Groundbreaking for the next phase of the North District community is accelerated to begin this November, and the 16 Modesto Ash trees occupying the property required immediate removal to make way for the construction.

The trees were planted back in 2021 along Canyon Crest Drive, just north of Linden Street, to enhance the barren area before the development. Now that the project is beginning earlier than anticipated, a plan was initiated to try to transplant the ash trees to new locations on campus.

UCR Landscape Services staff worked with a contractor to unearth and haul each of the 16 trees using a specialized hydraulic spade transplanter.

Mark Jones, who serves as the campus arborist and a landscape supervisor, helped lead the transplanting project.

“The trees were transferred to three different campus locations to match the university’s existing tree-planting design,” said Jones. The locations are parking lot 26, parking lot 30, and Glen Mor II along Big Springs Road.

Landscape employees who helped make the project a success included Juan Hernandez, Jock Thomas, Arnold Martin, Daniel Ayala, Salvador Sanchez, Eduardo Garcia Silva, and Mark Jones.