“Tree Guru” sees magic in limbs

Bob shows off a Bignay tree (Antidesma bunnis). It grows in northern Africa and is rumored to have supported the troops there during the Second World War. The berries are eatable and make a very tasty wine. They also have the interesting trait of tasting differently to each person. Our individual DNA will dictate weather the fruit will taste sweet or bitter. The leaves are also edible right off the tree, they may not be very good to us now but to soldiers that were marching a long way said they tasted like lettuce, were quite nutritious and could be chewed a long time. Photo by Taylor Edwin

Colorful butterflies flutter while lizards dart amid the tropical blooms and vines. Coastal breezes rustle palm fronds, providing the natural music amid the lush 83 acres known as Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

This tranquil oasis exists in the middle of Florida’s most populous county, where Bob Brennan, Fairchild’s chief arborist, is happy to hang his hat.

Dubbed the “Tree Guru” for both his knowledge and passion, Brennan loves teaching about and working with trees. His journey to guru status began at the age of 16; Brennan would charge $10 to trim his neighbors’ coconut palms in the Grove. Brennan attended Silver Bluff Elementary School, Coral Gables High School and graduated with an associate’s degree from Miami Dade College.

A local resident since 1963, Brennan, 57, learned about tropical vegetation and has become involved with Miami’s environmental projects. As chairman of the  Miami Tree Canopy Committee, Brennan heads the group of local residents and city employees whose mission is to replant some of the half million trees lost in the last decade.

“There are a number of very active members of Coconut Grove that consistently work to protect our canopy,” Brennan said.

At Fairchild, Brennan’s job is “to look for and eliminate problems before they become dangerous.”  So he looks for dead limbs or trees with branches that could fail.

Brennan said he must look for things that most people would not see in a garden, paying “close attention to symptoms and signs of tree diseases.”

When he is not monitoring tree health, Brennan can be found “pruning to improve vistas and views” at the garden, he said. On the 83 acres, Brennan estimated that he cares for “some 2,500 trees.”

Bob looks at some resurrection ferns on an Oak tree (Quercus virginiania). This fern will survive many months, even years without water. The resurrection fern dries up and turns brown and waits until the rain or water comes again. The photo was taken the day after a tremendous rain that is why the green in the leaves is so vibrant. That tree is in the south parking lot near the original watchman

An avocado tree that he planted in his own backyard almost 10 years ago is Brennan’s favorite tree in Coconut Grove. But he calls the Kapok tree that sits in Ye Little Wood, at the end of Trapp Avenue at Freeman Street, one of “the coolest” in the Grove. For years, community members have fought for the tree’s protection against developers who wanted to demolish it.

The trees in Miami are special, he said. Beneath our feet is “two inches of soil, give or take, and below it is solid limestone rock… Colonel Robert Montgomery [an early resident] said he was amazed at what would grow in just two inches of soil,” Brennan said. “It’s like magic.”

Brennan stressed the importance of preserving the Grove’s trees in a recent interview. “No one tree is going to save us or protect us, it is all of them,” Brennan said.

Most people know that trees provide shade, food, and air. As a tree lover, Brennan is most passionate about teaching those who think they know about trees that there is so much more for them to learn.

“We almost never give our trees enough space and then we complain about the roots in our driveway or on our sidewalks. What do we do? We cut the tree down instead of reengineering the sidewalk,” an exasperated Brennan said.

Brennan’s credits “a few hundred seminars,” thorough reading and various mentors for his extensive tree knowledge. He plays a major role in taking care of not just the trees at Fairchild Tropical Gardens, but those throughout Miami.

His supervisor at Fairchild, Ricardo Aberle, explained that Brennan is always trying to learn something new. He teaches and shares his knowledge so that all generations can learn from him, Aberle said.

“He is a very good person and a very funny man,” Aberle added. “That is important too.”