Evenings at Whitney Lecture on May 12 – Historic Trees: The Science Behind the Preservation and Conservation of our Largest Specimens

Evenings at Whitney Lecture on May 12 – Historic Trees: The Science Behind the Preservation and Conservation of our Largest Specimens

Published: Monday, April 25, 2016

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on May 12, 2016, at 7 p.m. with the program titled Historic Trees: The Science Behind the Preservation and Conservation of our Largest Specimens. Danny Lippi, International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist and qualified tree risk assessor as well as University of Florida master naturalist instructor, talked about the biology of tree growth, specifically how older trees grow in comparison to younger trees. The free lecture was presented at Lohman Auditorium located at 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd., on the Whitney Laboratory campus.

During the lecture, Lippi shared with the audience how trees respond to stressors over time. He also talked about structural stability, energy and nutritional flow, and mitigation of potential risks when dealing with older trees. Videos and images of some of the largest trees in the Southeast allowed viewers to experience a little-known world within the canopies of these southern giants.

Lippi is a consulting arborist who specializes in advanced tree preservation with a focus on veteran or historic trees. A graduate student at the University of Florida Department of Soil and Water Science, he also teaches the University of Florida Master Naturalist Program at Whitney Laboratory. Lippi has been retained to assess trees for multiple cities and organizations, including Miami Beach, Savannah, Ga., Belfair Plantation outside of Hilton Head, S.C., Daytona Beach, Winter Park, St. Augustine, Disney and Department of Transportation.

He is currently involved with two tree-protection projects at the Florida Capitol legislature and Supreme Court buildings in Tallahassee, Fla. Another project he is working on involves mangroves. As one of only a handful of professional mangrove trimmers in north Florida, his research focuses on assessing the impact of allowable trimming on mangrove primary production. This research is being conducted at Whitney Laboratory and will likely have implications statewide.

About The Evenings at Whitney
The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series focuses on current science topics or ongoing research at Whitney Laboratory­­­­­. Speakers are recognized experts in their fields and encourage questions and discussion. Lectures are presented the first or second Thursday of each month, September through May, in Whitney’s 260-seat Lohman Auditorium. Lectures, including parking, are free and open to the public. Reservations are not needed.