GREENEVILLE – Beautifying their property and, in some cases, putting more food on their table, local residents visited Tusculum University Saturday, March 16, to collect a wide variety of trees they had purchased at a minimal cost.
Rachael Chapman stands with her trees.
Harold Styles holds his trees.
The Doak House Museum served as one of the distribution locations for Tennessee Tree Day. Representatives of the university and the community collaborated to sort and hand out more than 1,500 trees to a steady stream of residents who had reserved them and came to retrieve them. Trees that produce fruit, nuts and flowers were the most popular.
“We enjoy partnering with the Tennessee Environmental Council, our volunteers and our friends in the community who receive the trees,” said Dr. Peter Noll, professor of public history and museum studies. “Tusculum values civic engagement, and this initiative is an outstanding way to show the connection between the university and the community and enhance the natural beauty of this region.”
Tusculum has participated in the annual program for three years. This year, the event fell during spring break, so not as many students were available to assist. But three of them – Isabella Gall, Joseph Medeck and Sydney May – joined Dr. Noll; Jordan Baker, assistant professor of biology; and Kelly Cudnohufsky, a community volunteer, in preparing the trees for distribution Thursday, March 14, and greeting the recipients Saturday. Student Hughston Burnheimer assisted Saturday.
Led by the environmental council, Tennessee Tree Day has put almost 1 million trees in people’s hands. The trees are distributed throughout the state, and Tusculum is one of the larger sites in volume, Dr. Noll said. Many of the guests Saturday were repeat customers, and others were participating for the first time. People are able to purchase as many trees as they would like. The environmental council provides the trees to all of the sites.
Left to right, Jerry and Jennifer Risco stand with the trees they purchased.
Ben, right, and Sarah Gall show their trees.
Among the participants in the event were Jerry and Jennifer Risco as well as Ben and Sarah Gall. Jennifer appreciated the low cost and ease associated with the planting.
“We are on a new piece of property and have a few acres and said, ‘You know what, let’s put some more trees down,’” Jerry said. “We’re replacing trees. We have mostly pine trees, so the ones we purchased at this event are more deciduous and will provide a different mix around the house.”
Sarah said her husband is interested in creating a small orchard on their property. They purchased two persimmon trees.
“We graduated and got the house, and we’re just working on building up our property,” said Ben, who, along his wife, is a Tusculum graduate. “We heard about this event when we were students here, and we just wanted to come and support it. We’ll probably be back another year for more trees.”
Because Tusculum is a host site, it receives about 50 trees. Dr. Noll said Tusculum typically plants them by the Paul E. Hayden Educational Wetland and the Doak House and in the woods along the university’s trail, which runs between these two facilities.
Reflecting on their participation, Baker and Gall said they enjoyed making this event come to fruition on campus.
Kelly Cudnohufsky, a community volunteer, looks at some of the trees.
Tusculum student Isabella Gall, left, and faculty member Jordan Baker work on the trees.
“Any time you can replenish the current population with native species of trees is helpful with native pollinators, native wildlife and other items to try to maintain what has existed for a long time,” Baker said. “It’s also just a good idea to get people to understand and care about nature, wildlife and plants. It helps to get people interested in appreciating the outdoors.”
“I like volunteer work,” said Gall, a freshman who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology. “I like how hands-on this event is and enjoy being helpful in any capacity. I also like handling trees and dirt. The people with whom I volunteer are also nice. “
Additional details about Tennessee Tree Day are available at https://www.tectn.org/tennesseetreeday.html. Further information about the environmental council is available at https://www.tectn.org/. To learn more about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu.