By November, students on the Tempe campus will be able to find relief from the sun in the shade provided by 100 new trees.
The Arbor Day Foundation selected ASU as one of nine schools to host a Campus Tree Tour event Nov. 7, said Laura Johnson, a spokeswoman for ASU’s Office for Research and Sponsored Projects Administration.
Johnson said she received a notice about the Campus Tree Tour opportunity and passed it on to Deborah Thirkhill, program coordinator for the Arboretum at ASU, who submitted the application for 100 trees.
“I feel that the Campus Tree Tour is very beneficial for our University because it will provide some much needed shade, will help make the campus look even more beautiful and inviting and most importantly will help the environment,” Johnson said in an e-mail.
Adriana Orozco, Thirkhill’s intern for the semester, said Thirkhill told the Arbor Day Foundation how the trees would benefit the current programs ASU has in place, like the campus harvest program.
“We use fruit and nuts from our trees in campus kitchens and also donate a portion to local charities,” Orozco said in an e-mail.
Thirkhill said the dates from the planter at the Tempe campus’ Oasis Café and the planter on Tyler Mall have already been harvested.
“These dates were used to make the delicious date bars at the new Engrained Café,” Thirkhill said.
Orozco said ASU is requesting many different fruit and nut trees, including peach, apricot, pear and fig.
She said they are also asking for rare and medicinal tress like sassafras, Japanese tree lilac and Mexican elderberry.
Orozco said the Arbor Day Foundation has given the University a donation in order to purchase the trees.
“We will be supporting local nurseries and ordering the rare trees from out-of-state nurseries,” she said.
Orozco said the trees will be planted at an Arbor Day event in November. There will be a group planting near the pedestrian bridge over University Drive and a demonstration of proper planting techniques in front of Old Main.
She said the rest of the trees would be spread out over the Tempe campus.
An Arbor Day Foundation manager who oversees the donation program did not respond to requests for an interview.
Conservation biology junior Jennifer Row said she isn’t sure there is enough space on the Tempe campus for another 100 trees.
“As much as I love shade, I think we are actually doing pretty good in that department,” Row said.
It’s a good idea as long as the areas are able to support the extra tree life, she said.
“Most green areas have one large tree, and the green area supports it,” she said. “But another tree would likely diminish the livelihood of both individuals.”
Orozco said some of the new trees would replace those that were downed by the recent storms.
“We recently suffered a loss of over 400 trees in this monsoon season,” Orozco said.
Orozco said the Campus Tree Tour will spotlight the diversity of trees on campus, as well as raise awareness of the harvest programs ASU has in place.
“It will also open a dialogue for students on what the trees do for the campus and the community,” she said. “We hope it will bring the environment to the forefront of discussion.”
Reach the reporter at charlsy.panzino@asu.edu.
