YOUNGSTOWN – A 7-foot lone flowering magnolia tree outside of Youngstown State University’s Tod Hall may be aesthetically pleasing to many, but its symbolic significance lies just under the surface.

“We have a moral responsibility to our students to be part of the solution, not the problem,” Colleen E. McLean, associate professor of geology, physics and environmental science, said, referring to taking crucial steps to tackle the effects of global climate change.

One major way to achieve that vital and life-sustaining goal, McLean added, is to plant a larger variety and quantity of trees such as the magnolia, which was unveiled during an Earth Day ceremony Thursday on the campus.

Hosting the event was YSU’s Legacy Forest Program, proposed in fall 2019 with a primary objective to plant trees to create a healthier environment and work toward solving the climate crisis. Another group goal is to plant one tree to reforest the Mahoning River watershed for each incoming freshman, McLean noted.

“This initiative will give students something to come back to,” even if they move from the area and return years after having graduated, said McLean, who added that especially young people are saddled with the burden of having to face the climate crisis.

Many scientists and environmentalists warn that time is running out to address the long-term effects of climate change. Nevertheless, individuals can take a number of steps to slow the carbon footprint and fight back, such as educating themselves on environmental challenges, expressing their concerns to elected officials while holding them accountable, using fewer plastic products and cleaning their neighborhoods, noted Stephen Hanzely, a retired YSU physics professor.

Mason Borawiec, a Legacy Forest Program student representative, said he appreciates “getting my generation involved to mitigate climate change.”

Borawiec, along with Katharine Donnachie, a Legacy Forest student outreach coordinator and senior in the Environmental Sciences Department, unveiled the magnolia tree.

“All life on Earth, human included, exists only in the context of an ecosystem,” said Lauren A. Schroeder, a retired professor emeritus of biological sciences, who had a 15-foot oak tree dedicated to him during Thursday’s ceremony largely because he discussed launching the Legacy Forest Program about two years ago.

Climate change is today’s pre-eminent issue largely because it affects the economy, as well as citizens’ quality of life and future, the retired professor explained.

The climate crisis also is insidious, because it tends to foster slow and often imperceptible changes, but also has “tipping points” and severe consequences that include more powerful storms and temperature extremes, Schroeder warned.

Over time, the global climate problem has caused ecosystems to lose a degree of stability and “the ability to sustain life,” he continued.

Schroeder added that the magnolia tree, which was planted last fall, is a symbol of hope for an end to damaging climate change.

Also during the dedication ceremony, a representative from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources presented to the university the Tree Campus USA Award, which is given to college campuses that promote healthy urban forest management and encourage environmental stewardship.

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