NASA Goddard Launches Earthbound Mission To Save Tree

An old willow oak with a story to tell may be the greatest testament to just how green NASA Goddard really is.

Its reaching branches towered outside the shiny new windows of the Exploration Sciences Building—as a verdant crown on the day the structure earned its first LEED Gold certification, in 2010.

But two years later, the nearly 200-year-old landmark dubbed the "Tree of Life" by Goddard staff is, ironically, struggling for its life. The fierce derecho that tore through Goddard's Greenbelt, MD, campus on June 29, cracked a large limb that ripped down part of the trunk as it crashed to the ground, as confirmed by Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard spokesperson.

Goddard had specifically ordered the tree spared when construction was underway on its Exploration Sciences Building—a tribute to the tree, which had been standing more than 100 years before Goddard was established in 1959.

"The parking lot of the Exploration Sciences building was designed around it to make sure it stayed," Gutro said, praising the shade the tree offers in return. He is quick to laud the willow oak, pointing out that it is one of largest trees on campus and has merited the title of a specimen tree.

An arborist contracted with Goddard is working on plans to save it, reports Paul Thompson, operations and maintenance general foreman for Goddard. And the tree's outlook is good, according to Thompson.

Gutro agrees, and says "everyone at Goddard seems to be optimistic."

Some might expect that from a team that aims for the stars and then goes there.

If heart and determination can save a tree, like its Goddard friends, perhaps the Ent will continue to reach out toward infinity and beyond for as long as dreams will hold it.