Over the next several weeks, a certified arborist will be documenting the entire tree population at Meadowbrook CC. Julie Stachecki, founder of Site Specific Inc., is performing the inventory, which was previously done in 2000. Julie has Bachelor of Sciences in Horticulture and Park & Recreation Planning, coupled with a Masters in Agronomy and is a certified arborist. She was a member of the MSU extension team and was the head of the 2-year associate degree in Nursery and Landscapes.
Site Specific was founded in 1995 and has done arboreal related work at numerous clubs within the area including Oakland Hills, Pine Lake, Plum Hollow, Stonycroft and Bloomfield Hills Country Club. Needless to say, Julie Stachecki is a well respected and knowledgeable member in her field.
The goal of the arborist when performing a tree inventory focuses around the best way to allocate resources to trees that are most in need. This begins with documenting every tree on the property in terms of species, size and health. This inventory will provide a glimpse of diversity within the population and allow each tree to be individually assessed. With this information, superintendents can identify trees that are potential problems and apply resources and finances appropriately.
Members may have noticed numbered, metallic tags appearing on trees around the course. These numbered tags correspond with a field sheet that has specific information pertaining to that individual tree. The field sheet will tell the species, size and general health of the tree. It also provides the arborist's recommendations for care of said tree (if any). These recommendations can include, but are not limited to, pruning, ways to combat disease and insect threats and trees that pose safety issues due to poor structure. These trees that pose safety issues have the potential to fall or drop heavy limbs, and should be removed. Pruning, while seemingly a trivial task, is a very important cultural practice especially on young trees. Pruning a young tree gives one control of the future shape (or architecture) of the tree. Branches that will later prove to be a problem can be removed easily and safely.
It is hard to place an exact dollar amount on a tree population, but with one that plays such an integral role on the golf course like Meadowbrook's it is important to provide the trees with the best growing environment as possible. Mrs. Stachecki's work will allow us to do just that. Enjoy the colors.
