More than 200-year-old oak tree could be axed to make way for parking at Eastwood Middle

An oak tree witnessed by more than 40,000 students as they walk through Eastwood Middle School’s doors is slated for removal to make way for an expanded parking lot.

Parents and community members have been swift and strong in their opposition to the plan, calling on Washington Township Schools to save the tree from the bulldozer.

The north side school district released plans to build a new lot for additional parking and to improve traffic flow. That parking lot, however, is located where a Bur Oak tree believed to be more than 200 years old sits on the school’s property.

Several concerned parents spoke at a school board meeting Wednesday night, including Scott Smith, who remembers playing tennis at the school and sitting under the tree.

“What are you teaching our kids if you tear down this big beautiful tree to put in a parking lot? Is that the values we want to teach our kids?” he told IndyStar. “They wouldn’t commit to saving it (at the meeting), which is what we were really hoping.”

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The district and Superintendent Nikki Woodson did not return multiple requests for comment.

News 8 reported Woodson issued a statement that said the district is having an arborist look at the tree and will continue to work with its architecture firm, Schmidt & Associates, to determine if it is possible to save the tree or adjust construction plans around it.

Schmidt & Associates also did not return requests for comment. 

Jerome Delbridge, an arborist and the urban forest preservation director with the Indiana Forest Alliance, examined the tree earlier this week. He said that the oak looked healthy and structurally sound and added that it is four and a half feet in diameter — making it one of the larger trees in the city.

Delbridge said he believes the tree is more than 200 years old, which is more than three times as old as Eastwood Middle School, built in 1955.

“It’s a single tree, but a single tree can do lots for the environment and ecologically for the plants and animals around it,” he said. “But even more important for this tree, it is helping students connect to nature.”

During Delbridge’s review of the tree, he saw evidence of both a former garden as well as an outside classroom under the tree.

Many parents and community members who have spoken out against the tree’s removal recalled times when they attended Eastwood and played or sat in the shade of the tree. They have said they would like their children to be able to have the same experiences. 

A public Facebook group started by the Forest Alliance and titled Save the Eastwood Oak! has 186 members as of Friday afternoon.

Many parents have said they do not oppose the parking and building expansions, adding that they know the school is growing, but they want it to be done in a way that preserves the oak. 

"I don't see why my school board would want to tear something down that is so beautiful. Every school should have a tree like that," Smith said. "This could overshadow all the good work they’re doing with the renovations.” 

Some parents have also raised concerns about the safety of the plan, because parking lots and drives would now completely circle the school, forcing students to cross an area where cars may be driving to reach the fields. 

Delbridge and the parents are asking for the construction — scheduled to begin in the coming weeks — to be be halted until the arborist's report is back and plans potentially updated. He said they also would like to have 15 days to both review the report and plans and for a public comment period. 

"We are asking them to honor the tree," Delbridge told IndyStar. "We understand they want and need to move ahead on their project, but not at the risk of removing something that is irreplaceable." 

Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at 317-444-6129 or email at sarah.bowman@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @IndyStarSarah. Connect with IndyStar’s environmental reporters: Join The Scrub on Facebook.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.