The document summarizes the removal of a large monkeypod tree from the front of a school campus. Over the course of two days, workers carefully cut down the tree that had provided shade for students for 75 years. They first removed all the large branches, then secured the trunk with a crane to make the final cut. The wood was chipped and will be used as mulch in the school's gardens, while some staff received sections of the trunk as mementos. Removing the tree opened up space for construction of a new administration building on the now empty front area of the campus.

1. August 1 and 2, 2013
Farewell to Our Monkeypod Tree

2. On August 2, 2013, a monkeypod tree was removed
from our campus. This tree had graced the front of
our campus since our school was built, and it
provided shade for students as they studied or
played during recess.
The following photos document the removal of the tree.
It would have been nice to take a photo every hour
from the beginning of the project to the end, but alas,
that was not possible.

3. This is what the tree looked like from the front.
Doesn’t it look healthy and stately?

4. This is the same tree from the side view. Notice how far it’s
leaning over the fence? It was determined that the tree was
unsafe and could easily fall over during a strong wind. Thus, plans
were made to have the tree removed prior to starting construction
on our new administration building.

5. Workers arrived to begin
cutting down the tree and got
right to work. We were
meeting with teachers and by
the time we went out for a
short break, huge branches
had already been cut down.

6. After branches were cut
down, workers fed the
branches into a machine
which broke them into
smaller chips.

7. A crane was used to secure
the large branches while it was
being cut, then the pieces
were loaded onto the truck.

8. It’s amazing to me how quickly
workers can cut down a huge
tree!

9. Workers are feeding the
branches into this machine
which then breaks it up into
small pieces. This can
probably be used as
groundcover somewhere.

10. Many of the large branches have
already been removed. Notice how
much has already been cut down.

11. Workers stopped their cutting
for our Meet and Greet
activity when many students
and their families came on
campus to meet their new
teacher and bring in their
school supplies.

12. Loading the big pieces onto
the truck; I found out later that
workers unloaded the tree
pieces at Helemano Military
Reservation. I’m not sure
what they do with it, but
hopefully, it’ll be put to good
use.

13. End of day 1 – the only large
branch remaining is the one
that sticks out into the road.
Workers will have to stop
traffic temporarily while they
remove that branch
tomorrow.

14. Early morning – day 2 prior to
the workers’ arrival

15. The next time I went out to see
the progress of our tree
removal, this is what I saw.
Wow! All the branches were
removed and all that’s left is
the tree trunk.

16. The workers were really nice
and cut 2” rings so our staff
could save them as mementos
of the monkeypod tree. Some
of our staff asked for small logs
so they could create something
out of the wood.

17. The workers are attaching the
security harness around the
trunk of the tree and hooking it
up to the crane prior to making
the final cut.

18. I found it amazing that they
could make the final cut so
quickly. That tree was
probably 75 years old, and I
wish I’d measured the
diameter before they turned it
to mulch.

19. This is all that remained of our
monkeypod tree. Now that it’s gone,
the area in front of the school looks
spacious! Previously, it did not look
like the area was large enough for the
administration building.

20. Making mulch out of the
remainder of the tree

21. Mulch from our monkeypod tree
will be used in our fourth grade
Hawaiian Garden and the fifth
grade Hope Garden.