By SALINA POST
In celebration of Arbor Day this Friday, Kansas Wesleyan University will be holding an Arbor Day tree planting ceremony and planting three trees on campus.
The public is invited to come to the Outdoor Living Room (west of Pioneer Hall) on campus at 1 p.m. Friday to participate.
A Sterling Silver Linden, a Jane Magnolia donated by Landscape Consultants, and an Oklahoma redbud donated by the City of Salina Parks and Forestry will be planted to mark the occasion.
The Sterling Silver Linden is an adaptable and pollinator-friendly shade tree
The Jane Magnolia is a later blooming magnolia that will announce spring on campus with its beautiful flowers.
The Oklahoma redbud is a tough and reliable small tree that blooms early and is also a great resource for pollinators.
Students, faculty, and staff at KWU and City of Salina Parks and Forestry will assist with the 2023 planting ceremony.
K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Agent Jason Graves, who is a part of the KWU Tree Advisory Committee, said Arbor Day is a perfect time to promote tree planting and the benefits of trees in our city.
"Trees without a doubt provide many benefits to our farms, homes, and cities that we often forget about. Trees create biodiversity, provide countless ecosystem services, enhance property value, and even improve our quality of life and health. Planting a tree is a very strategic investment for our future," Graves noted in a news release.
Kansas Wesleyan takes its trees seriously and the KWU Tree Advisory Committee, composed of students, community members, and faculty, has been working over the last five years on a tree inventory to identify and tag more than 230 trees on campus.
A new project to create an online arboretum map will begin in late 2023.
Kansas Wesleyan earned Tree Campus Higher Education recognition for the first time in 2018 and has been a recognized Tree Campus for five years running. The City of Salina is also recognized as a long-time Tree City USA Community.
For more information about the Arbor Day tree planting at Kansas Wesleyan University, contact Stephanie Welter at [email protected] or John Swagerty at [email protected]