The Shi Center hosted its annual Arbor Day event this past week to celebrate and provide service for the many beautiful trees on Furman’s campus. Traditionally, Arbor Day has been a day of service, the most popular way of celebrating and showing appreciation for trees being to plant them. This year, Furman was able to do just that and so much more.
The local organization Trees Greenville generously donated 23 trees for a student-led tree planting near the football stadium. A representative of Trees Greenville provided several demonstrations and tips for student volunteers from the Environmental Action Group, APO Service Group, Heller Service Corps, and the Greenbelt Community, among others. Without the help of these organizations and volunteers, the tree planting would not have been possible.
Encouraging proper tree planting and proper tree growth is just as important as planting the tree in the first place. For instance, we learned about how to ensure roots do not remain potted once the tree is in the ground so that the tree does not strangle itself. Half-inch incisions must be made around the potted part of the tree to disengage the roots and encourage outward growth into the clay. Also, a 50-50 mixing of soils was recommended to encourage outward growth into the clay. Holes were one foot deep and three to four feet wide.
The hope of the Shi Center and of Trees Greenville is that student volunteers can go forward with this knowledge, as homeowners or even certified arborists, to ensure the proper planting and health of trees around them. Education and service are two of the main tenets of Arbor Day. Arbor Day also fulfills a requirement for the Tree Campus USA certification Furman has received for several years. At the event, Furman was presented with its award for being named a Tree Campus USA in 2012 by Jimmy Walters, a local arborist. We are one of only five schools in South Carolina to receive this designation.
President Kohrt honored the day by making a welcoming speech relating the value of trees in his own life. He told the crowd a story of the landscapes of his home changing, and how when he and his wife moved to this area, they began valuing trees and collecting art made from different kinds of wood. He expressed excitement about learning the other values of trees as well from the project that five classes were starting that afternoon.
This collaborative lab project was organized by five classes and led by Professors Betsy Beymer-Farris, Melanie Cozad, Wes Dripps, Gregory Lewis, and John Quinn. Over 100 students took part in this project of measuring the tree value of the central campus, collecting information that the Shi Center and students in the Biology, Economics, and Earth and Environmental Sciences Departments will use to assist with research on the trees at Furman. Multiple perspectives will be applied to evaluate the data obtained, including biological, social, economic, and environmental services analysis. The final data set and story will hopefully be published in the national magazine of Tree Campus USA and the local Trees Greenville newsletter.
Furman’s trees are an important part of our school and of our commitment to sustainability. As students, we are often so involved in our studies or social responsibilities that we forget to recognize the beautiful place where we live. We become so caught up in the people, culture, and activities of our lives that we lose sight of the places and things that make the content of those lives possible. If you have not done so lately, take a walk, and look up. Appreciate a tree today.