The  tree sculpture in the Sidney Stoneman Playground on the Esplanade should be finished in the next couple of weeks, according to Sylvia Salas, the executive director of the Esplanade Association. 

Last weekend 40 volunteers cleaned, raked and weeded, and painted the benches. In the next month, the Esplanade Association will be refreshing the landscape in the coming month.

The Stoneman Playground opened in 2001 and featured a distinctive oak tree with a special curved bench at its base. The tree has since died was cut back to a 15-foot-tall stump, which was turned into a sculpture by artist Mitch Ryerson. 

"By turning the dead tree into a sculpture, we avoid the expense and disruption to park users that would be caused by the removal of the trees large stump and root ball. It is wonderful to continue to make use of this fabulous old tree – one that has been in this location since the early days of the park. Work on the sculpture is in progress now and will be finished sometime this summer," the Esplanade Association says on its website.