Georgia looks after its trees

Curtis Foltz, executive director, GPA, said: “These massive oaks located on GPA property are awe inspiring and have been here long before we were.”

He was making the comment on National Arbor Day during which “Georgia Ports Authority is making an official commitment to protect and preserve these natural and historic assets”, he added.

The two oldest trees are located at the Garden City Terminal off of GA 25. The oldest is 92 inches in diameter and is estimated to have taken root in 1645. The second oldest is 91 inches in diameter, and is estimated to have taken root in 1649.

GPA is one of only a few commercial areas in Savannah that hosts a large stand of mature oaks, it maintains the trees with regular pruning and has had lightning protection installed on some.

If you need any more evidence that the port authority takes its sustainable commitment seriously, four trees located at the new container operations building were preserved during the building process and the building was even repositioned to provide the trees with optimal growing conditions.

“Our mission is to grow our business in environmentally responsible ways,” said Mr Foltz. “Protecting the tree canopy around the fourth busiest container port in the nation is just one project we’ve undertaken as part of our sustainability initiative.”

The port authority says that while its tripled its container traffic over the past 10 years, it has also cut its emissions in half per container moved.