 January 19, 2003 - Midlander Glenn Bankson loves trees. He owns a tree farm in southeastern Oklahoma. “I probably bore people with all the pictures I carry around and show!” On Saturday, December 14th, 2002 he was at Crier Park with Keep Midland Beautiful’s Treekeepers, pole pruners in hand. “I love to work with trees. Look at that cut from a couple of years ago – see how the collar has started covering the cut? And look at this one, it is completely healed. The Texas Forest Service comes to town every January and gives a seminar about taking care of trees. I always learn something new.”
“Parks are needed for people in town. I walk at Bluebird Park at least once a day.” The City of Midland Parks Department has been adding paved walking paths at many of the parks in town. “I have gone out with the Midland Naturalists to help me learn a little about the birds. But I don’t like the grackles much – they are sort of loud and messy.” Mr. Bankson kept working as he talked. Weak and dead branches cascaded down until he was surrounded with a two-foot tall tangle. He stopped, gathered the branches and moved them thirty feet away so Ruben Esparza could easily toss them into the City of Midland Parks Department truck, as he went from volunteer to volunteer.
Mr. Esparza, a Parks employee, always joins the Treekeepers on their one-Saturday-a-month workdays, hauling away the cut branches. “I am looking forward to the renewal of this park. Keep Midland Beautiful is planning on making this the ‘Liberty Garden’, in honor of 9-11.” The old wooden forms around the bed will be replaced with concrete, and the addition of red, white, and blue flowers will establish a patriotic theme. The oldest and weakest roses have already been removed. “I love to work with plants, so I always make sure I can help the Treekeepers.”
As he worked, Mr. Esparza gave me an update on how some mesquite trees he had planted were doing at Beal Park. To keep kids from climbing the windmill tank tower, I suggested bringing in several species of mesquites. I am especially fond of Screwbean Mesquite. “The third species of mesquite died, but the others are doing well.” Mr. Esparza then teased me about the failure of some other plants I had recommended for another part of Beal Park where the soil was so shallow the bed would not drain.
Jack Glenn walks almost every day at Windlands Park. He helped the Boy Scouts and other groups to plant 600 trees at Beal Park this spring. “We are trained on proper planting procedures as well, so we get asked to help out. I think it is so grand that people band together and volunteer time and money to help make our town a little prettier.” Jack’s daughter, Mary, is an old friend of mine and I have known Jack since I was in high school.
“When I prune, I think about the climax forest that the settlers cut down all across the Northern United States. I couldn’t be a lumberjack. For people living in West Texas, trees become special – I don’t like to see living trees cut down.” Mr. Glenn stopped sawing, stepped back, and stood observing the tree he was working on, studying the next series of cuts. Tree pruning is contemplative work. A person looks first for problems like crossing branches, weak branches, and dead wood, and then looks at the overall shape of the tree.
“What a beautiful day,” Mr. Glenn continued. “No wind, perfect clear blue sky, great temperature. What a great outdoor activity, and what a great way to get some exercise.” Then he pointed at the ground. “I am surprised the squirrels have not found this park. Look at all the acorns on the ground. Some people call them rats with furry tails, but they are fun to watch.” Midland has had a squirrel population explosion the last few years. Most arrived on giant balled-and-burlapped trees that had to be netted for ease of transport. From Loop 250 to Thomason Drive to Big Spring Street most neighborhoods now have squirrels scampering from tree to tree using the larger electric and telephone cables as safe highways.
Dave Shuck joined the Treekeepers to meet new people when he moved here from Golden, Colorado five years ago. “I have always pruned my own trees. What we do is cosmetic – none of us are young enough to climb high in the trees and do a thorough job, but we definitely help the trees. Windlands Park seems to be our park with the most foot traffic. It has a collection of native shrubs and trees donated by Altrusa International, plus it has various large sculptures. I joined the Llano Estacado chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas so I could learn more about plants native to the region.”
In 18th and 19th century America every man and teenaged boy were required to work on roads and other civic projects at least two days a year. With the advent of machinery the practice ceased, but the men mentioned above are carrying on the wonderful tradition voluntarily. The current Treekeepers is a hard-core group of six to eight men and a few women that have been working one day a month for the last six years.
Dave Hartman, Keep Midland Beautiful’s Treekeepers chairman is concerned about the number of trees all over town that have died as a result of our nine-year drought. “The trees have been dead so long that they are beginning to fall – and that worries me. The City of Midland budget is not substantial enough to hire the three or four men that would be needed for several months to remove the dead trees community-wide. I don’t know what the answer is, but I think the community should make an effort.”
Folks interested in TreeKeepers or those just wanting to learn about how to care for the trees on their own property should plan to attend KMB’s annual Tree Care Seminar on Saturday, January 25th, 2003, at 9:00 a.m. at the Sibley Nature Center. Speakers from the Texas Forest Service and Texas Cooperative Extension will discuss proper pruning techniques, insect pests of trees, and the proper species of trees for planting. “We have been averaging 50 people in attendance for this seminar which is free to the public,” reports Mr. Hartman.
“We would love to have more people join Treekeepers, so we will have a sign up sheet for the group at the seminar. Over the years we have logged over a thousand hours of volunteer service, pruning, mulching, identifying diseased trees, and mulching tree wells in parks, public right-of-ways, and city owned vacant lots. Keep Midland Beautiful and the Treekeepers have also assisted in helping to plant over 3000 trees in every sector of town. We have received grant dollars that we used to purchase pruning equipment, gloves, protective eyewear, and first aid kits. We are proud of our urban forest.”
[Copyright 2003 - Midland Reporter-Telegram - Re-published here with permission]
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