Apple Stories and Video of Sam Van Aken's Presentation

Students from EBIO 1250 are investigating evidence of wildlife along 100 foot transects at Columbia Cemetery.

Thank you to our apple community for helping to make our AppleBlitz 2021 a lovely success! 11 teams of students and researchers visited over 57 locations. Our volunteers returned to the CU Museum of Natural History full of stories and apples. Immediately following the AppleBlitz our community shared in a presentation by artist Sam Van Aken in the Paleo Hall of the recently re-opened museum. We are all looking forward to learning about top-working (a grafting process) apple trees as Sam creates several multi-grafted apple trees across Boulder County featuring the heritage varieties from our neighborhoods. We are especially excited to have one of those trees right on campus! Enjoy the recording of his presentation below!

Artist Sam Van Aken shares his work with AppleBlitz volunteers at the CU Museum of Natural History.

The AppleBlitz was also featured in the Boulder Daily Camera this week! Remember to stop by the CU Museum of Natural History to see the Apple Tree exhibit in the Tree Space.

One of my favorite aspects of this project is hearing stories from our community members about their favorite trees. I’m including one such story below with permission from Craig. I couldn’t include all the images he shared but please enjoy the Apple Nymph!

“Hi Apple Tree Lovers!

I grew up in Boulder from 1954 on and lived my childhood in our apple tree -- which is sadly gone now, cut down by the University. The house I grew up in at 1243 Grandview was sold by my folks to the university. They eventually sold it to a guy who moved it to 9th Street close to Marine Ave.

My wife and I have lived on Mapleton Hill since 1974. Our apple tree is still alive and producing. When we got married, the "tree" was more of a bush. You can see it behind my wife as she held up our wedding cake.

You can see a small apple in the bush just above the right side of the cake my wife made and is holding.

This is the wedding day dance that our apple tree-bush witnessed back in 1975.

After recovering from that day of dancing (blue grass band!), we cut the apple bush back to four major trunks.

When our children were old enough to enjoy acting in summer theatre, around the apple tree, we built a two-tiered stage with upper and lower acting platforms.

This is the main stage curtain with an apple nymph announcing the play.

The Apple Tree Theatre is no longer two-tiered. We took down the big theatre when our daughters moved on (one of them moved on to 3 movies in Hollywood.) Our four grandchildren have inherited the grassy stage beneath the old apple tree with a new main stage curtain!

Now days -- I'm retired from teaching at Whittier International School down on Pine St. -- I use the Boulder Daily Camera bags (I had on my bike when I was a delivery boy) ... to hold apples from my apple picking saunters around the neighborhood. Sooooo many great apple trees up here on Mapleton Hill.

Anyhoo, as an apple tree lover myself, I wanted to just say howdy and thank you for the work you're doing on the project.

Best wishes,

Craig Yager”