The tree stands as tall and proud as the students surrounding it. The second best tree in Austin sits in the center of our courtyard, always watching the commotion of the school. Now is the time to watch back over it.

In early February, senior Jacob Wallace started a GoFundMe to save the tree in the Bowie courtyard. The tree needed treatment to help it’s roots grow and stop further rotting in the roots. The original goal was to raise $500, and in less than a day the donors surpassed that amount.

“The one remarkable thing we have to brag about is our beloved oak tree in the middle of our courtyard, but recently it has fallen ill, and the procedures that need to be taken will be costly,” Wallace said.

The oak tree was found to be infested with jasmine this February, and the tree was not getting the nutrients it needed as a result.

“When Mr. Ellerbrock explained to us what was going on with the tree, he told us that a lot of the money the tree would need for treatment would probably come from the money we would make at Mr. Bulldog later that week,”Wallace said. “Seeing as I myself was competing in Mr. Bulldog, I just thought that sucked. I created the GoFundMe account because I knew it’d be the easiest way to be seen on social media platforms.”

Many people, from current Bowie students to Bowie alumni, along with their relatives, saw the GoFundMe that he posted and came together to support the fund-raiser and donate to the tree.

“The procedure was costly and I was hoping to just take a chunk out of it, but thanks to the support of the community, we covered over half the expenses,” Wallace said. “The Bowie community is amazing, and I never expected a response like that. It was touching to see donations come from students, parents, and especially the alumni. We really did something special here, and it blows my mind away.”

Some of the cost of the tree operations could be cut not only by the fund-raiser, but also by students helping out in order to cut labor cost. Eager volunteers were helping out to better the condition of our oak tree.

“All of the guys in Mr. E’s Contemporary Issues classes had spent all our classes in the courtyard pulling up the jasmine around the tree,” Wallace said. “Mr. E has informed me that the tree has a follow up appointment over spring break, so I’m hoping for good news once we come back to school.”

Bowie’s tree surgeon, Andy Anstrom, has been coming for years to make sure the tree stays healthy. When he checked on the tree in February, he noticed large dead branches and that the soil under the tree had an excess of water and not enough nutrients and air. To help, the tree got the treatment known as root invigoration, which is used to re-energize older trees.

“When James Ellerbrock called me out recently to look at the Bowie tree, I knew instantly that something new was wrong. Since the operation, I have been checking on the tree weekly and it appears to have stabilized, but it will take more time to know for sure if the tree has become healthy again,” Anstrom said. “The Bowie oak has the challenge of being in an urban environment, which is very stressful for a tree. But with proper care and investment in the tree, it could easily live for a few hundred more years.”

The tree has already received the procedure it needed and after the rest of the clean up surrounding it, the tree will be finished. While this is the first large procedure the tree has received, Ellerbrock believes that everything surrounding the tree has been solved.

“The student council takes care of the landscape for the school and part of that is that I keep an eye on the trees, especially the one in the courtyard,” CI teacher Ellerbrock said. “And that tree is not dying. It was sick, but it’s not dying.  One day that tree is going to die because everything in nature dies. But I don’t care, whatever we got to do we got to do to take care of that tree.”

Ellerbrock also reiterates that people shouldn’t worry too much about what they see, and that they should leave it to the professionals.

“A lot of people see these balls of moss think that that’s really bad but it’s nothing. The arborist said that stuff is no big deal, that that’s not the problem. That’s just people thinking they know what they’re talking about but they really don’t,” Ellerbrock said. “But it’s about time for him to come back out here and take a look at it again, and I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that whatever he did is helping the tree.”

Many Bowie alumni donated to the fund-raiser in order to save the tree, according to Wallace, leaving messages such as “Class of ‘03 still cares.” Tristan Rodriguez, a past member of the Bowie student council, commented on the importance of our courtyard tree.

“This tree not only represents the beauty that defines Bowie, but it is also the binding that holds the place together; without that tree there is no Bowie High School,” Rodriguez said.