Seven apple trees were donated by the Bloomington Community Orchard and their group, BCO-IU, according to a University press release.
The planting of these trees started a partnership between IU and the Bloomington Community Orchard in which they hope to grow food and produce more ?environmental benefits.
“All trees planted on the campus are important because they hold our valuable soil in place, sequester carbon dioxide to slow climate change and provide shade that reduces energy consumption,” said Andrew Predmore, assistant director of the Office of Sustainability, in the release. “Fruit trees add another set of benefits. Perhaps most importantly, the food they provide improves our connection to the campus, and this connectedness often leads to improved stewardship.”
The trees were planted as part of an Arbor Day event this spring organized by the IU Campus Division and others.
Besides apple trees, the volunteers planted red maple, bur oak, American beech and chinquapin oak trees. Burney Fischer, clinical professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, taught students the best way to plant trees in an urban environment, according to the release.
BCO-IU and Campus Division will work to make sure the trees are properly cared for with pruning, pest management and ?harvesting.
“I can’t even begin to express how honored and excited we are for the opportunity to partner with IU to launch our shared vision for a fruitful campus,” BCO-IU President Teresa Dunn said in the release. “On a larger scale, we hope this project helps contribute to the local, regional and national conversations about establishing sustainable, community-driven food systems.”
In addition to the tree planting, the event launched a volunteer tree inventory.
Geography graduate student David Massey and Sustainability Office intern Meghan Ploch worked with University Information Technology Services and the IU Architect’s Office to create a system to inventory trees.
Students on campus can use their smartphones and a free app called “Arc Collector” that will upload data to a Geographic Information Systems map about the trees.
The Office of Sustainability will plan volunteer tree inventory events this summer and next academic year to create a tree inventory for the Bloomington campus by students, according to the release.
Alison Graham
