Students Rally For Trees Around Grass Valley School's Track
GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) — Pine trees that have sprouted up around Hooper Stadium may be a little too close for comfort and pose a safety hazard to runners.
The school district has spent a lot of money to figure out how to solve the problem, which could involve bringing the trees down.
But that's not sitting well with students like Joy Castro-Wehr.
"This is what brings people to not just our school but to our county and to our city is the trees and the nature here," she said.
Students say these trees around the Nevada Union High School track are special.
"They provide a lot of shade and beauty to our track and we really appreciate them when we are running," said Caitlin Johnson.
That's why members of the cross country team are standing up for ten trees that were slated for removal. Pictures show why—unruly overgrown roots pushing up underneath the concrete.
"They were causing a rise in the ground above the roots, which created some bubbling and cracking and some uneven running ground which is unsafe for competitions," said Principal Dan Frisella.
He says the district recently spent almost a quarter of a million dollars resurfacing the track, which included fixing the root damage underneath. But an arborist told them similar damage could happen again in the next five years.
"We feel obligated to maintain our investment in our track," he said.
When students got word, they mobilized an effort to save the trees and even started a petition.
Frisella says the other option is to trim back the roots underneath the ground, but that could make the huge trees unstable and cost taxpayers more money.
"It's important that we stand up for it and don't let people take trees away from out track that we really appreciate," said student Anya Cooper-Hynell. "It's kind of like taking the rights away from the students."
The decision has been delayed for now, leaving the future of the tall trees up in the air.
The principal says if the trees are chopped down, the wood would be reused by the school's agriculture department's wood shop.
