Way back in 1910, a storm hit Tucson, Ariz., uprooting a young tree. In the storm's aftermath, a little girl named Defina Bravo discovered the fallen sapling and replanted it. Since then, the tree has grown into a venerable giant that the locals call "Fina's Tree," and it still stands in the middle of downtown Tucson.

Congress street bends around this Champion - Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) tree, still thriving due to the planning and preservation efforts of former city engineer Glenton Sykes. Recently, a local landscaping firm, The Groundskeeper, donated a complete tree service for Fina's Tree as a "holiday gift" to the city.

"Lately the tree has been suffering from chronic drought stress, soil compaction, storm damage and competition with traffic," said Petr Chylik of the Groundskeeper Tree Service Division. "Our team of experienced arborists, ISA Certified Arborists, and ISA Certified Tree Workers, decided to donate our skills, knowledge and technology to benefit this magnificent tree in order to help preserve its heritage."

Fina's Tree currently stands an impressive 110 feet tall, with a 16-foot, 3.5-inch circumference, making it the biggest tree in the entire city. The Groundskeeper crew pruned its branches, removing all dead limbs and damaged sections.

"These corrective measures will prevent the decay spread and promote healthy growth while prolonging the life of the tree," said Chylik. "We can benefit the tree and keep it for many years to come as long as the City of Tucson Traffic Maintenance division will commit to supplying it with water on a regular basis. Our business partners at United Rentals agreed to donate the 60-foot boom lift to be used in conjuction with our climbers."

Although the city may have been neglecting the tree lately, Groundskeeper's donated work has drawn the community's attention, and Chylik expects them to take a more active role in preserving the tree's health.

"The city was thrilled with our gift because they didn't have the resources to take care of the tree," Chylik said. "This tree sits on the edge of the Rio Nuevo project, which is a downtown restoration project still in the planning stages. It will involve building a new downtown including shopping plaza, businesses, etc. So they were grateful to us for taking care of it. We also had two articles in local newspapers, as well as several radio station interviews."

Between its various divisions, Chylik says Groundskeeper performs at least three or four charity projects per year.