Notwithstanding its star billing in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the deciduous tree ailanthus altissima is considered an invasive weed. Also known as “tree of heaven,” “Chinese sumac,” and “stinking shumac,” ailanthus was sent from China to England in 1751 by French Jesuit Pere Nicholas d’Incarville (1706-1757), who had mistaken it for a form of mulberry tree. Thirty-three years later it was planted in Philadelphia and quickly spread throughout the most of United States.
On October 22 the Chestnut Hill Reservoir Coalition organized a community effort to cut back the saplings and seedlings, which, left unchecked, would crowd out the natural vegetation around the reservoir. The Office of Governmental and Community Affairs enlisted the help of Ryan Schiel ’08, and a dozen other BC students, who then spent the afternoon of October 22 working with the Chestnut Hill Reservoir Coalition and other community groups in what was dubbed “Operation Ailanthus Chop Down.”
BC community affairs staff member Stephen Montgomery reports that BC students during the past year have helped clean the grounds of cemeteries, traffic islands, and senior centers in both Newton and Boston.