To the Editor:

This is the letter I wrote to thank both Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber and Parks Supervisor Gregory Wier for taking the time to consider saving the gingko, a town treasure which was planted, along with some others, by the fine Guilderland Parks Department and its staff, notably Tom Chandler.  Many of us who go to the park daily or regularly have seen Tom carefully tending to the trees and the parks for years.

The trees were planted as part of an experiment to see which trees could thrive near a polluted area (pool and car fumes, I presume).  The gingko nearest the pool has thrived, producing actual fruit almost every year.  Unfortunately, not all of the others you planted have fared as well.  Soil compaction and other compromises from lawn mowers have led to many of the ginkgos dying over the years.

The current threats that the gingko faces, now that you have spared it from the chopping block, are:  1) the dirt piled on it will smother the roots, which rely on oxygen from the trunk, and 2) soil compaction...

What a wonderful town this is, where plants and rare and exotic trees (which, in this case, is extinct in nature in north and south America) are cared for appropriately, as well for the park buildings.  Without the trees and landscaping, the park would be a pretty dull and desert-like place.  The trees give the pool-goers (and I am one of those as well, doing lap swimming) shade and, in the case of the gingko, do not give too much shade to hurt the grass.

We who love the parks are deeply appreciative of the fact that you care about the parks and the trees, which so greatly enhance the beauty of the parks.  It is one of the hallmarks of living in Guilderland — beauty in nature and dedicated public officials, who choose qualified and experienced people to care for our town and its resources.  I have texted and emailed over 40 Friends of the Park to tell them of your heroic and thoughtful decision to Save the Gingko!  We look forward to the other great works you will accomplish!  Let us know if we can be of any help.

Christina Diamente

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Christine Diamente said Friends of the Park, which she described as “an informal group” supporting Tawasentha Park in Guilderland, launched a call-in “Save the Ginkgo” campaign and 35 people called Supervisor Peter Barber on March 15. The poolhouse at Tawasentha burned last year and a new one is being built. Dirt had been piled on the ginko near the pool, she said, and there were concerns the tree would be destroyed. “Within a day, they went to the site,” she said of Barber and Gregory Wier.