Media Advisory: President’s Oak planting
The President’s Oak tree atop Observatory Hill, as pictured in 2010. The oak was taken down in 2015.
After a long and green life, UW–Madison said goodbye to the President’s Oak on Jan. 14, 2015. It was the oldest tree on campus, estimated to be about 300 years old.
While great effort was taken to save the tree, drought, harsh winters and the inevitable aging process took their toll. But it will live on thanks to the planting of a graft from the original tree.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank will speak at the Oct. 10 planting ceremony and will be joined by Michael Yanny, a horticulturalist, owner of JN Plant Selections and a UW alumnus who grafted the new tree; Ray Guries, emeritus professor of forest and wildlife ecology; Daniel Einstein, UW–Madison historic and cultural resources manager; and children from the nearby UW Child Development Lab at the School of Human Ecology.
The President’s Oak got its name from a nearby building that originally housed several university presidents, which is now occupied by the La Follette School of Public Affairs.