News Release – 11 September 2015

September 11, 2015 – Stamford, CT – On Friday, September 11 at 11:30 a.m. Bartlett Tree Experts, in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens, will unveil the 9/11 Arch of Remembrance. 

The dedication will also honor Ronaldo Vega, Senior Director of Design and Construction for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, who has announced his resignation as of September 11.   

The 16 foot x 12 foot x 8 foot archway is constructed of metal and bamboo, over which 14 World Trade Center “Survivor Tree” offspring trees are being trained to create a canopy tunnel. 

The trees were gifted to Bartlett Tree Experts by the 9/11 Memorial and Museum as a thank you for their benevolence and continued care and commitment to the “Survivor Tree” and the Survivor Tree Seedling Programme. The company has cared for, transported, and planted, nationwide, seedling trees awarded to communities impacted by tragedy. 

The Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens, an idyllic setting for the trees, will serve as a quiet Connecticut-based garden location where residents can reflect and remember Connecticut family, friends, and colleagues who perished on 9/11. 

The trees, which will fully mature in 24 months, are tagged with numbered gold medallions that identify each, and, like the Survivor Tree, they will serve as landmarks symbolizing resiliency and hope. 

Survivor Tree Background:  

“The Survivor Tree”, a Callery pear, was nearly dead after the World Trade Center attacks. The tree was removed from the site and nursed back to health while the 9/11 memorial was built. It is now replanted at The National September 11 Memorial and Museum and has come to symbolize our nation's strength, resilience and survival. Since its return, the Survivor Tree has been cared for under the watchful eye of Bartlett Tree Experts. 

The Seedling Tree Programme:

“The Survivor Tree” embodies our nation’s spirit of hope and healing, strength and resilience in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Each year, the 9/11 Memorial gives seedlings from the Survivor Tree to communities that have endured tragedy in recent years. The Survivor Tree seedling programme was launched on September 11, 2013 in partnership with Stamford, Conn. based Bartlett Tree Experts and John Bowne High School in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens.

About Bartlett Tree Experts
The F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company was founded in 1907 by Francis A. Bartlett and is the world's leading scientific tree and shrub care company. The organisation's current chairman, Robert A. Bartlett Jr., represents the third generation of Bartlett family management. Bartlett has locations in 27 U.S. states, Canada, Ireland and Great Britain. Services include pruning, pest and disease management, fertilisation and soil management, cabling and bracing, tree lightning protection systems and tree/stump removal. Its corporate offices are located in Stamford, Connecticut.