Pigeon Oaks

Pigeon Oaks. .

"Men still live who, in their youth, remember the pigeons. Trees still live who, in their youth, were shaken by a living wind. But a decade hence, only the oldest oaks will remember, and in time only the hills will know." , -Aldo Leopold, 1947

, Once the most numerous species of bird on earth, during the 1800s the passenger pigeon (ectopistes migratorius) crossed central Ohio in flocks of millions. A century after their extinction, the memory of this "feathered river across the sky" remains in the ancient oaks of Green Lawn Cemetery. As young trees, their limbs were broken under the weight of pigeon flocks, and the pigeons ate from their mast and fertilized their roots. It is even possible that some were planted as a result of this activity!, Unfortunately, Aldo Leopold's words were prescient; for no men remain who remember the pigeon, and with each passing storm the memory of our ancient oaks likewise fades., On the centennial of the passenger pigeons' extinction, we hereby dedicate this stone and plant this oak to carry their memory and lesson to future generations.