Help Save Elise (Live Oak Tree)

Help Save Elise ...

Elise is a 200+ year old live oak tree living in Morgan City, Louisiana. She is like many of the women in my family who have lived in the home under her branches and nurtured and cared for her. She symbolizes strength, wisdom, endurance, beauty. She has stood tall and proud through countless hurricanes and floods, droughts, pollution, and man-made encroachments. Yet her resilience and will to thrive is remarkable! She stands at one of the busiest crossroads in the city, a symbol of protection, emphasizing our shared journeys and our connections to the earth.

Elise took a big hit recently when we experienced very high winds. One of the main limbs from the trunk was broken from the tree. This limb branched out into four other giant limbs, spanning more than 30 feet. She has some termite damage as well as a huge open wound, but the arborist thinks with the proper care, she can be saved and continue to thrive for many more years.

My name is Deborah, and I am the current care taker (owner) of the property and of Elise and her “husband” tree Jacques who lives on the other side of the home. I am the 5th generation of my family to shelter under these majestic oaks. Like the oaks named after my ancestors, I consider myself to be strong, resilient, standing proud.

I am humbling myself to ask for your help. I love these trees so much, I will scrape and save and go into debt to protect them, but with your help, maybe that debt won’t be so large. Without it, I'll need to secure a loan that will take me years to repay. Your help and contribution will be so greatly appreciated.

If you have ever looked into the branches of this tree and felt the calmness of her spirit envelop you, if you’ve ever stopped on your walk and sheltered in her shade, if you think like I do that losing a gorgeous grand dame of an oak tree like Elise is just not to be imagined, then please consider donating to the cause. We as a modern-day society are losing too many of our old century oaks to urban sprawl, neglect, and expediency. The easy answer is to take her down; and the cheapest. But no one ever accused me of taking the easy road. Elise needs immediate help to be saved, but Jacques also needs some professional attention so that he doesn’t develop the same issues as Elise. Every dollar will help and will first go directly to saving Elise, and then to the care of Jacques so that both of these beautiful trees can continue to thrive for generations to come.

Thank you from my roots to the top of my crown.