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APRIL 19, 2023
CAREFUL TREE THINNING
@qamagnews VOL. 104, NO. 16
FEATURED STORIES
Two areas of Douglas firs to be removed in Discovery Park
By Jessica Keller Queen Anne & Magnolia News editor
This summer, Seattle Parks & Recreation Department staff will be thinning trees in Magnolia’s Discovery Park to create better tree health and forest growth. Friends of Discovery Park President Phil Vogelzang said members and city staff want to spread the word early before the tree removal takes place. “Whenever people see people with chainsaws, cutting down trees in Discovery Park, there’s always concern and anxiety raised,” Vogelzang said. Two localized areas of Discovery Park are targeted for tree removal, which is likely to happen in the late summer after nesting season is over. The first is a stand of trees near the old hospital site, which has stunted and crowded Douglas firs growing in the area. Vogelzang said about 20 percent of the trees in that small area will be removed. The trees are “tiny,” he said, only 30 to 40 feet tall and maybe 3 to 4 inches in diameter and are growing very close together. “Pretty much anyone who looks at them realizes it is not a healthy forest,” he said. The second area that will be thinned is by the south parking lot. Vogelzang said when
RECIPE
Photo by Phil Vogelzang City staff and Friends of Discovery Park volunteers tour a stand of trees in Discovery Park near the old hospital site. Toward the end of the summer, city staff will be thinning select trees in this area because they are stunted and growing too closely together. Removing them will help create a healthy forest. those trees were first planted, the city placed too many, too close together thinking only some would live. Unfortunately, the majority lived but, again, produced stunted trees that grew without the needed 20 to 30 feet of space necessary for a healthy forest. “It’s very much a monoculture
of tiny, closely spaced trees that are all the same age,” Vogelzang said. Again, Vogelzang said a small amount of the trees in that area will be removed to give the healthier trees a chance to grow and create a better forest environment. All of the trees removed will
be carefully selected and specifically removed to improve the forest health. Vogelzang said city staff, including two arborists, and volunteers toured the park and identified the areas that needed to be thinned in order to free up space, permit more sunlight to come in and allow the trees to
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HEALTH PAGE 7 grow without having to compete for space or water. “A forest is healthy when all the trees get an adequate amount of sunlight and an adequate amount of room to grow,” Vogelzang said, adding the ideal forest also features young trees and old trees and a wide range of foliage. While there is a lot of discussion
SEE TREE, PAGE 8
Magnolia Chorale spring concert celebrates the planet
Submitted
The Magnolia Chorale presents two spring concerts, “Letters to Our Beloved Earth,” for Earth Day this month. The first presentation will be at 7:30 p.m. April 22. The second concert will be at 2 p.m. April 23. Both concerts will take place at Magnolia Lutheran Church, 2414 31 Ave. West. Both concerts are free. Good-will offerings to support the chorale are welcome. The chorale is directed by Joseph To, and the spring concert features a mix of classical,
Photo courtesy Magnolia Chorale The Magnolia Chorale’s spring concert will take place April 22 and April 23. contemporary, and international selections dedicated to the wonders of the planet, according to a press release. The repertoire includes two pieces making their Seattle debut: “HuXi,” composed by Ng Cheuk-yin, and “Mae-e,” composed by Kentaro Sato. “HuXi,” which translates to “breathing,” was commissioned by the Hong Kong
Treble Choir Association in 2015 as the theme song for that year’s World Youth & Children’s Choir Festival Hong Kong. “Mae-e,”
which translates as “forward,” was composed in 2011 and dedicated to the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Magnolia Chorale, which was established in 1989, is a community-based, non-profit organization that provides opportunities for singers to
perform a variety of sacred and secular choral music. It is an independent organization and is not affiliated with Magnolia Lutheran Church.
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