Fallen Forest Giant
If you visit Creekside Center in Beckley Creek Park, you’ll notice a big change. Yesterday afternoon’s squall line brought brief, but powerful straight line winds through the park. In the process, this storm brought down one of the humongous white pines that previously stood behind the PNC Achievement Center.
Thankfully for everyone, the pine did not fall on a building, trail, or park visitor. But, the loss is felt just the same given the shade that this massive tree provided for thousands of park guests annually.
Previous to the construction of Beckley Creek Park, this large pine was part of the Oesteritter homestead and dairy farm. As a young park with a lot of young trees, anytime we lose one of our forest giants that was part of the legacy landscape we inherited and seek to preserve, it stings. Losing a white pine of this size is doubly sad as we don’t have many pines of this size in the entire park, or in the entire city.
Our Horticulture Team will be working on a plan to replace this tree later in the fall during the tree planting season. In the interim, we’ll miss this great tree, but celebrate the shade and habitat it provided to many during its long life.