$100K drive takes root to protect campus trees

$100K drive takes root to protect campus trees

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

Y oungstown State University has 1,763 trees spread across its 145-acre campus. “It’s a good, sustained urban forest,” said Jim Jenkins, who did a campus tree inventory for the university.

Overall, the condition of 1,600 of the trees can be rated as fair to good, Jenkins recently told the external relations committee of the university’s board of trustees.

Jenkins is an urban forester employed by Davey Resource Group, a forestry and natural resources consulting company, which is helping the university launch a Campus Beautification Initiative designed to protect and preserve YSU’s greenery.

The goal is to raise $100,000 to create an endowment fund for that purpose, said Catherine Cala, director of YSU’s Office of University Development, the fund-rising arm of the university.

The drive is the result of particularly nasty summer storms in 2007 and 2008 that destroyed 70 campus trees, she said.

David C. Sweet, YSU president, got the effort started by donating some trees to replace those that were destroyed, Cala said.

The endowment fund would get its money from two projects — a Centennial Circle Brick Campaign and a Memorial Trees and Benches program. All money raised will go to sustain campus green spaces, Cala said.

The brick campaign got its kickoff in a recent copy of YSU’s magazine for alumni and friends while the trees and benches program will be a part of a formal solicitation for financial support for the university this fall. Benches and young trees can be purchased to be placed and planted at locations around the campus.

There’s room for 1,000 bricks in the Centennial Circle around the statue of Howard Jones, YSU’s first president, located on the south side of Tod Hall.

The bricks, trees and benches can be purchased for a variety of reasons, ranging from a memorial to a loved one to a celebration of an event.

The bricks will be engraved with a message of the buyer’s choice and come in two sizes.

The 8-by-8-inch style costs $300 and offers six lines of text. The 4-by-8-inch brick costs $150 and has three lines of text.

All brick donors will get an engraved mini-replica brick to keep or give as a gift. They will also receive a certificate of appreciation and a locator map to help them find their brick on campus.

Cala said June 30, 2010, is the deadline to purchase a brick, and those who order them by Nov. 1 will get their mini-replica in time for the holidays.

The trees and benches project is a longer-term effort.

The trees are $1,500 and come with a commemorative plaque to be placed near the tree, while benches, made of recycled materials, are $2,500 and have an inlaid plaque on the backrest.

Tree selection is based on a list of species that will thrive in this climate and provide some educational value to students. Davey will assist in the tree selection, Cala said.

Anyone wanting to order a brick can visit www.ysubricks.com or call University Development at (330) 941-3119. Those interested in trees or benches should visit www.ysu.edu/treesbenches or call University Development.

YSU has a beautiful campus and this effort will help preserve it, Cala said. Nearly 40 bricks, two trees and one bench have already been sold, she said.

gwin@vindy.com