Spring 2003

A Heritage of Trees

by Darlene Palmer

Campus arborist Wayne Marshall and Bridget Macdonald ’05 screw a metal identification label to a katsura tree.

What began as the separate ideas of the William Smith Alumnae Council and the Campus Greens club, became a collaborative effort to identify and label the rare species and historically significant trees on campus.

“We thought this was an appropriate project considering that William Smith, the founder of our college, was a nurseryman,” says Nancy Nowak Rutherford ’71, past president of William Smith Alumnae Association. "We raised money for the labels from interested alumni and alumnae and received a sizable contribution from the environmental club on campus, the Campus Greens.”

The Campus Greens Club thought that labeling the trees would help to educate the campus community about its environment. Bridget Macdonald ’05 is on the subcommittee of the Greens involved in environmental awareness and education, and took the lead for the club in synchronizing efforts on the project. “I worked in a national park last summer where communicating the names and significance of the species of plants and animals is essential,” she says. “So I came up with an idea to use that kind of method to educate HWS students about our own environment.”

With the campus master plan moving forward, the Office of Communications wanted to create a new section on the Colleges’ Web site showcasing the spectacular campus while also calling attention to the hard work and dedication of the buildings and grounds department in maintaining one of our most valuable assets.

“We were thrilled to collaborate with the Councils and Campus Greens,” says Director of Communications Susan Murad. “It gave us a wonderful opportunity to work with alumnae, alumni and students on a project that was educational and created a deeper sense of pride in our beautiful campus.”

Each label shows the seals of the Colleges, the common and scientific name of the tree, and a number corresponding to the online map.

Rutherford, Macdonald, and a representative from Communications each coordinated efforts through John Fik, the grounds and landscape manager for the Colleges. Fik identified a map of 26 trees that are considered unique, including Chinese zelkova, a Kentucky coffee tree, and an Osage orange. A specimen of each of the 26 trees was given a metal label that shows the common and scientific names of the tree and is attached with springs—to keep the label off the tree—around the screws. As the trees continue to grow, the screws can be loosened to accommodate new growth.
“Actually the trees that are on the ‘unique’ list are no more expensive to buy and require less care than many others because they are more site tolerant to soil and weather conditions, and are extremely disease and insect resistant,” says Fik. “So their maintenance is less when compared to Norway maples or other types of more commonly used species.”

Fik and the campus arborist Wayne Marshall keep a “palette” of trees, shrubs, groundcovers and perennials that are suited for the campus climate (hardiness zones 4 to 5, depending on the campus location), soil pH (7.3), growth pattern, and insect and disease resistance. This ensures that new plantings will thrive.

“Within 50 years, when many of these trees reach maturity, they'll really be stunning,” says Fik, who is a certified grounds manager, a specialization held by approximately 60 people in the nation, and a certified sports field manager, of which there are approximately 30 people in the nation. Marshall is certified by the International Society of Arboriculture, one of approximately 15,000 people with such certification throughout the world.

Some trees already on campus (planted before Fik and Marshall were hired) are not well-matched with the campus environment—such as Norway maple, silver maple and pin oak—and are dying because they are incompatible with the campus soil conditions or because of the trees’ inability to resist disease and insects. Fik and Marshall keep a close eye on these trees, and remove them when they become a hazard. For every tree they remove, they replace it with a plant from the Colleges’ palette. For example, during renovations to a parking lot, Fik and Marshall removed Bradford pear trees that were prone to splitting, particularly under the weight of snow and ice. They were replaced with Chanticleer pear trees that look nearly identical but are not prone to splitting.

Colleges President Mark Gearan says, “This kind of collaborative dedication on the part of staff, students, alumni and alumnae ensures that our campus will remain beautiful into the future.”

A Web page describing the heritage of trees at the Colleges is posted at /about/trees/index.asp. Pages in this portion of the Colleges’ Web site contain a map showing at least one of each kind of tree, so visitors can tour campus to see the trees and labels. Photographs and information about growing patterns are also posted. Eventually examples of trees and shrubs on the palette will be added to the Web pages, in order to give a thorough overview of the flora on campus.