This cache was placed as part of an Eagle Scout Project with Auburn Boy Scout Troop 50 in November 2016. The project involved work on the Celebration Grove Tree Trail that was created by the Auburn Tree Commission in the late 1990s. Auburn was first named a "Tree City USA" in 1984, one of the first cities in Alabama to earn this designation. The Eagle Project involved adding addition benches along the trail, replacing the tree plaques with their plinths, the creation of a directional and numbering system to find the trees, and the identification of their species. A map and QR code is available at the trailhead kiosk to assist in finding the individual tree locations.
The first stage coordinates (N 32⁰ 35.150 W 085⁰ 32.743) will take you to the Leyland cypress tree placed in memory of Chaz. A member of the evergreen family, the Leyland cypress is a fast-growing conical tree that can be used for privacy fences, median planting, buffer strips or Christmas trees. According to the United States Forest Service, Leyland cypress trees reach a height of 50 feet in the western United States, and grow somewhat shorter in the eastern United States. These trees grow 3 to 4 feet per year and have a spread of 15 to 25 feet. While Leyland cypress trees aren't native to the United States, they can be found throughout the western and eastern coasts and in the southern central states.
Using the number on the plaque that identifies the tree, insert the number in place of the XX in the following coordinates - N 32⁰ 35.3XX
The second stage coordinates (N 32⁰ 35.176 W 085⁰ 32.644) will take you to the Chinese Fringetree placed in memory of Tope Cope. Fringetrees are outstanding, small, deciduous ornamental trees. The botanical name translates as snow flower, an excellent description of the fluffy, white flowers that cover fringetrees in bloom. The Chinese fringetree is native to eastern Asia. Fringetrees naturally grow with multiple stems, but can be trained to single trunks. The typical form is spreading with an open crown, but plant habit can vary. Fringetrees grow slowly, usually only 6 to 10 inches per year. In ideal conditions with rich, moist, fertile soil they may grow up to one foot per year.
Using the number on the plaque that identifies the tree, insert the number in place of the YY in the following coordinates - W 085⁰ 32.5YY
Using these coordinates you will now be able to find the location of the final cache.