Gerardo Garcia swims at Barton Springs Pool every day. He said he enjoys the cool, and what he believes to be healing, waters that it offers.
On Wednesday night, Garcia's daily swim was tied to a celebration of life for Flo, the pool’s century-old pecan tree.
Flo is being removed on Thursday while the pool is closed to the public.
“It’s going to be a big loss,” Garcia said. “She provides shade and a comforting feeling."
According to city officials, Flo is one of the oldest trees in Austin at over 100 years old.
Flo has been on the north end of Barton Springs Pool with her very large trunk leaning over the deck and water. She kept her leaves green and lush as if the summer heat, and raging triple-digit temperatures, hadn’t had an impact for the last several months.
Under Flo there's a large metal structure with cables pulling on her very large branches. It's part of a support system that has been in place for a few decades to help sustain her, in part because Flo continued to arch.
She’s looked like this for as long as many people can remember.
But last month, Flo was diagnosed with a fatal fungal disease known as brittle cinder. The disease would cause her to eventually collapse.
Four different arborists consulted by the city recommended her removal.
Before Flo's removal, the city wanted to celebrate her. The 30-minute ceremony included a water blessing performed by Gary Perez from the Native American Church, plus stories about Flo's history and what she meant to people in the community.
Participants were also able to use Flo's bark and leaves to create art.
Garcia said he wanted to be part of the ceremony to pay his respects to the tree that has provided him, and many others, with memories at Barton Springs.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “[Flo’s] been here for so long. She has become a permanent part of the pool.”
But Garcia acknowledged removing her was probably for the best.
“I think these [arborists] are experts at what they do,” he said. “I don’t think they would take her out unless it was absolutely necessary.”
Longtime arborist Don Gardner, also consulted by the city, spoke on Wednesday evening. He has spent many years educating the public about tree care through classes and workshops at The Natural Gardener and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
He said he has experience with working with plants with brittle cinder fungus.
“What this disease does is it eats away at the root system of a tree and then the tree falls over," Gardner said.
But some community members organized against cutting Flo down, and they successfully delayed its removal for almost a month.
The area of the pool and sidewalk under the tree have been blocked off for weeks while the city considered its options, including keeping her with additional support.
That option was supported by the group Save Our Springs Alliance. The group sent dozens of emails to city leaders urging them to keep Flo where she was. They believe that with some additional work to the support structure she could continue to stand for a very long time.
Members of the Save Our Springs Alliance showed up to Wednesday's ceremony hoping to make one last push to prevent Flo's removal.
But Guy LeBlanc, who was among four arborists hired by the city to inspect the tree, told KUT last month that the city could put structures in the tree to further support it, "but it wouldn't be enough in terms of public safety to do that because of the very high traffic that is in that area.”
Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly McNeeley agreed.
“A tree of this size in an area of high use, even with barricades blocking access, is a life-safety hazard,” McNeeley said in a city memo earlier this week.
The city’s structural engineer also evaluated the tree and found that “the existing tree is not structurally sound resulting in imminent failure."
McNeeley said the parks department would engage with the community to find ways to memorialize Flo. During Wednesday's ceremony, visitors could get a jump start on that and submit ideas on how to best honor her.
Some of the ideas include erecting a sculpture in the same spot that she sat, as well as using her remains in art pieces and spreading some of her bark and leaves to fertilize other trees.
Garcia, like many others who were at the pool on Wednesday night, took one last swim with Flo sitting just nearby.
“It is sad, but I understand why,” he said.
