The Nearly Unkillable Eucalyptus Meets Its Match
Albany Hill was hit particularly hard in a blight that came for the Bay Area’s eucalyptuses in 2020. That year, eucalyptus trees began to suffer from a dieback—a creeping decline of mysterious origin that left the trees with blotchy, withered leaves. The trees struggled to photosynthesize, and without food, they began to waste away. Arborists hired by the city of Albany, which owns about half of the hill, deemed many of the brittle, drought-parched trees a fire and falling risk for residents and park visitors.
Now, the city parks department has had fifteen of the most decrepit and hazardous eucalyptus trees cut down and milled into wood chips and planks for use right on the hill itself. The wood chips are mulch, and the lumber will be installed as railings and retaining walls by Eagle Scout and Urban Tilth trail crews.
The removal of blue gums on Albany Hill is just the latest chapter in the saga of one of California’s most controversial invasive species.