The trees at Furman are an iconic feature. They provide a beauty which has students smiling even on the way to their 8:30s. But as it turns out, many of these trees are diseased.
According to Bruce Fox, Furman’s chief horticulturist, there is disease among the trees, and we are reaching a state where some of the trees are hazardous, though it is not rampant.
“A few of them are in decline,” said Fox. While people are the number one priority, “We don’t take any trees down until we have a certified arborist that says this tree is dangerous.”
This was the case in the Greenbelt where at the beginning of the year there was a noticeable absence of trees above and around cabins.
“Those trees, I’m surprised they lasted as long as they did,” Fox said.
The potential danger to not only the cabins but also the inhabitants was immense.
“There was a tree over the Shack [the oldest cabin] which would have fallen straight through to the foundation,” said Fox.
Not to worry, the removal of some trees does not pose a threat to the campus’ ranking among the nations most beautiful.
According to Fox the tree population on campus will if anything grow.
“When we cut a tree down we try to plant at least four trees somewhere on campus,” said Fox.
We won’t lose our “lush South Carolina landscape,” as Forbes Magazine calls it, anytime soon. According to the Forbes, Furman ranks among the fifteen most beautiful campuses in the country.
The trees are also becoming more resistant to disease and parasites. Facilities is planting more and more trees which are immune to the outside forces which have been so harmful to the oaks which were originally planted.
In fact when the campus was first being built the trees planted were selected by the architects and came not just from South Carolina but also Georgia and North Carolina. Now, according to Fox, the trees are brought from nurseries and have been verified to be healthy.
All in all the green image of Furman looks to remain not only intact but cherished.
“Our trees are our most prized possession,” he said.