GLENDALE : Ecology Group Fights to Save Old Oak Tree

A student ecology group at Glendale Community College is facing a tough climb in its attempt to save a campus oak tree.

The 45-foot-tall tree--its age estimated at between 58 and 150 years--is among four coast live oaks standing in the way of the renovation and expansion of the Technical Education Building. The other three trees are much younger and will be replanted on a hillside along the campus, officials said.

Plans for the project were approved in 1991, but state funds were not available until this April, said William Taylor, the college’s director of business services.

The old tree “has to be removed to provide the foundation for the addition to the building,” Taylor said.

Transplanting the larger tree could prove costly and add months to the project, scheduled to be completed by August, 1994. Taylor said he has met with representatives from the 15-member Ecology Club and has agreed to consider some alternatives.

Said club member Leticia Scott: “I’m optimistic that we can sit down and try to work something out, as long as both sides stick with the facts.”

Scott believes the tree would have a 90% to 100% survival rate if transplanted. That estimate is disputed by college and city parks officials, however, who say the tree would only have a 50% chance, or less.

Administrators are expected to ask trustees Monday to approve a $2.4-million contract with Roman-Ford Joint Venture, a Los Angeles-based construction company.

The Ecology Club is trying to raise the estimated $12,000 needed to transplant the tree.