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Sakura Project marks the season with tree plantings in North Park and donations to aid Japanese disaster victims
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Closeup taken last spring of cherry blooms on trees planted by the Sakura Project in North Park. -
Cherry trees planted by the Sakura Project bloom last spring in front of an old stand of white pine trees in North Park. -
'Accolade' cherry tree, planted in North Park by Sakura Project. -
'Accolade' cherry trees planted in North Park by members of The Sakura Project. -
The view last fall of the boathouse at North Park through a grove of 'Accolade' cherry trees planted by the Sakura Project.
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In the 1920s, when Allegheny County workers built and planted North Park, they included a few cherry trees among the stands of pines, oaks and maples. But nothing like what the Sakura Project has done.
In three years, the nonprofit group whose name is Japanese for "cherry blossom" has planted 121 trees in a 25-acre area near the historic boathouse on the lake. More than half are cherry -- 'Accolade,' 'Autumnalis,' 'Pink Flair,' 'Pendula' (weeping) and the oldest cultivar, Yoshino. The rest are larger shade trees, including hawthorn, bald cypress, London plane, horsechestnut, red and white oak, sugar maple and elm.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, hundreds of volunteers will put in 50 more trees during the group's third annual tree planting. The event, which is free and open to the public (wear your garden clothes), is timed to coincide with the opening of the distinctive pink and white flowers whose brief but beautiful life is celebrated each spring in Japan.
"We could really use help because we're planting so many this time," said Rick Mercer, one of three designers on the project.
This year's event is a little different, and not just because unusually cold temperatures have delayed the bloom. Organizers have chosen a more somber tone in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Donations will be accepted to aid the disaster's victims and reconstruction. Yet it is also a celebration, with Japanese games, music, even a formal tea ceremony. The quiet pride of the group's members is evident in the work ethic of one of its founders, Fumio Yasuzawa, owner of Chaya Japanese Cuisine in Squirrel Hill. While commuting from his home in Cranberry -- where he has planted 15 Japanese cherry trees -- he often stops by North Park.
"During summertime, I'm doing watering and checking the deer [fence]," he said.
The project began in May 2007 when the Japan Association of Greater Pittsburgh approached Allegheny County parks officials about adding Japanese cherry trees to the mature woodland. By the time the first 40 trees were planted in April 2009, other groups and corporations had joined the effort.
The project's designers are Ron Block of Mt. Lebanon, Kary Arimoto-Mercer of Shadyside and her husband, her partner in Arimoto+Mercer LLC. The three met while working toward landscape architecture degrees at Chatham University in 2006. When the Japan Association asked Chatham for help, Mr. Block volunteered and asked the Mercers to join the collaboration.
"Kary is the glue holding it all together, the coordinator and problem-solver among the various entities," Mr. Block said by email Thursday from Paris, where the cherry trees and other spring-flowering plants are in full bloom, he said.
Mr. Block is a flight attendant for USAirways and spends his free time in Europe studying tree placement and landscape design in public parks.
Ms. Arimoto-Mercer, a former assistant dean at California Institute of the Arts, is a Sansei (third-generation) Japanese American whose grandparents immigrated to California in the early 1900s. "Sakura, Sakura," a traditional song about the cherry blossom, is one of many examples of the Japanese people's reverence for this tree.
"The cherry blossom is a metaphor for the fragility of all living things," she said.
Her husband, director of human resources administration, pensions and benefits for Allegheny Technologies, said this second shared career has strengthened their 39-year marriage while it keeps them young.
"Planting a tree is an act of faith," he said.
Integrating ornamental trees into a public park in Western Pennsylvania has not been a breeze. Facing frigid temperatures, hungry deer and other hardships, some of the traditional Yoshino cherry trees have not survived. Thirty of the 38 cherry trees planted today are the hardier Sargent variety. They will be planted between a Yoshino grove and a grove of mature Eastern white pines, a traditional pairing in Japan. A "sentinel" white oak will stand nearby.
The designers said they carefully place the trees so they will not interfere as they mature, framing views of the lake, boathouse and other trees but not obscuring them. Mr. Block said they hope to encourage park users to leave the paths and explore.
"We are creating a pathway of sorts through the cherry groves and into the pine groves, so those who do wander up onto the slopes should be rewarded with some excellent views, especially in future years as the trees mature," he said.
All three designers lauded county parks workers, supplier Eisler Nurseries in Prospect, Butler County, and TreeVitalize, a private/public partnership that supports the planting of native trees throughout Pennsylvania.
Green plastic guards are installed to protect the young trees' trunks from deer and they are staked for the first year. Project members and county parks workers try to water them regularly, but "we can't coddle them like a homeowner would," Ms. Arimoto-Mercer said.
One thing they have not had to worry about is human carelessness. Even the trees planted by the playground have escaped damage.
"People have been very respectful," she said, noting that young and old park users have approached project members and thanked them for planting and tending the trees.
