Branching out for clean air…

Horticulturist Fred Breglia preaches

saving forests can protect environment

By TOM KEYSER, Staff writer
First published: Sunday, October 5, 2008

 

The branches of Breglia’s life run through this majestic tree — his youth, his love, his fervor for protecting the environment and saving the planet. Whether it’s his work here running the Landis Arboretum in Schoharie County, his campaign to save old forests, his art, his music or his rigorous explorations of mountains and caves, the Great Oak infuses every aspect of Breglia’s life.

It represents the giant trees at which he marveled as a boy exploring the hills around his family home in Richmondville, 30 miles to the west. It is the sacred spot that he and his wife chose for their marriage in July. And it stands with all the other old trees that Breglia works to preserve and the forests that lure him in for fun, research and nourishment.

“It’s more than just going out in the woods,” Breglia says. “It’s sort of like going to church.”

Lanky and bearded, a ball cap pulled tight on his head, Breglia, 34, preaches whenever he gets the chance. The gospel according to Breglia is that what’s happening to the environment is like the Titanic disaster.

“We’re heading toward an impending environmental crash of a magnitude that I don’t think most people have any idea of,” he says. “The amount of carbon that we put out every year is increasing exponentially. Yet the very mechanisms that we use to take that carbon out of the air — trees are nothing but big, giant carbon sponges — are going away at an alarming rate.

“The more we can do to slow it down, the more we can spread the awareness to the common folk, the more we can do to train our youth to become botanists and horticulturists, the more prepared we’ll be, and the less impact it will have.”

That’s why the Landis Arboretum and other arboretums are so important, Breglia says.  “We’re bringing kids in, school groups,” he says. “It’s like me when I was a little kid, gazing up at the big trees. We bring countless kids up here to this Great Oak. They are amazed, especially the young ones. They look at that thing and go, ‘Wow.’ ”

Breglia grew up being amazed by the big trees, hiking and gardening with his parents and participating in Boy Scouts with his father. He mowed lawns and trimmed hedges and trees. He went to college to study environmentalism but ended up working for a landscaper who planted trees and shrubs with no regard as to where they would best grow; many were likely to die after their year’s guarantee. He also worked at a large production nursery that sprayed chemicals on plants that showed no sign of disease.

“I made a decision to get out of the commercial world and focus on something that, to me, was more meaningful,” he says. “The mission statement of the arboretum appealed to me: To foster the appreciation of trees and other plants and their importance in our environment.”

Breglia took a job there 10 years ago as director of horticulture and operations. When he started, the arboretum consisted of 97 neglected acres. He directed its revival and expansion to 548 acres through land donations and acquisitions. And he identified and mapped about 1,500 species of shrubs and trees, including 17 species of Northeast oaks.

The arboretum now participates in national programs to preserve species of plants and share data with some of the most prestigious arboretums in the country. The American Public Garden Association, which is international in scope, has recognized the arboretum as having one of the premier collections of Northeast oaks in the country.

“Because of Fred and the prominence that’s placed on our oak collection, we are now internationally known,” says Thom O’Connor, executive director of Landis Arboretum for the past three years. “I had heard of Fred before I came here, but what I didn’t really get was the depth of sincerity and passion that Fred has for what he does.

“He has a calmness that’s hard to describe. I don’t know what his spiritual beliefs are. But whatever they are, they keep him anchored.”   Breglia says his spiritual beliefs are simple: “I like to say that God is nature. It’s all around you all the time.”

Multi-faceted and multi-talented, Breglia is a modern-day renaissance man, says David Yarrow, his partner in the New York Old Growth Forest Association. And yet, Yarrow says, “Fred’s just a country boy who cares for the land and is trying to live a simple life doing what’s right for the earth.” They co-founded the association in 2000 to protect the state’s biggest and oldest trees and to record and measure them for state and national “champion tree” (biggest tree) registers. As president of the association, Breglia worked hard for passage of a bill, signed into law last month by Gov. David Peterson, that will protect old forests on public land.

“It’s sort of like the old saying, ‘Respect your elders,’ ” Breglia says. “Trees are the largest and oldest living organisms on the earth. And to think an acorn or a little seedling can produce that mass of plant. They’ve witnessed countless storms, stood the test of time, and they are still here — and could still be here long after we’re gone.”

He tries to make sure of that. He urged his audiences to write letters supporting the old-growth-forest bill whenever his band, Controlled Chaos, played its blend of bluegrass, blues and jazz. Breglia plays the guitar, mandolin and harmonica.

He creates artwork with a message. A painting, titled “Global Warming,” depicts an oak tree burning in hell. A three-dimensional piece, “Stuck,” shows distressed faces cast in plaster.

“It’s me and my wife and other people, like-minded, who feel like we’re trapped in the system and have no easy way out of it,” he says. “I call it my tribute to Exxon: I’m totally against it, yet I’m still filling up my tank every week.”

And when he’s not spreading the gospel he’s living it — climbing mountains, mountain biking, skiing, exploring caves. After getting married under the Great Oak, he and his wife, Erin, spent their honeymoon at Glacier National Park, hiking more than 10 miles every day and sleeping in a tent.

“I know we’re not going to change the world single-handedly,” Breglia says. “But I feel really positive about being part of the solution. Taking that to bed at night is easy.”

Tom Keyser can be reached at 454-5448 or by e-mail at tkeyser@timesunion.com.

`Landis Arboretum

• What: 548 acres dedicated to trails, trees and shrubs from around the world, two old-growth forests and year-round events.
• Where: 174 Lape Road, Esperance, Schoharie County (just across the Schenectady County line)
• When: Open every day, dusk to dawn
• Admission: suggested donation: $5
• Web site: http://www.landisarboretum.org/
• Phone: 875-6935

Fred’s Favorite Regional Old Growth Forest Hikes

1. Landis Arboretum, Esperance. Begin at the Meeting House and walk the woodland trail through Ancient Forest No. 1 on your way to the Great Oak. Take the Acorn Trail to the Ancient Forest Trail. This takes you on a lovely woodland walk to Ancient Forest No. 2 and you can loop back via the Acorn Trail and then the Willow Pond Trail, which offers a tour of all of New York state native woody plants.

 2. The Long Path, Middleburgh. A favorite hike to some of the oldest red cedars in Northeast. The trails is accessed from Main Street by following the aqua blazes and heads up the mountain. At the top are some living bonsai trees (red cedars) that are upwards of 600 years old. Vroman’s Nose in Middleburgh is nice as well and has some old cedars, in the 250 plus years range. Visit http://www.nynjtc.org/trails/longpath/index.html for more information.

 3. Lisha Kill Nature Preserve, Niskayuna. Visit http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Lisha_Kill_0160.asp for more information.

 4. Old Maids Woods, Rotterdam. Features of some of the largest and oldest black oaks in the region. Access from Schermerhorn Road near Exit 2B off I-890.

 

 

FRED BREGLIA shortens his vigorous stride as he crests the hill that bears the Great Oak. He looks up with reverence at the twisted limbs and gnarled trunk that have lived for more than 400 years.

Used By Permission, Times Union, Albany, NY