer, chipmunks, squirrels, and large songbirds.
Please help us fill in the blank spaces in our forest canopy by donating to our tree project.
Donation amounts:
$150 Purchases a six foot tree.
$ 75 Purchases half a tree.
$ 50 Purchases deer fencing, stakes, and mulch.
$ 25 Purchases an Arboretum tag.
Guide to Trees of Oakwood Cemetery
Written and Illustrated by Abigail Flaitz
This booklet will accompany the user on a self-guided tour of Oakwood Cemetery, allowing one to observe an array of impressive tree specimens from 33 species, 3 hybrids and 2 genera. It does not include all the species in the cemetery. Priority was given to those represented by particularly magnificent specimens with multiple representatives. Each is described and illustrated throughout the booklet. Also included is a colorful foldout map with the location of the specimen trees.
This book was written and illustrated by the very talented Abigail Flaitz while she was attending SUNY ESF. To check out more of her work, visit her website by clicking here.
