In honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day the Horticulture and Grounds Department will help two student organizations host a tree planting. Grassroots hosted a tree planting on April 18, 2014 as part of their annual Earth Day celebration. A swiss stone pine was planted on the hill between Fauver Stadium and Susan B. Anthony Hall. Afterwards, the Manager of Horticulture and Grounds, Dan Schied provided a tree tour discussing the horticulture history of the campus and the story behind some unique trees on campus.
GreenSpace will also hold a tree planting on Arbor Day, April 25, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. An ornamental spruce tree will be planted along the Genesee River near the footbridge. GreenSpace plants a tree each Arbor Day in dedication of the freshmen class. Vice President of GreenSpace Rose Richter explained that “GreenSpace hopes that by planting more trees, our community will reduce its overall carbon footprint and invite members of the campus community to come together to not only contribute to the beauty on campus, but also to encourage community members to respect the environment.” While the planting is officially in honor of the class of 2017, everyone is welcome to attend.
The Horticulture and Grounds Department has helped student organizations host tree plantings for the past 10 years. Schied explained, “We’ll provide a tree to a student group wanting to do an Earth Day or Arbor Day activity.” Grassroots initially contacted the Horticulture and Grounds Department, but many other student organizations have followed suit. Due to this partnership two to three full-grown trees are now planted each year in honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day. Schied finds this partnership significantly rewarding. “I like hanging out with the students,” he said. “I like the energy and I like the fact that we’re all working together to make a difference.”
The funds to purchase and plant the trees come from the University’s ink jet recycling program. The University sends its empty cartridges to Imagine It … Fundraising Through Recycling who gives the University a rebate for the recyclables. This rebate is then allocated towards planting trees on celebratory occasions. Schied said, “We thought that the student involvement in the ink jet recycling program followed by the tree planting was a full circle activity linking the value of recycling directly back to the environment and helping our carbon footprint.”
Written by Abigail Fagan, class of 2014.
