In honor of national Arbor Day on April 28, MSU’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities planted a new maple tree at the southwest corner of the Union.
“It’s about recognizing the importance and value of trees,” said Frank Telewski, curator of MSU's W.J. Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum. “There’s so many things we rely on them for.”
First observed in Nebraska in 1872, the tree-planting holiday is celebrated in all 50 states today.
In addition to the environmental impact, Bert Cregg, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Horticulture, worked with his students to reveal the economic value of trees this Arbor Day. His class placed signs around campus, providing context for what it costs to plant and protect individual trees.
According to Telewski, celebrating Arbor Day is also about appreciating the history of MSU’s trees. Many of the trees still standing today were already living when the university’s first building, College Hall, was built in 1858.
“How many people walking past a lot of these trees have no idea that they’re 300 or 400 years old?” Telewski said. “Right here in our midst are these giants.”