Personal Bio:

Faculty Bio: A. David McNab was a beloved, long-time educator at Moses Brown Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island, where he taught for 35 years before retiring in 2008. Over his three and a half decades at the school, he dynamically transitioned his curriculum to meet changing times, starting initially as a science teacher before moving into technology and computer science. Deeply rooted in his Quaker faith, Dave was widely remembered by colleagues and students as a gentle, humorous, and anchoring presence who always sought out the inner goodness in everyone. Beyond his core subjects, he actively engaged in campus life by supervising hands-on student woodworking projects, organizing trust-building ropes courses, and accompanying students on numerous team trips. He was also a passionate advocate for diversity, peace, and social justice, dedicating much of his personal time outside the classroom to supporting LGBTQ youth through organizations like PFLAG and YouthPride.

Silver Birch:

Scientific Name

Betula pendula

Family

Betulaceae

Description

Silver birch (also known as European White Birch) is a rapidly growing, deciduous tree in the birch family (Betulaceae), native to Europe and Asia. It has a pyramidal form when young, becoming more oval as it matures, and is noted for its striking white bark that exfoliates in papery strips and its drooping, pendulous branches.

Leaves are simple, alternate, ovate, to 2.5 inches long, with long tapered tips and doubly serrate margins. Fall color is usually an undistinguished greenish-yellow.

Bark is smooth and white, developing its characteristic color at an early age. Young twigs are warty and brown; larger branches display showy, bright white bark.

Stems are brown to gray-silver, non-aromatic, and often drooping on younger growth.

Flowers are tiny, monoecious catkins appearing in early spring on the same tree: yellowish-brown male catkins up to 2.5 inches long droop gracefully, while greenish female catkins are smaller and upright. Flowers are less than 1/8 inch.

Fruits are drooping cone-like structures containing numerous small winged seeds that mature in late summer.

Other Common Names

Common Birch, European Birch, European Weeping Birch, European White Birch, Warty Birch

Size

Height: 30 ft. 0 in. – 50 ft. 0 in.

Width: 10 ft. 0 in. – 30 ft. 0 in.

Source: North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox