Trick or Trees event to improve landscaping near Marvin, Lindley halls

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Campus Tree Advisory Board has announced a second Replant Mount Oread event for 2014. Trick or Trees will take place Oct. 31 to add nine new trees to the campus landscape. Replant Mount Oread is an initiative to raise funds and involve the campus community in planting trees on campus.

“Based on the success of Arbor Day events we have coordinated in the spring semester for the past three years, we have decided to add a fall event,” said Jeff Severin, director for the Center for Sustainability and chair of the advisory board. The group hopes to include an annual fall planting as part of its efforts to overcome losses to the campus tree canopy. In recent years, more than 70 trees have been removed from campus each year due to age, storm damage, disease and construction, but the landscaping budget only allows for approximately 50 trees to be replanted.

The lawn between Marvin and Lindley halls, just south of the Chi Omega Fountain, has been selected as the planting site this fall. Known for its small grove of pear trees, the original landscaping at this site was a gift from the class of 1949. Through the Replant project the area will be enhanced with additional Bartlett pear trees, along with Dwarf Mugo pines, peonies and periwinkle.

The project will also include a Black Hills spruce donated in memory of Gianfranco Villagomez-Saldana. A 2013 graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in industrial design from the School of Architecture, Design & Planning, Villagomez-Saldana was pursuing a degree in computer science in the School of Engineering when he died in December 2013.  KU’s International Student Services program collected donations for the tree, which will be planted in advance of the Replant event.

In order to raise the remaining $5,000 needed for the project, the advisory board is coordinating an online fundraiser through the end of October. Project information and updates will be shared through the Replant Mount Oread Faceboook page and on the Center for Sustainability Twitter account, @SustainKU. Donations can be made through KU Endowment here.

Planting will begin at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 31 and continue until the landscaping is completed. Volunteers interested in participating can sign up here.