"They ask 'Are you responsible? Is that yours?' We've even gotten hugs!"
Information on the Sakura Project or TreeVitalize: www.pghsakuraproject.org or http://komachi.sp.cs.cmu.edu/sakura/ and www.treevitalize.net, respectively.
By Kevin Kirkland
In the 1920s, when Allegheny County workers built and planted North Park, they included a few cherry trees among the stands of pines, oaks and maples. But nothing like what the Sakura Project has done.
In three years, the nonprofit group whose name is Japanese for "cherry blossom" has planted 121 trees in a 25-acre area near the historic boathouse on the lake. More than half are cherry -- 'Accolade,' 'Autumnalis,' 'Pink Flair,' 'Pendula' (weeping) and the oldest cultivar, Yoshino. The rest are larger shade trees, including hawthorn, bald cypress, London plane, horsechestnut, red and white oak, sugar maple and elm.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, hundreds of volunteers will put in 50 more trees during the group's third annual tree planting. The event, which is free and open to the public (wear your garden clothes), is timed to coincide with the opening of the distinctive pink and white flowers whose brief but beautiful life is celebrated each spring in Japan.
"We could really use help because we're planting so many this time," said Rick Mercer, one of three designers on the project.
This year's event is a little different, and not just because unusually cold temperatures have delayed the bloom. Organizers have chosen a more somber tone in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Donations will be accepted to aid the disaster's victims and reconstruction. Yet it is also a celebration, with Japanese games, music, even a formal tea ceremony. The quiet pride of the group's members is evident in the work ethic of one of its founders, Fumio Yasuzawa, owner of Chaya Japanese Cuisine in Squirrel Hill. While commuting from his home in Cranberry, he often stops by to check the trees.
The project began in May 2007 when the Japan Association of Greater Pittsburgh approached Allegheny County parks officials about adding Japanese cherry trees to the mature woodland. By the time the first 40 trees were planted in April 2009, other groups and corporations had joined the effort.
The project's designers are Ron Block of Mt. Lebanon, Kary Arimoto-Mercer of Shadyside and her husband, her partner in Arimoto+Mercer LLC. The three met while working toward landscape architecture degrees at Chatham University in 2006. When the Japan Association asked Chatham for help, Mr. Block volunteered and asked the Mercers to join the collaboration.
"Kary is the glue holding it all together, the coordinator and problem-solver among the various entities," Mr. Block said by e-mail Thursday from Paris, where the cherry trees and other spring-flowering plants are in full bloom, he said.
Mr. Block is a flight attendant for USAirways and spends his free time in Europe studying tree placement and landscape design in public parks.
Ms. Arimoto-Mercer, a former assistant dean at California Institute of the Arts, is a Sansei (third-generation) Japanese American whose grandparents emigrated to California in the early 1900s. "Sakura, Sakura," a traditional song about the cherry blossom, is one of many examples of the Japanese people's reverence for this tree.
"The cherry blossom is a metaphor for the fragility of all living things," she said.
Her husband, director of human resources administration, pensions and benefits for Allegheny Technologies, said this second shared career has strengthened their 39-year marriage while it keeps them young.
"Planting a tree is an act of faith," he said.
Integrating ornamental trees into a public park in western Pennsylvania has not been a breeze. Facing frigid temperatures, browsing deer and other hardships, some of the traditional Yoshino cherry trees have not survived. Thirty of the 38 cherry trees planted today are the hardier Sargent variety. They will be planted between a Yoshino grove and a grove of mature Eastern white pines, a traditional pairing in Japan. A "sentinel" white oak will stand nearby.
The designers said they carefully place the trees so they will not interfere as they mature, framing views of the lake, boathouse and other trees but not obscuring them. Mr. Block said they hope to encourage park users to leave the paths and explore.
"We are creating a pathway of sorts through the cherry groves and into the pine groves, so those who do wander up onto the slopes should be rewarded with some excellent views, especially in future years as the trees mature," he said.
All three designers lauded county parks workers, supplier Eisler Nurseries in Prospect, Butler County, and TreeVitalize, a private/public partnership that supports the planting of native trees throughout Pennsylvania.
Green plastic guards are installed to protect the young trees' trunks from deer and they are staked for the first year. Project members and county parks workers try to water them regularly but "we can't coddle them like a homeowner would," Ms. Arimoto-Mercer said.
One thing they have not had to worry about is human carelessness. Even the trees planted by the playground have escaped damage.
"People have been very respectful," she said, noting that young and old park users have approached project members and thanked them for planting and tending the trees.
"They ask 'Are you responsible? Is that yours?' We've even gotten hugs!"
For more information on the Sekura Project or TreeVitalize, go to www.pghsakuraproject.org or http://komachi.sp.cs.cmu.edu/sakura/ and www.treevitalize.net, respectively.
First Published April 9, 2011 12:00 am
