The Ginkgo Tree, by Alex Casto

This week’s Greenbrier Episcopal School series introduces us to the Ginkgo Tree in Lewisburg. We featured this in our last GES audio collage: A Greenbrier County Tour, and this week we are featuring GES student Alex Casto’s essay on the Ginkgo tree:

Ginkgo, by Alex Casto

The Ginkgo tree in New River Community College is very special. It was brought to Lewisburg by a Presbyterian missionary returning from China to teach biological science to the Lewisburg Female Seminary. It is also the oldest and biggest Ginkgo in WV with over 135 years of age, but Ginkgo Trees have a lifespan of 3000 years.

In fall, the leaves on the Ginkgo turn bright golden, and all fall on the same day, making a beautiful “golden halo” around the base, as Roger Griffith, Dean of the NRCC calls it. People at Carnegie hall ask the public to keep the leaves there so others can see it. Someone who loves to see it is my Grandmother, every time she visits us from Panama, she asks us to take her to see it.

There are some interesting facts about Ginkgo trees. Ginkgo Bilobas are also very hardy. When the atom bomb was dropped over Hiroshima in 1945, only Ginkgo trees survived. A similar incident happened, where a temple was saved because of the Ginkgo trees around it.

For all these reasons, we are very lucky to have a Ginkgo Biloba in Lewisburg.

 

Alex Casto is an 11 year old boy, who likes nature, drawing, and other art.

Tags: tinypass

Category: Blog