Tulsa Scenes: A Battle over Trees in Woodward Park

By Stephanie Smith

I was 5 years old and already hugging trees.

I loved going to the park to climb up their knots, and my parents never let me leave without a million pictures being taken.

Something about their size and age amused me, and ever since then, my appreciation for these creatures has grown deep.

Woodward Park is home to some of Tulsa’s oldest and most beautiful trees. Until recently, the city was allowing them to be destroyed. Park officials said it was cheaper to remove the problematic trees and replace them with newer, smaller ones than to trim the sprawling branches of the older trees.

I wonder how they think this is a solution. I would like to challenge those in charge to explain why no budgets have been cut, no workers were lost, no diseases have struck, and yet there are trees still falling at the hands of those with chainsaws.

People around Tulsa are rallying together in hope to prevent further damage. Petitions are being signed, fliers are being posted and planted all over mid-town, even a Facebook group has been created by an Oklahoma State student—all in an effort to stop the chop.

Our pleas have caught the attention of some officials. City Hall has discussed tree removal, and progress has been made.

Stopthechop.net reports that a large part of the battle has been won. The writers for the site say that before any tree can be removed, the Park Department has to retrieve approval from either the Tree Advisory Committee, or the mayor herself.

I assume this makes things more difficult, but it doesn’t stop things from happening.

I love that picture I took as a little girl. Me hugging a tree that must have been at least 100 years old. I look at it now, and know that majestic tower of bark and branches has seen more in its lifetime than any of us could ever hope to even learn about.

It would be a disaster to lose a piece of history, and the city always seems to find new ways of chopping down a lot of it.

There is still a war to be won, and citizens are not giving up the fight to save the beauty and life of the foliage at Woodward.

Try hugging a tree someday, as a child it made me smile. It may just convince you to join in on the drive to stop the chop.