Installing Lightning Protection at Arlington National Cemetery

Bartlett Tree Experts recently participated in the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) annual service event. As part of the event, Bartlett installed lightning protection in some of the historic oak trees at Arlington National Cemetery.

Arborist Climber Eli Swadener installed lightning protection on historic oak at Arlington National Cemetery.

Eli Swadener, an Arborist Climber from Manassas, Virginia, was quoted in an article, “Renewal and Rembrance Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Two Service Locations,” published by the NALP.

Swadener was one of 150 landscape industry professionals who volunteered their time and skills at Arlington National Cemetery on July 19 during NALP’s annual Renewal & Remembrance event. The event is held to honor the men and women buried there. Because his father and grandfather served in the military, Swadener said volunteering at Arlington meant a lot to him. “To be able to contribute and give back is so important and I’m so thankful for the opportunity,” he said.

Swadener installed lightning protection on some of the historic oak trees at Arlington National Cemetery during the event. “A lightning strike can be devastating to a tree in terms of opening up the inner tissue, the heartwood,” he said. “Sometimes it chars but that can result in rot and eventually that could result in structural damage that potentially could lead to it falling from some destructive force later on once it’s weakened. It’s very important for historic trees like this that take hundreds of years to grow.”

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