As the Erb Memorial Union renovation project ramps up this summer, about 40 trees will become casualties of the construction. While tree removal is a common occurrence during many construction projects on the University of Oregon campus, not everyone feels content.
Whitey Lueck, an adjunct professor in the UO’s department of landscape architecture, has a particular affection for a towering London plane tree that sits on the southeast side of the EMU. The tree — which Lueck estimates is at least 75 years old — is scheduled to be cut down this week.
EMU director Laurie Woodward said the renovation team sent out a notice on April 26 to inform the public of the tree removal, but Lueck didn’t hear about this until last month, which angered him. He felt he should have been included in the discussion about the removal, which he expressed in an email to UO architect Christopher Ramey.
“I’m a respected voice in the community,” Lueck said. “I might have ideas and perspectives that (Ramey) and others on the team don’t have, that might be good.”
Ramey returned Lueck’s email Friday, saying the EMU provided plenty of notice and welcomed input from the campus community. Lueck wasn’t satisfied by Ramey’s response and had issues with the following line from the UO’s Campus Planning, Design and Construction mission statement: “We guide the planning, design, and construction of the campus while preserving its heritage and enriching its environments.”
“What hypocrisy,” Lueck said.
Woodward said she hates the idea of cutting down trees and that it has to happen during this renovation project, but the project couldn’t be completed if trees such as the London plane stayed put. The grassy area where the London plane sits must be leveled to 440 feet for reasons such as disability accessibility.
“The tree is several tens of feet above that 440, so we’d be excavating down to where its roots are,” Woodward said.
The university does have a plan for removed trees. Some of them will be moved to other parts of campus, and the wood from the London plane will be used by organizations such as the Craft Center.
“The university does a really good job of preserving wood and using it in projects,” Woodward said. “They have a drying house on campus, so they’ll dry wood and use it in construction projects across campus as they need it.”
Five other London planes exist on campus, according to Woodward, a figure Arica Duhrkoop-Galas believes is high. Duhrkoop-Galas also teaches in the landscape architecture department and she isn’t angry about the London plane being cut down.
“I think amongst most of the people who work on campus, there’s an understanding that you can’t save every tree,” Duhrkoop-Galas said.
Duhrkoop-Galas stressed that she wasn’t involved in the EMU renovation planning process, but she said in many cases, architects don’t care nearly as much about trees as she does. Duhrkoop-Galas and Lueck are also worried about the future of the UO campus, which currently has over 3,000 trees.
“Our student body is growing so fast that the growth has to be put somewhere,” Duhrkoop-Galas said. “How do you make that decision? I don’t think that’s a job I would want.”
The university is planting more trees than it’s removing from the EMU area, according to Woodward. Durhkoop-Galas and Lueck have been satisfied with the treatment of trees in past UO construction projects, as well.
But they still have concerns. Lueck said this EMU construction project is just a symptom of a larger problem.
“The problem is a university, a community, a culture, a world that will not address the problem of infinite growth,” Lueck said.
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415