The St. Ignatius campus is blessed with an abundance of trees providing both beauty year around and shade during our warm months. Trees were an important consideration when preparing our master plan for the campus. The plan calls for removing some of our trees and makes provision for adding many new ones.

Recently, we removed two water oaks along Spring Hill Avenue. These trees were diseased having previously dropped dead limbs onto the busy roadway. The City of Mobile removed one of these and we had the other removed.

Our Master Plan was approved by the City of Mobile Planning Commision after having been reviewed by the City Tree Commission. We showed the city the number, type, and location of each tree that we were removing. In addition, we showed the type and location of each new tree we were going to plant.

We are removing some trees to make way for the new church and reconfigured parking lot and driveway. Included in the list of trees to be removed are 7 of our signature live oaks. Four of these are located to the east of the “strip mall” rooms and 3 are located in the gym parking lot. Also being removed are a cedar tree and some pines and water oaks.

The 2 large live oak trees to the east and west of the current church will remain. The one to the west will be situated between the “old” and new church buildings. Both of these oaks will be very prominent when looking at the new church from Spring Hill Avenue. Six of the live oaks in the gym parking lot will also remain. Last week the tree surgeon selectively pruned these remaining trees and cordoned them off to prevent injury to them during construction.

With the assistance of St. Ignatius parishioner, David Schmohl with Jubileescape, we prepared a landscape plan calling for the addition of 42 new trees. Among these will be 14 sand live oaks that will line each side of a new main walkway that will run from the Marian Center all the way to the plaza fronting the new church. This will create a pedestrian “avenue of the oaks,” and will become a striking new feature of our landscape.

In addition, we will be planting 9 sweet bay magnolias, 7 Arnold tulip poplars, 3 Ginkgo trees, and 9 Japanese magnolias in the parking lots and in front of the east gym wall.