In case you are wondering what the unusual activity going on around the Belser Arboretum is in the next month or so, it is a contractor working for the City of Columbia. Apparently, multiple sewer pipes that run underneath and through the Arboretum are in a state of disrepair and collapse.


The City has contracted with a private company to make the repairs using sophisticated remote drilling and tunneling. The promise and hope is that there will be no need to do more actual digging within the Arboretum, thus avoiding further damage to the ecosystems and plant communities that have been so carefully nurtured by Dr. DeCoursey.

Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!