As we all surely already understand, life most definitely takes a village.

It also doesn’t hurt if that village happens to have some really cool tech at its disposal.

About a week ago, we (quite literally) showered some love onto this beautiful, historic White Oak tree that stands sentry at the edge of the Lewisburg Cemetery at the intersection of 7th and St. George Streets. Known as the witness tree and believed to be at least 250 years old, it’s our community’s longest-living tree, and its preservation is always a top priority for us. 💚🌳

To that end, we’re grateful for the fantastic partners who teamed up with us to ward off the tree’s unfortunate Spongy Moth infestation. CNY Drone Services dropped a targeted spray of organic insecticide directly onto it, limiting overspray on the street and adjacent properties. The compound used was made from a naturally occurring and highly selective bacterium that affects only caterpillars. It has minimal environmental impact and causes no harm to any other types of insects or wildlife in the area. Its treatment is designed to prevent the tree from becoming defoliated by the Spongy Moths, something that would cause it to become weakened and highly susceptible to other stresses, like borer infestation or drought—things that would ultimately lower its chances of survival. Bartlett Tree Experts also came in and gave the tree a much-needed pruning to spruce up its appearance and remove any dead limbs so they wouldn’t end up falling onto the sidewalk or street.

And, of course, we always want to give a shoutout to our friends at the Lewisburg Borough and the Lewisburg Cemetery for their ongoing collaboration and ever-present willingness, through this project and many others, to regularly team up with us in caring for our borough’s urban tree canopy.

Spongy Moths (formerly Gypsy Moths) aren’t new here. They’ve been causing significant damage to PA forests—and residential trees—since the 70’s. Please see our stories to link to more info on these pests, including steps you can take to identify and treat any potential infestation in your own trees.

Continued long life to our beautiful witness tree!

💚💚💚🌳💚💚💚