INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Residents of an Indianapolis neighborhood are seeking help to save an oak tree that has stood watch over the area for centuries.
The Chinquapin oak on the city’s east side is more than 18 feet in diameter and believed to be more than 300 years old. But it’s being attacked by the oak lace mite, which eats the chlorophyll out of the leaves and robs the tree of nourishment. It also is filled with dead wood that needs to be removed.
Resident Bob Adsit and his wife, Sheila, own the house behind the tree dubbed the Temple Oak, which they say has become a symbol for many in the Springdale neighborhood.
“We put a bench down here. People sit under it. They pray around it. They touch it. They hug it,” Sheila Adsit told WISH-TV (https://bit.ly/1oNo3kK ).
The couple can’t afford the estimated $8,000 needed to treat the tree. So members of the Springdale neighborhood are uniting to try to raise money for the work.
Those interested in helping can contact the John H. Boner Community Center in Indianapolis and donating to the Temple Oak Fund.
The Chinquapin oak can stand 100 feet tall. It’s generally used as a shade tree and for its lumber.
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Information from: WISH-TV, https://www.wishtv.com/
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