Monday morning’s tree planting at the Seaside Museum was dedicated to Dr. Bonnie Appleton, who recently passed away. Dr. Appleton, a professor at Virginia Tech, was a leader in the arboriculture community. Bonnie was a facilitator who brought together arborists, horticulturalists, nursery personnel and utility professionals to work on industry issues. Today we planted two trees to replace existing trees which were inappropriate to the site and needed to be removed to prevent interference with overhead utility lines. One of the trees we planted today was a Japanese maple, a utility friendly tree appropriate for small spaces or proximity to power lines.
Bonnie would have approved, and she was very present at this event. The trees were planted with great care by her colleagues from the MidAtlantic Chapter of ISA, with help from utility arborists and others who remembered Bonnie with fondness and respect. Bonnie was something of a rock star in the arboriculture industry. The author of 5 major books, 30 industry journal articles and more than 800 articles for newspapers and trade and consumer publications, she was awarded several grants from the Tree Fund for her research projects at Virginia Tech. Some people idolized her, some were intimidated by her, and nearly everyone had an opinion about her. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and she could get away with it, because she was the real thing. I learned a lot from her. I hear her voice in my head to this day, and we will all miss her.

Planting a tree by the sea for Bonnie Appleton