Landscape Management, April 2012

STILL STANDING S tories about heroism and hope on 9 11 abound But perhaps none is LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET APRIL 2012 22 continued on page 25 COVER STORY Ron Vega insisted that the Survivor Tree occupy a special place at the memorial PHOTOS BY JOE WOOLHEAD TOP AMY DREHER After its miraculous recovery the Survivor Tree continues to thrive and inspire more inspiring than the well known story of the Survivor Tree The pear tree was the only thing to be found alive in the World Trade Center rubble It was crushed at the bottom of the pile But it was alive Ten years later the Survivor Tree holds a special place at the 9 11 Memorial That tree represents the strength of New Yorkers said Wayne Dubin who is responsible for the trees day to day maintenance There were multiple opinions as to whether the Survivor Tree should be on the plaza recalled Mark Merit chief operating of cer of Environmental Design which was deeply involved in restoring transporting and installing the Survivor Tree at the 9 11 Memorial Ron Vega is the godfather of the Survivor Tree Without his personal Im going to make this happen that tree would not have been on the plaza Vega the 9 11 Memorials director of design was deeply involved in the 9 11 recovery efforts from the very beginning One day on the pile he heard about the trees discovery and he never forgot it Years later when the 9 11 Memorial was in the planning stages I remembered about the Survivor Tree I remembered about this legend this story about a tree coming out of the debris eld he said in an interview with the Discovery Channel And on a site that had so much death this was the one breath of life that came out of it I had to make sure that we had a place for it on the plaza The tree was badly injured For nine years the New York City Parks Department nursed it back to health at Brooklyns Van Cortlandt Park The efforts were going well Until that is 2010 when a major wind storm blasted the East Coast Again the Survivor Tree was knocked over Its future looked grim When it blew over it cracked all the roots on one side of it said Merit whose team got involved with the trees restoration after that storm It had a compromised root system a very tricky operation But the team brought in equipment to right the tree and cultivate the root system Within nine months it was sprouting new growth In the end Environmental Design transported the 25000 pound load to the 9 11 Memorial and lowered it into its honorary spot Today the Survivor Tree is in full bloom BG For them The projects a huge huge emotional and physical success says Ron Vega the memorials director of design and construction Its healing for everybody who comes the victims families especially Those who have no proof of death this is their nal resting place And when people come to visit they feel like its the place they have to come to say goodbye Vega serves as the liaison between the memorials owner consultants and construction teams overseeing the 9 11 Memorial project Hes the band on the deck of the Titanic Dubin says of Vega He just keeps playing Its no wonder Vega is immersed in the 9 11 Memorial professionally emotionally and physically And he never loses sight of its mission The only reason I got involved was to help people have a place to say goodbye to their loved ones he says I just met someone who lost her husband in the attacks and you would have thought it was just yesterday She was so appreciative Shade and solace Its the people both those who live on and those who live only in memory who make the project so special says Dubin who is charged with overseeing the care of the more than 400 swamp white oak trees that are part of the 9 11 Memorial Its an honor to in some small way be involved in paying tribute to all the people who lost their lives and their families trying to cope with a loss that is very hard to reconcile Trees were not in