Saving a Historic Elm Tree in Amherst—Live Demonstration

DATE:      Sept. 16, 2021

TIME:       2:30 p.m.

WHAT:     Live demonstration of how to protect from Dutch Elm Disease

WHERE:   111 Sunset Ave, Amherst, Mass.

AMHERST, Mass. – Since 1928, tens of millions of American elm trees have succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease, a fungus, originating in Asia, that is spread by beetles. Few historic elm trees survive, and the ones that have need periodic treatment to help keep the fungus in check.

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The historic Grayson Elm, located at 111 Sunset Avenue, in Amherst, Mass., is one such tree: 80 feet high and 17 feet in circumference, the tree was already very old when, in the early 20th-century, Ray Stannard Baker bought the meadow across the street from his house in order to preserve the tree.

Baker was one of the early 20th-century’s crusading investigative journalists, taking on everything from racism to unfair labor practices. Under the pen name David Grayson, he was also a best-selling author of books about rural life.

On Thursday, Sept.16, Ryan Mange, arborist at Sunderland’s Northeast Tree Care and a UMass alum, will lead a demonstration of how to treat for Dutch Elm Disease. In attendance will be UMass students from Kristina Bezanson’s commercial arboriculture class, as well as representatives from Arbor-Jet, the makers of the treatment system that Mange will use.