The gorgeous old trees are part of what makes this neighborhood so attractive. Many of our large trees are water oaks, which have a life span of 60 to 80 years. Given that most of our neighborhoods were developed in the 1920’s and 30’s, these trees are coming to the end of their natural lives.
Ten years ago, the Peachtree Battle Alliance began to address this inevitable tree canopy loss. Between the drought of 1998 – 2003 and the “drought of the century” in 2007, all of the trees were under a great deal of stress. The main goal was to educate neighbors about the care of their trees and to encourage them to replant lost trees and to plant new shade trees to help maintain our tree canopy.
In 2008, the PBA hired Spencer Tunnell to develop a tree plan for the Alliance. The plan provides information about which trees will grow on each lot. The trees listed are native to the area, specific to the terrain and should thrive under normal and drought conditions.
That same year, in conjunction with Trees Atlanta, the Alliance held a neighborhood wide tree planting. Trees Atlanta offered neighbors free trees for their yards and trees were also provided for all of our green spaces. It was a very successful event. Over 50 neighbors volunteered to help plant trees and over 300 trees were planted on both public and private property.
The PBA also worked with the City Parks Department to plant recompense trees along Woodward Way. Those trees will be taken down to put in the new PATH but other trees will be planted to replace them.
Over the past ten years, we have lost more and more of our water oak canopy. Just on our block of Peachtree Battle Avenue (425), we have lost four large water oaks in five years. We planted a few in preparation of losing them but our 80 old trees are not quickly replaced.
The shade these trees provide is part of what makes our neighborhood the beautiful place that it is. If you have a water oak on you property, please be aware of its age and its health. Where possible, plan ahead and plant a tree so that when yours comes to the end of its lifespan, you have a maturing tree nearby. If you lose a tree, please plant another. Doing so will ensure that our neighborhood continues to be as lovely and shady in the future as it is today.
