To the Editor:

If you drive along Alexander Road past all the new construction, you will notice a very large number of newly planted trees that are dying. This does not surprise me as I had watched the planting methods with dismay. It was obvious that whoever was assigned to put these trees in the ground did not know how to do it. So, since Princeton University has a substantial budget to replace them, if the same planting methods are again used, the result will be the same also — more dead or unhealthy trees. What I don’t understand is why doesn’t the University’s Office of Sustainability include all aspects of concerns and expertise as in:

• using sustainable planting techniques;

• using native plant species for low maintenance landscaping;

• use of organic fertilizers and no use of soil poisoning pesticides/herbicides;

• teaching their landscaping employees best maintenance methods.

It is not only the University that doesn’t train its employees, I see it all over our community in the methods used by most of the landscaping businesses. As contrasted with the simple task of keeping your grass at a three-inch height which then crowds out weeds and requires much less watering; not piling four or more inches of mulch right up against the surface of a tree or bush which then weakens its health and shortens its life; not constantly spilling poisonous chemicals on the ground that destroy the natural and healthy soil balance; not using weed wackers to shear plant growth down to bare earth, thus killing the plants and creating circumstances for erosion. These are just some of the alternatives to use. It is simply a matter of knowing that there are better, simpler, cost effective, and healthier choices for keeping our gardens flourishing and then putting them in to practice.

Judith Robinson,

Salem Court