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Tom Svec with son Yuri Svec elm table

Iconic Penn State elms live on in new Health and Human Development Building

12/4/15

It is more than a piece of wood. It is a time capsule. It is preserved evidence. It is an anecdote, a flashback and a reminder of another time. There is much value found in a carefully handcrafted table located inside the atrium of the new Health and Human Development Building along College Avenue near Old Main lawn and Pugh Street.

Deike Elm Tree Removal 1

Elm to be removed along College Avenue on Saturday, June 23

6/22/12

Tree crews from Penn State's Office of Physical Plant (OPP) will be removing a large Elm tree during the morning hours on Saturday, June 23, near College Avenue along Old Main lawn in State College, Pa. Traffic in the area will be affected -- a traffic control work zone will be in place at 6 a.m. and a 120-foot crane will be on location. The operation will begin at about 7 a.m. and the process is expected to last about eight hours.

Branch Cutting

Arborists remove diseased Old Main tree

3/9/12

Work began early on March 9 to remove the diseased American elm outside Old Main on Penn State's University Park campus. The tree, which with its twin outside the other corner of Old Main, has been a fixture on the University Park campus since 1933. Elm yellows, a disease that has already claimed many American elms on the University Park campus, also has claimed this tree. For photos of the removal process, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157629548016703 online.

elm Old Main

Disease claims historic Old Main elm

3/2/12

For generations, nearly every image made of Penn State's iconic Old Main building -- paintings, sketches, photographs -- has included the two majestic elm trees that grace its front corners. Now elm yellows, a disease that has already claimed many American elms on the University Park campus, has so infected one of the trees that it must be removed. The University's Office of Physical Plant hopes to remove the tree during the upcoming Spring Break, weather permitting.

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Video: Disease-stricken matching elm tree slated for removal

3/2/12

For generations, nearly every image made of Penn State's iconic Old Main building -- paintings, sketches, photographs -- has included the two majestic elm trees that grace its front corners. Now elm yellows, a disease that has already claimed many American elms on the University Park campus, has so infected one of the trees that it must be removed. Weather permitting, the University's Office of Physical Plant has scheduled the removal for the week of spring break, which will minimize security risks to pedestrians. The following video acknowledges these environmental landmarks' significance across several generations of Penn Staters.

Elms 006

Dutch elm disease forces removal of 16 more campus trees

6/16/11

Penn State staff and researchers have battled aggressively for years the two primary diseases threatening the landmark American elm stand on the University Park campus. A recent resurgence in one of those diseases -- Dutch elm disease, an old nemesis -- has forced the University to remove 16 elms this summer. "Diseased trees pose a significant risk to healthy one, so it is necessary, unfortunately, to remove the diseased ones," said Jeff Dice, supervisor of grounds and maintenance. "Once infected, the trees can't recover, and the disease can spread from tree to tree."

Tree Planting 10

As Penn State continues fight against elm diseases, new trees debut

5/24/11

Penn State continues to battle the two primary diseases threatening the landmark American elm trees on its University Park campus, but crews also have begun planting new varieties of trees to replace those elms lost during the past several years on the Allen Street Mall area. Workers began this week planting more than two dozen trees on the campus' historic core. The plantings include an array of shade trees that grow in Pennsylvania, including coffee trees, plane trees, bur oaks, white oaks and zelkovas. Different types of trees are being planted to guard against a future large-scale loss to disease. The two diseases facing one of the nation's oldest elm stands are Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease spread by the elm bark beetle, and a more recent syndrome known as elm yellows.

University turns downed trees into treasured keepsakes

7/13/10

Penn State's ongoing effort to suppress the Dutch Elm and Elm Yellows diseases is seeing success, as many of the trees on the University Park campus remain healthy. However, despite the effort's overall success, some of Penn State's majestic elms have succumbed to disease. The University is preserving the wood from its fallen elms, some of which graced the campus for nearly 100 years, in a new line of furniture and picture frames now available to Penn State alumni.

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Video: Saving elm trees from disease takes persistent, hopeful effort

7/6/10

Determining how to save Penn State's elm trees is an ongoing collaboration between University researchers and groundskeepers. Capturing disease-carrying insects to study them has been an elusive task, but researchers believe existing efforts to prevent Dutch elm disease may be a clue to keeping the landmark trees safe from elm yellows.

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Google Maps' Street View captures University Park, including stadium

1/21/10

Penn State's University Park campus is now one of the first universities available for virtual walk-throughs using the Street View feature of Google Maps. Google Street View visited the campus with the Google "Trike" three times from October 2008 through August 2009 to collect 360-degree digital imagery around a majority of University Park's high-traffic sidewalks, as well as a special trip through the Nittany Lions' tunnel and onto the turf of Beaver Stadium. Now Web users nearly anywhere can see what it looks like to enter the stadium from the perspective of a Nittany Lion football player or Blue Band member, take a stroll down the Pattee Mall, sit on the steps of Old Main and visit the Bryce Jordan Center.

Elm tree spraying to wrap up on Monday morning

7/20/09

Elm tree spraying, being conducted from the ground and by helicopter, will wrap up this morning (Monday, July 20) after it began Sunday evening. OPP thanks the campus community for understanding the need for and cooperating with this important program as work continues to preserve the campus' elm trees. Please direct questions and concerns to Paul Ruskin at (814) 863-9620.