Apple Park's Senior Arborist Recalls Meeting Steve Jobs, Sourcing 9K Trees Over 7 Years

although apple park has opened small group of employees, site's buildings , landscaping remain in ongoing construction around campus. in new interview backchannel, apple park's senior arborist, david muffly, has provided insight work it's taken choose, locate, , plant 9,000 trees @ apple park, detailed first interactions former apple ceo steve jobs.

jobs discovered muffly's work during walks take around large satellite dish on stanford's campus, admiring went hundreds of native oak trees along path. made apple headhunters find arborist responsible planting trees, leading muffly, @ time working job pruning lemon trees in menlo park.

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david muffly​

2 said have hit off "within 20 minutes of meeting," jobs described see grand opening 7 years later apple park. muffly , jobs met in 2010, , in 2011 muffly granted official title of "senior arborist" @ apple.

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within 20 minutes of meeting, clear arborist , technologist on same wavelength trees. jobs told muffly wanted create microcosm of old silicon valley, landscape reenactment of days when cradle of digital disruption had more fruit trees engineers.

in 1 sense, building ecological preservation project; in sense, it'd roman clef written in soil, bark, , blossom. muffly, had been sensitive native growth of region years, got immediately. "that's i've been doing -- planting fruit trees, oak trees," said.

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eventually, muffly shown design drawings of apple park , arborist realized full scope of project. while thousands of workers focusing on construction of campus' architecture, , small team of landscaping experts face full brunt of responsibility jobs considered 1 of important parts of site: trees.

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and began sense of massiveness of project -- hundreds of architects , untold numbers of contractors wind working on building, edifice might become iconic california pyramids egypt. campus meant statement on nature. , job.

yeah, there's building, thought. there's lot more trees buildings. there's going be, like, 5,000 people making building. , it's going me , friends doing trees. "so right off bat, like, whoooaa. real gets."

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muffly began working philadelphia-based landscape architecture firm the olin studio make jobs' vision reality @ apple park. team agreed apple park should stocked trees , greenery "that might thrive in drought conditions brought climate change," diversifying variety of trees on campus native trees backbone of ecosystem , less common genetics dispersed throughout apple park.

muffly worked jobs in planning of apple's new campus, before late ceo's passing in 2011, impressed jobs' knowledge of trees. "he had better sense arborists," muffly said, , @ official pitch cupertino city council, jobs promised increase 3,700 trees on site 6,000 before project's completion.

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fill revised goal of 9,000 trees on site, muffly scoured christmas tree farms across california.

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...when muffly began work, realized (non-indigenous) existing trees have go. "it junk trees , parking lots here," says. "so long process. on next year or so. surveyed trees , picked out hundred of them felt worth moving. , had stretch hundred out of [roughly 4,000] existing trees."

muffly looked @ redwoods @ abandoned christmas tree farms on skyline, soil rocky grow them apple's specifications. "so sent little tree elves me, telling them need big trees can transport site. next thing know we're finding these in 2 abandoned christmas tree farms in mojave desert, yermo, , adelanto. knew there christmas tree farms in mojave?" apple bought yermo site.

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of landscaping work apple park created shortages other companies attempting buy trees in area, report san francisco chronicle earlier year stating that, "buying trees surprisingly cutthroat business."

in behind-the-scenes @ apple park last month, 1 architect reminisced jobs' particular fondness trees: late ceo, "trees beautiful bits of art," said architect stefan behling. "he used say, 'the amazing thing trees doesn't matter how rich are: can never buy old, beautiful tree.'"

can read full backchannel interview david muffly right here.

article link: apple park's senior arborist recalls meeting steve jobs, sourcing 9k trees on 7 years

 

david miffly...

name that, should more child in need of baf.

 

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