In celebration of Arbor Day and Earth Month, Southern Illinois University Carbondale will host a tree planting event on April 23, rain or shine.
Everyone is welcome to participate from 9 to 11 a.m. and should meet at the corner of South Oakland Street and Douglas Drive. Participants are encouraged to dress appropriately for the activity; closed-toe shoes and jeans are recommended, and gloves are encouraged. Tools will be provided.
To sign up in advance, email opie.piper@siu.edu. Pre-registration will help organizers prepare, but it is not required.
Nationally recognized campus
SIU has earned national recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation annually since 2015 as a Tree Campus Higher Education, one of just about 400 campuses across the country to earn the designation.
The university’s annual spring tree planting is one of the many reasons SIU continues to earn the award. Since the initiative began years ago, students, faculty, staff and community volunteers have planted well over 100 trees to ensure the university maintains its extensive biodiversity and beauty, according to Opie Piper, superintendent of grounds and chair of the Tree Campus committee. The 1,200-acre campus, home to more than 5,200 living trees, has also been a level 2 accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta through ArbNet since 2019, the first university in the state to earn this honor.
“We’ve got one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, and that is due in part to the number of trees and the diversity,” Piper said. “There are about 155 different species of trees on our campus. We encourage everyone, including students and community members, to get involved in this project, helping to plant more than a dozen new trees to maintain our biodiversity.”
SIU also has a formal campus tree care plan, offers self-guided walking tree tours and maintains a tree inventory map. Other initiatives include hosting walking tours for school groups and Forestry Club demonstrations.
For additional details
For more information about the tree planting or SIU’s Tree Campus Higher Education, visit the website or contact Piper at opie.piper@siu.edu or 618-453-8184 or Jasmine Wooley at jasmine.wooley@siu.edu or 618-453-8185.
Media Advisory
Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the tree planting from 9 to 11 a.m. April 23. Meet at the corner of South Oakland Street and Douglas Drive. For more information, contact Opie Piper at opie.piper@siu.edu or call 618-453-8184 or Jasmine Wooley at jasmine.wooley@siu.edu or 618-453-8185.
