Prior to the beginning of the pandemic on March 13, 2020 I was sketching significant trees around Orlando to get out of the studio and stay clear of the social events that I usually sketch. This tree at Constitution Green Park (300 South Summerline Ave, Orlando FL) is probably about 125 to 175 years old. It has recumbent branches on one side with the branches touching the ground. I have sketched here twice and both times someone was relaxing in that nest of branches. There used to be another tree on the other side which caused crown adaptation which forced the branches to grow in the opposite direction.
In March of 2015 a developer was talking about removing the historic live oak tree on Constitution Green. The Constitution Green property is privately owned and the City of Orlando has been fortunate that the owner leased this space to the City since 1987 for the community to use as green space in downtown Orlando. The property owners wanted to develop this property. While they have rights to build on their private property, they should not be allowed to remove a historic tree. The City adopted a tree protection ordinance. The City Code provides that a healthy tree with a trunk caliper larger than 30” in diameter can qualify as a historic tree.
Orlando’s neighborhoods are known for having clean tree-lined streets, plentiful lakes, strong neighborhood connections and well-landscaped parks. It’s important for us as a City to keep as much of our green space and tree canopy as possible.
As a protest, bicyclists bikes to the 7 significant tree sites in Orlando, ending at Constitution Green where the historic tree was threatened. Ultimately this plot of land was sold to the city for $5.9 million so that the tree could be protected for future generations. Mayor Buddy Dyer, City Commissioner Patty Sheehan and Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor 4 Eric Rollings considered the purchase a victory. A dog park was added and cement benches are now nestled under the huge live oak. While I sketched someone sat and ate their lunch on one o the benches.
4,000 people signed a petition to protect this tree. If they each planted a tree on their property, in 10 years we would add 2.8 million square feet of tree canopy coverage. That’s the equivalent of adding a 60 acre forest in the City of Orlando.
The first death attributed to Covid-19 occurred on February 29, 2020 in the United States. On March 3, 2020, the day I did this sketch, Covid-19 cases began to sharply increase in Spain marking the start of the global outbreak.