November 10, 2011
Volunteers sought for Nov. 17 tree planting
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale next week will continue efforts to restore some of the beauty lost in the devastating May 8, 2009, wind storm and subsequent storms.
Members of the University community and the public can volunteer on Thursday, Nov. 17, to plant approximately 175 trees in two separate areas of campus. This is the third mass tree restoration project since November 2009, and will bring the total number of plantings over three years to more than 600.
Media Advisory
Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the tree planting. For more information, contact David Tippy, assistant superintendent of grounds, at 618/453-8185 or by email at dtippy@siu.edu.
Plant and Service Operations and Student Life and Intercultural Relations are working together to coordinate the efforts of volunteers, who will work in one-and-one-half to two-hour shifts. Registered Student Organizations, and individual faculty and staff, along with community members who are interested in volunteering, should call the Student Life and Intercultural Relations Office at 453-5714 by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
The focus areas will be Thompson Woods, between the Agriculture Building and Student Center, and the lake path between the boat dock to the west end across from Stone Center, said David Tippy, the assistant superintendent of grounds. The trees are indigenous to the region and include dogwoods, various oak trees, river birches, bald cypress and elms.
Planting will take place from 8 to 11:30 a.m., and from noon to 3 p.m. Sign-in and information sheets will be near the large boulder behind the Agriculture Building and at the beach house at campus lake. Volunteers will receive instructions and be assigned to a planting/mulching crew, Tippy said.
There won’t be much digging involved -- the trees will be spotted next to pre-dug holes, and the necessary tools and materials to complete the work will also be there, Tippy said.