Calvary Cemetery Queens, New York City above Queens Boulevard

WHO: Calvary Cemetery
WHERE: 4902 Laurel Hill Boulevard, Woodside, Queens, NY 11104
WHAT: Ceremony to Plant 20 Champion Red Ash Trees in New York's First Living Library
WHEN: 10am, National Arbor Day, Friday, April 27, 2001

A cemetery is a sacred space—a hushed sanctuary of shaded serenity amid the noise and bustle of urban life. Among silent gravestones, city residents find peace, beauty in the enjoyment of nature, and the time and mind to reflect on life and death, and our connections to loved ones and family. Beneath trees often one or two centuries old, we renew our links to the personal and historic past.

Calvary Cemetery with midtown Manhattan skyline on the horizon

On National Arbor Day, Friday, April 27, one of Queens' oldest and largest cemeteries will begin planting an Archival Living Library of trademark trees cloned from cuttings taken from our National Champion Trees. After losing 150 of its finest trees to the Asian longhorn beetle infestation, Calvary Cemetery, the largest Catholic cemetery in the United States, is restoring shade and serenity while helping to preserve America's biggest, often oldest—some say best—trees. The 365-acre Cemetery joins a growing effort to harness virtues of our biggest trees to assure future generations enjoy abundant trees and healthy forests—and practice wise, sensible stewardship to sustain that natural resource.

A Champion Tree is the biggest specimen of its species. Usually a tree is measured by totaling the height in feet, girth in inches at 4.5 feet and one quarter the average crown spread in feet. The tree with the most total points is the Champion. The National Register of Big Trees is compiled from Big Tree Lists maintained by most states. New York's Big Tree Register is kept by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Region 4 Forester Michael Urban (518-357-2157).

National Champion Red Ash Dowagiac, Michigan
girth: 263 inches — height: 95 feet crown spread: 96 feet

This spring, the Cemetery will plant 20 saplings cloned from the National Champion Red Ash growing in Cass County of northern Michigan. Each spring for the next four years the Cemetery will plant another 20 Champion trees to add to its collection. These 100 Champion clones will become part of a Living Library-a national genetic archive to assure that future scientists have access to these big trees' DNA. Calvary Cemetery will be the first such Living Library in New York City, and the largest in New York State.

David and Jared Milarch with a newly planted Red Ash ChampTree™ Arbor Day, April 23, 2001

The 20 Red Ash trees will be driven here by David and Jared Milarch, the father and son from northwest Michigan who, in 1996, founded The Champion Tree Project International, a not-for-profit, tax exempt charity dedicated to protect, propagate and plant our Big Trees. The Project has chapters in four states, and incorporated efforts in a dozen others. Last year, The Champion Tree Project began a partnership with the National Tree Trust (www.nationaltreetrust.org) in Washington, DC to preserve and propagate all 867 of America's National Champion trees and create a national genetic archive.

The Project harvests seeds and buds from America's Champion trees, and propagates them into a new generation of trees. Buds are grafted or rooted into saplings that preserve the complete and true DNA of the parent tree; these cloned specimens are distributed to universities, schools, parks, cemeteries, and other facilities to plant in Archival Living Libraries. Specimens that demonstrate commercial value are trademarked as ChampTree( and released to the nursery industry. Royalties from sales will be used for tree research, reforestation and stewardship education for youth.

Calvary Cemetery Tree planting crew Arbor Day, April 23, 2001

These Red Ash saplings were grown by J. Frank Schmidt Nursery Co. of Boring, Oregon, one of America's largest, premier shade tree producers. The Milarch's shipped cuttings from twelve of Michigan's National and State Champion trees to Schmidt's for propagation. Two Montana Champions are also being propagated by Schmidt's. Cuttings from three of New York's National Champion trees (White Ash, American Hornbeam and Black Locust) are being propagated by Schichtel's Nursery, the largest tree seller in upstate New York. In the southern climate zone, the Florida Champion Tree Project has over 40 species under propagation in the twelve of the Sunshine State's largest nurseries.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Bernice Cousins, Publicity	718-545-6782	New York Champion Tree Project	Astoria, Queens, NY
Jerry Allen, Director	718-786-8000	Calvary Cemetery	Woodside, Queens, NY
David Yarrow, Director	518-477-6100	New York Champion Tree Project	East Greenbush, NY
David Milarch, President	231-378-2172	Champion Tree Project International	Copemish, Michigan
Terry Mock, Executive Director	561-547-7099	Champion Tree Project International	West Palm Beach, Florida