Replant Mount Oread will bring new trees to West Campus Road

LAWRENCE — This Halloween, faculty, staff and students who frequent West Campus Road are in for a treat as Replant Mount Oread holds its second annual Trick or Trees planting event. 

During this fall’s Replant project, the Campus Tree Advisory Board, in partnership with Facilities Services Landscaping, will be replacing some of the existing ash trees along West Campus Road in front of the School of Education and Carruth O’Leary buildings, adding a total of 19 new trees in varieties of oak, elm, honeylocust and redbud will be planted between 11th Street and the entrance to Memorial Drive as part of the project. 

Planting will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and continue until the landscaping is completed.  Volunteers from campus and the community interested in participating can sign up at http://www.sustain.ku.edu/replant/volunteer.

Now approaching its fifth year, Replant Mount Oread is a student-initiated project aimed at raising funds to provide trees and shrubs for campus community planting projects in specific areas around campus targeted for landscaping needs. Through support of donors, the program has planted more than 75 trees and numerous shrubs on campus since 2012. More than 30 volunteers join staff from Facilities Services, Design & Construction Management and the Center for Sustainability to assist with the semiannual plantings.

In an effort to raise the nearly $5,000 needed for the fall project, the Campus Tree Advisory Board is again seeking donations to support the project, which can be made through KU Endowment at www.kuendowment.org/replantmtoread. 

Replant Mount Oread is part of the University’s efforts to meet Tree Campus USA standards.  The Arbor Day Foundation honored KU with this recognition for the third year in a row earlier this year. Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and sponsored by Toyota to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals.