Here at Seattle Children’s, we have lots of experience performing transplants, but we’ve never worked with a patient weighing 130,000 pounds before. That’s the weight of a scarlet oak tree we moved last week using a crane and a flatbed trailer.The tree is the largest of seven mature trees we salvaged from our Building Hope construction site last year, stored until exterior work was complete and then replanted in new locations around the site. Preserving the trees reflects our commitment to reuse and recycle existing materials whenever possible. We’re pleased to report the patients – a collection of scarlet oak, sweet gum and Japanese maple trees– are in stable condition and expected to thrive.
I saw the tree being moved last week – it was quite the conversation stopper and then restarter as we watched the process from the surgical floor! Kudos for saving the trees.