Thirty may be the new twenty, but not necessarily for a particular Silver Maple tree on campus that didn’t age well.
The life of the Silver Maple once shading the campus quad came to its end after a branch fell off and hit the ground.
The fall made the tree a safety hazard to the campus, students and instructors.
“The Silver Maple is a short-lived tree, the tree was getting towards the end of its life,” said Michael Toscano, campus horticulture instructor.
Toscano has knowledge of the tree and campus nature.
“The Silver Maple doesn’t live for a long time like most trees,” said Toscano.
It lasts up to 30 years and then dies, these trees have to be cut down or become a safety hazard to people around them because the limbs might fall.
No one was hurt when the first branch fell off this tree in the quad.
“It was cut down over the weekend,” Toscano added.
This tree was cut down in mid October, when there were no students around to get in the way or get hurt.
“I was walking and the branch fell right off behind me,” said Carmen Slaughter, Senator of Activities from Associated Students of Delta College.
Slaughter wasn’t hurt. She was shook up by the fall, she said.
Some students on this campus never noticed or paid attention to the tree until the branch fell.
“Never paid attention when it was up, but now that it is cut down I pay attention now to trees and I thought it would never fall,” Carmen added.
Now the tree in the quad is cut down there is a lot more sunlight coming down to the campus.
The Silver Maple made a lot of shade for the students that hung around it and sat under it also helped produced oxygen for the area around the area.
The people on campus are noticing the tree is gone now.
“I felt bad because it provides oxygen and shade for the people,” said student William Mitchell.