保护林冠

Don’t ask 汤姆Bythell to choose a favorite tree on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. 这位大学的树艺师兼森林管理员照顾卡罗来纳州的树木，就像照顾自己的孩子一样.

“每棵树都有自己的特点，我知道并热爱它们，”贝塞尔说. “就像孩子, some of the trees always wake up late but eventually flower, while others are the first to arrive.”

Bythell often walks around campus, assessing the health of trees. 他说：“每当我转弯时，我都会屏住呼吸，希望每棵树都还在茁壮成长。.

多亏了拜塞尔，校园和大学外围的树木和森林才得以蓬勃发展. 负责40余人,000棵树, Bythell还担任资本项目的地面联络员，并监督负责景观害虫管理的15名员工, 理由是回收, 灌溉维护, 节约用水, Carolina North Forest and parking lot landscape maintenance.

But Bythell’s impact far exceeds his job description. During his 22 years at Carolina, Bythell has introduced many innovations, including an air-spade technology for invigorating aging trees by loosening packed roots; a program for giving second life to downed campus trees; and a program for replanting shade trees using construction-impact fees. His walking tours are legendary. Bythell has even saved more than 15 campus beehives.

For his passion and commitment to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, where trees are a defining feature, Bythell is one of six Carolina employees to win the 2020 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards.

“汤姆对校园景观的管理是坚定不移的——无论是保护戴维杨树还是我们的历史树木, 随时随地清理楼梯和人行道上的冰雪，或者在飓风过后清理倒在地上的树枝,塞西莉亚·摩尔说, who retired as University historian last year. 当校友们描述校园时，他们谈论的是低矮的石墙、砖砌的人行道和长满草的庭院. We have entrusted Tom with these symbols of Carolina.”

会爬树的男孩

During his childhood in central New Jersey, Bythell spent many of his days in the woods, where he was especially drawn to trees. “我总是爬上去，把大人们吓得魂飞梦萦，”他说. 在高中美术课上，贝塞尔的油画和素描不可避免地以树木为主题.

As a teenager, Bythell decided he wanted to be a park ranger. “我的计划是穿一件大的, floppy hat and ride around on a horse telling people about trees,他说.

带着这个目标，他进入了宾夕法尼亚州立大学，并于1980年获得了林业学位. “当我在大学的时候，我意识到我对林业的想法是完全错误的，”他说. “A forester is a tree harvester, 他们主要关心的是“我能从这片土地上得到多少木材和产品？?’”

Bythell decided arboriculture was a better career match. 他说：“树艺师是一个享受、热爱和关心环境的树医。. “Our main goal is keeping trees healthy.”

Keeping trees healthy has been Bythell’s goal ever since. 毕业后，他在新泽西州各个公园的青年保护队工作. He then spent 16 years climbing, pruning and felling dying trees for two different New Jersey tree companies. In 1986, he became head arborist at Princeton University.

成为穷光蛋

After nearly six years at Princeton, 贝塞尔和他的妻子, Madelyn — fed up with New Jersey’s high cost of living, onerous property taxes and constant traffic — moved to the Triangle, Bythell在一家树木公司找到了工作，后来又在当地的退休社区找到了工作.

When the job of UNC-Chapel Hill arborist and forest manager opened, Bythell jumped at the opportunity. 20多年后，他仍然担任着同样的职务，不过职务范围已经大大扩大.

When Bythell arrives at work, he never knows what the day will hold. He manages his maintenance crews, 经常巡视校园，更新地面部的数字地图程序, which includes the location of historic trees, the campus irrigation systems and even active fire-ant mounds.

Caring for the trees is always at the forefront of his mind. He trains his crews to monitor the canopy. “我有80双眼睛，确保我知道任何潜在的问题，”他说.

“校园和树木之间一直存在着巨大的联系，”Bythell说. “当你想到大卫白杨——大学生活的象征——每一个从校园毕业的学生都与那棵树有某种联系, 走过它或触摸它. 在230年的历史中，我们都能经历同样的生活，这一事实令我感到羞愧.”

永远的校园

拜塞尔很快意识到，卡罗来纳州树木面临的最大风险之一来自于大学自身不可避免的增长. In 2003, during a period of substantial building and renovation, 当时的财政大臣詹姆斯·莫塞尔任命贝塞尔为遗产树木和景观特别工作组的联合主席. Bythell推动了一项树木保护计划的建立，该计划要求校园里的每个建筑项目都要包括一个可能影响到每棵树的计划. 从那时起, his counterparts at a dozen prominent universities have contacted him to ask, “how the hell I managed to do that,贝塞尔说.

他说：“在我们创建这个项目之前，由于建筑工程，校园里到处都是树木。. Saving trees may add to construction costs, but those costs are worthwhile, “because it takes 100 years to grow a fantastic tree.”

When one of Carolina’s trees falls in a storm or dies of natural causes, 这还不是结束, 拜塞尔所赐. In 2017, he began directing the fallen giants to the BeAM program, 在那里，学生们把木头做成笔和其他小物品，捐给大学捐赠者和其他人.

And last year, he collaborated with Michael Everhart, ’13, M.A. ’19, to create the Carolina TreeCycle program, which repurposes campus lumber — including an enormous post oak, 比大学更古老, that fell two years ago — for use by the Carolina community. “The legacy of that tree is priceless, and the gorgeous lumber is worth tens of thousands of dollars,贝塞尔说. “That can now become a special conference table or have another meaningful use.”

“汤姆代表了我们在公务员身上可能拥有的最纯粹的理想和抱负,埃弗哈特说. “他通过对待员工，以最真实的方式致力于北卡罗来纳大学的使命——为了大学的改善而放弃个人利益, 他的同事, 学生和其他人. We all appreciate the trees as they are alive, many of us barely noticing them as individuals, 然而，我们所有人都受益于他们给校园带来的宏伟和地方感.”

尤其令人感动的是，Bythell的女儿提名她的父亲为梅西奖（Massey Award），以表彰他对卡罗莱纳树木的照顾. “我知道我父亲热爱他的工作，没有其他地方他更喜欢,阿比盖尔·贝塞尔说, ’17. “I personally know that our campus is one of the reasons I love UNC so much. 因为他的工作和对工作的热情，我的父亲是我最伟大的榜样之一.”

“I am trying to make the campus beautiful not just for today’s staff, 学生和教师，也为50年或100年后在这里的人们,贝塞尔说. “A tree can get pretty big in 50 years, 这对你我来说似乎很多，但对一个有200多年历史的大学校园来说就不算什么了. I see UNC as a forever campus that is always going to be filled with trees.”

Visit 油井 for more profiles of the 2020 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards winners.