Keene State’s campus just got greener with the addition of a new tree.
The Eco-Reps club celebrated a new sugar maple on April 26, which was the date of Arbor Day this year.
According to the University of New Hampshire’s website, Arbor Day is a holiday dedicated to trees and recognizing their importance.
“Many think of it as the ‘tree planting’ holiday,” states the article. “But it is better thought of as a ‘tree caring’ holiday”.
The tree was planted between the Young Student Center and Spaulding Gym at an earlier date, but Eco-Reps held the ceremony on April 26 to put down a plaque, water and mulch the tree. The plaque has been temporarily removed so it can be set in more permanently.
“This was a goal we had wanted to do for a while with the tree planting,” said junior Zachary Leno, vice president of Eco-Reps. “It was something that didn’t end up happening last year, but it had happened in prior years so it’s something we really wanted to continue.”
Leno was one of the main organizers of the event. He said that last year’s tree planting was not able to happen due to the club not having the needed resources.
“It was hard. There was a little bit of a transitional team going on, there was a lot of other projects in the works,” Leno continued. “So we didn’t end up having the resources to manage a tree planting but this year it worked out great.”
Sugar maple trees are native to the New England area. The new tree is planted near another larger sugar maple and where an older sugar maple had previously stood.
“It’s been so great just to have this tree here with the help of grounds and the alumni office,” said junior Chloe March, president of Eco-Reps. “We’ve been able to pick such a great spot where a former maple tree stood and then a new one is coming up.”
March continued, “I’m really glad we were able to do this as Eco-Reps and through the college, just feels great. Especially on such a gorgeous sunny day.”
Members of Eco-Reps and KSC faculty showed up to observe the plaque being placed, and to help water the tree and pile mulch on top of it. The KSC grounds team will take over caring for it during the summer.
“The mulch, not only is it aesthetically pleasing, it also cools the root zone, retains moisture …we’re talking about sustainability, this is Keene State special blend,” said Joe Britton, supervisor for the grounds. “This is our leftover yard waste, composted leaves, little bit of…food scraps and wood chips that are all derived here on campus. Which, instead of putting that into the waste stream or just dumping it, it’s something we’re collecting and reusing on the campus.”
Britton also spoke about how new trees can help keep the campus green even when older trees need to be torn down.
“It actually works out perfectly in this area where some folks might remember there was a sugar maple right here that we had to take down about four or five years ago,” continued Britton. “And sadly, this one [the older tree] is past maturity … so we kind of talked about succession and the idea of when this tree does have to come down for safety reasons that this will be in its place.”
Orion Corbin can be contacted at
ocorbin@kscequinox.com
