2009 Spring Tree Planting
Greening the Woods Committee is planting trees at The Woods!
Students celebrated Ring Day by helping plant Swamp White Oak trees (Quercus bicolor) along The Avenue on Tuesday, March 31st. (Check out the pictures from our Fall 2008 Tree Planting.)
Why plant trees?
Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods is known for its beautiful wooded campus, which has many large, old trees, including several Vigo County champion "Big Trees." If we don't plant more trees as the ones we have are lost in storms or due to old age, we will lose our wooded environs that give "The Woods" its name.
In addition, trees provide a number of valuable ecosystem services including cooling shade on hot summer days, habitat and food for wildlife, uptake and storage of carbon dioxide (thus helping to mitigate global climate change).
Swamp White Oak (image from the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL)
Swamp White Oak Leaf (image from Iowa State University Extension)
