Bicentennial tree planting will have to wait until the spring to take root, as an initiative from the Student Council’s Building, Grounds and Sustainability Committee (BGS) to plant trees in honor of Kenyon’s 200th anniversary has faced several delays.
The bicentennial tree planting project is designed to celebrate Kenyon’s history, while also advancing the institution’s sustainability goals. The goal of the project is to plant 50 trees. Twenty of the trees will be placed in a specific bicentennial grove, while the location of the other 30 is still up for debate.
“We originally wanted to do the planting in the fall when it is optimal for tree planting and still within the bicentennial year,” Abby Warshauer ’27, chair of the BGS subcommittee of Student Council, wrote in an email to the Collegian. “But there are just too many logistics for a project of this scale that also involves so many different parties at Kenyon for the project to be possible this fall.”
She noted that these logistics proved difficult to overcome because of how many different parties needed to communicate with others. “Getting approval about locations to plant trees, what kinds of trees the bicentennial committee and the College desires, and finding nurseries that can provide the number and type of trees we are looking for all takes a lot of time and communication between many different people, on and off campus,” Warshauer said.
The BGS committee is actively working with maintenance staff to determine the most optimal location for the trees. Once they have established a location for the trees, the committee will then contact nurseries and select a tree species.
“As of right now, we are hoping to plant trees in various locations on campus and perhaps a small grove at the Brown Family Environmental Center, but nothing is set in stone yet,” Warshauer said. “We are also still deciding on trees, but are committed to planting trees native to this area of Ohio.”
Students can look forward to helping with the planting process this spring. “Students will be essential to the tree planting,” Warshauer wrote. “When the time comes, we will need students to help us plant the trees and then help maintain the trees after planting.”