Douglas Day can see The Woodlands for the trees.

As construction vehicles rumble around him, the president of St. Barnabas Communities stands in the shade of a European beech and smiles.

"We've gone to great lengths to build our carriage homes with respect to the lay of the land," Day says, "and to the trees."

Instead of clear-cutting the forest to make room for new development, St. Barnabas is incorporating Mother Nature into its expansion plans by identifying and preserving notable timbers, dubbed "Treasure Trees."

"There's not a week that goes by that we haven't talked about a tree or two in our on-site construction meetings," Day admits, rapping his knuckles against the beech's thick trunk.

The health system has a long history of environmental conservation.

In 1919, when Gouverneur P. Hance built the St. Barnabas Free Care Home in Richland Township, he beautified the grounds with walking trails, ponds and contemplation areas, giving patients a sense of peace. Through careful planning, Day hopes to keep Hance's vision alive and provide a verdant oasis for residents now and in the future.

About 10 years ago, St. Barnabas hired arborist George Pegher to care for the trees and woody plants on its two suburban campuses, which occupy 500 acres in Gibsonia and Valencia. For Pegher, a Penn State graduate who's been in the business more than 30 years, it's a dream job.

"There's a difference between a for-profit developer and somebody who has a broader vision for the property," he says. "It's exciting to see people taking an interest in the value of trees."

His crew plants saplings, prunes and fertilizes existing trees and protects them all against disease, insects and deer. At least once a week, Pegher personally inspects the property, which, in the fall, is a kaleidoscope of red, orange, yellow and brown.

In 2006, St. Barnabas asked the aborist to tackle another project: assessing its latest acquisition, a 107-acre parcel that once served as the Lillian Taylor Camp. The year before, Day had toured the site on foot, trudging through a dense, snow-covered pine forest, in awe of his surroundings.

"I'm not a tree expert, but I could see that we had something special here," he says Pegher identified Treasure Trees worthy of preservation and, based upon their size, species and location, assigned them a numerical value and a global positioning system coordinate. Now, when contractors are preparing the site for construction, they'll know not to disrupt certain trees.

The Woodlands, a retirement community that will eventually grow to include 300 one-story houses, is a prime example of St. Barnabas' ecological development approach.

Upon entering the neighborhood, visitors are greeted by a row of stately sycamores. Silver maples line Timbercrest Trail. Stonewall Boulevard boasts a grove of 50 towering evergreens. Laurel Oak Drive was named after the 100-year-old behemoth located at the end of the winding road.

By tweaking the blueprints, all of the aforementioned trees were spared the chain saw.

"We moved the whole master plan back about 75 feet," Day says. "At the time, St. Barnabas Land Development Team members were the only ones who thought this type of shoehorn construction would prove worthy."

Day now works hand-in-hand with his architect, contractor and local utility companies. Unfortunately, saving trees doesn't always save money. Clear-cutting is an economical choice for most developers who want a flat expanse on which to erect as many buildings as possible.

But Day is more interested in quality than quantity.

"We could build faster if we took shortcuts with the land, but we refuse to do that," he says.

St. Barnabas could've squeezed another unit into The Woodlands, but the development team preferred to keep the European beech, an old and unique specimen that ranked first on Pegher's list.

Reaching out like skeletal fingers, the branches hang over a nearby porch, providing shade and a home for songbirds. It's an idyllic setting, one that St. Barnabas hopes will attract retirees.

In the future, Day plans to develop a walking brochure so residents and scouting troops could explore the grounds and learn more about Treasure Trees as well as the non-native species introduced by Pegher.

St. Barnabas isn't about to change its emblem from a bell tower to a birch, but the institution is making a conscious effort to stay green.

"We're not doing this so we're known for saving trees," Day says. "We want to be an example. Hopefully we'll inspire other developers to do the same thing."